Ships of the Desert
“He who has no camel, has nothing. ”
When I sit down to write my weekly Heartfelt Stories, it doesn’t matter which comes first, image or memory, either can lead me to a story. This morning, I woke up seeing the face of a camel. Sorry, I can’t give a back story here, the rest of the dream is gone. But the image was enough to remind me of a journey on camels in North Africa.
In 2017 my husband and I joined a photographic tour to Morocco. Our itinerary included a camel ride into the Sahara Desert and two-night stay in a Bedouin camp. Move over Indiana Jones, here I come!
I’ve met camels a few times on my travels and I can tell you they are pretty high up on my “Now this is an amazing animal list.” I marvel how animals around the world are perfectly designed for their environment—the camel has to be one of the best examples.
Camels can endure everything: sun, wind, sand, and lack of water. When they do drink, they can down 40 gallons in one go. They have long powerful legs with large flat leathery feet enabling them to travel long distances, up to 25 miles a day across the hot desert sand with loads as heavy as 900 pounds. They can run as fast as a racehorse—up to 40 miles per hour! They are smart and have a reputation of being stubborn. Apparently, an angry camel can spit, but I’ve never seen that.
There are two types of camels: the one humped dromedary of the Sahara and the two humped Bactrian camel, native to the steppes of Central Asia. As a child I thought that camels stored water in their humps. In fact, the hump is stored fat which they can live off for several weeks, months even! It’s easy to understand why this makes them precious assets for tribal nomads in the desert.
We began our camel tour outside of Merzouga, a small desert town often used in movie sets. When we arrived, our camel train and guides were waiting for us. My assigned camel looked at me calmly, her big brown eyes shaded with two rows of eye lashes, perfect protection from sun, wind, and sand. Camels also have 3 sets of eyelids to help keep the sand out of their eyes. Their nostrils are long slits that they close tightly in a sandstorm. Their short, furry ears are designed to protect them from fluctuating temperatures.
Desert dress takes a page from the camels natural assets. Bedouins wear turbans of long fabric that can be wrapped as needed around their faces to protect them from wind and sand. A shopkeeper in Merzouga was happy to show me how it works.
Camels are tough! They can withstand prolonged temperatures of over 120 degrees during the day and overnight temperatures that can plummet to below freezing. They have thick lips to forage for thorny wild desert plants. A camel is more reliable than any 4-wheel drive vehicle in the challenging desert environment.
At ground level, me standing, camel lying down, the camel seemed easy enough to mount. With the help of my guide, I grabbed the handle at the front of the saddle and swung my leg over her back looking every part the old lady with no camel riding experience. The camel’s hind legs fold accordion-like under them. They get up back end first. I pitched forward on the first “Hup!” as her back legs unfolded then rocked back on the second “Hup!” when she straightened her forelegs. I was proud I managed to stay on.
After an hour’s ride, we came to our camp – home for the next two nights. It was too hot during the day for any activity other than chasing the shadows around our tents.
As the sun began to set, we mounted our camels and headed out for a photo shoot.
Our young guides were great sports, hamming it up in front of the cameras and running with their camels against the setting sun as we shouted out directions.
The connection between the men and their animals was heart-warming.
At night we gathered around the fire. The desert gives up its heat quickly in the chill of the evening. Our guides sang and played traditional drums with amazing skill. The universal ingredients of fire, music, and stories transcended all cultural divides. It was magic, pure and simple.
One flickering fire,
One starlit sky,
One community,
One world.
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