Morocco Odyssey 19: The Sahara Desert (ii)

Our second day in the Sahara was the one that everyone had awaited with great anticipation. It was the day for the camel ride. I admit to being apprehensive, and for good reason. We drove out to the start site and saw by the following line of lazing animals.

 We each approached them, climbed aboard, and waited for the driver to get each camel to stand up. This is an interesting process: first, the camel gets up on its hind legs, forcing you to lean back to avoid pitching forward; then, the camel gets up on its front legs, forcing you to lean forward to avoid falling backwards. Of course, this goes fairly quickly and you have to respond accordingly, while holding tightly to the metal T-bar in front of you. Needless to say, I was most uncomfortable and felt I might slip off sideways at any moment. In contrast, most of the other group members, especially my wife [in the orange cap below], seemed quite at ease. [Notice my ‘relaxed’ grip on the T-bar.]

I confess that the only time I ever relaxed my grip and take a shot [below] was when the camel was at a dead stop. I managed to survive the hour and actually begin enjoying the experience. Fortunately, it was only later that I heard about a guy from a different tour who had fallen off his camel and broke his collarbone.

From the camel ride, we then traveled to a date palm farm. It  was operated primarily by one man [below], with a little help from neighboring farmers. As it turns out, it is a labor intensive job and with considerable physical demands, as well as an understanding of biology/genetics of the trees.

The farmer also had some animals, which tour members posed with; here, my wife gets into the act.