Stories from Israel: Camels

I promised more detailed stories from our trip...they definitely won't be in chronological order. Here's the first:

Ahhhh Camels...how uncomfortable art thy saddles!

Adam had only one request for our trip---i guess it comes from the stereotypical image of people riding camels through the desert wastelands of the middle east---he wanted to ride camels. I really wanted to go eat Bedouin food because its freakin yummy, but that would not be. Back to the point, it was his only request...so when we got all the way to the southern most tip of Israel, a narrow stretch of land bordered by the Red Sea, Jordan and Egypt, we arranged to go on a "sunset" camel ride--a 4 hr (half-day) excursion. If you want to know more about the Camel Ranch you can click its name.  The group was the two of us, a couple from Finland, a family comprised of two moms, a son and daughter (we think they were a blended family because a different mom responded to the word when each kid said it), and a Russian New Yorker and a woman we couldn't quite place because she was our age but he was in his 50s....use your imagination.

 So, the 12 of us set off with our guide into the wilderness. We started all linked together and then were set free after learning how to turn the camel. What a joke...there is no camel turning. They do this once a day, know exactly what they are doing and where they like to walk. The son in the group was frantically trying to make his camel go faster, but after an hour or so of "kadima, Kadima!!!" (forward), the rest of the group requested he give it a rest.  The epitome of this was when we tried to go to the top of a big hill. Each camel did precisely what it wanted, including standing around looking at the vista for a few minutes without moving.

Adam's camel was named Shula. Both his and mine, Myriam, had served a stint in the Israeli army when they wanted to see whether or not to bring back the camel patrol units that used to exist along the Egyptian border. Alas, it was not to be.

As it turned out, Shula was actually the smart one in the group. There's an electric fence that runs the perimeter of the camel pen. As per usual, the tasty grassy treats are just outside this pen. The electic fence also makes a popping noise as it goes by. Usually, a camel gets zapped once or twice and that's it. Shula learned that if she waited for the pop she could then stick her head outside to eat. Adam said it was only fitting he was riding on the brilliant camel! HAH. In the pic of Adam above is one of the moms, the "kadima kadima" son, the daughter and the Finnish husband.

So, back to the top of the mountain...it was lovely. Less than a km from Egypt, you could see Aqaba in jordan and a little industrial site in Saudi Arabia. It was also a little chillly and a little windy. We walked our camels down as the sun set---seeing as how riding camels downhill is not so comfy.

In the center of this picture is both Aqaba and the border with Saudi...where there is no fence or marker.

Also, its a picture of Shula, the wonder camel.

By the time everyone had walked the camels down the hill, it was dusky. Our ride continued for about 20 minutes into the dark...at last arriving at a fire pit. We all sat around the camp fire while our guide/host made delicious tea including a plant called "flour flea" that tasted suspiciously like camomile (sp?). He also made this yummy Bedouin bread called kafir. It is a flat bread made only of water and flour and cooked on a large iron semi-circle (like if you flipped your wok over). It was smothered with labaneh (a slightly sour but VERY TASTY) goat cheese with zatar (a spice) and of course there were olives. 

So we dined in the darkness while he told us stories about scorpions! Four hours after we started...we were back at the ranch--mission acccomplished--with very sore bums.