How to Ride a Camel and Keep Your Dignity Mostly Intact
A sunburned, sand-blown, wildly unglamorous tutorial from the deserts of India and Morocco
Before I rode camels in India’s Thar desert and the Morocco’s Sahara, I’d only seen them ridden in movies. My daughter suggested both desert multi-day treks on those international trips. I thought, why not? As an avid horseback rider, I thought, I’ll just be higher off the ground.
Both deserts were exceedingly hot by day so I chose to wear cotton pants, long sleeved shirts, tennis shoes with socks, sunglasses, and the ugliest ever hat. I looked like the dweebiest tourist, ever. I applied heaps of sunscreen, re-applying over sweaty skin during the fiery days. I left my nicer clothes behind behind since I would be sleeping in blankets, used by the masses, and sitting near a wood smoke fire in the evenings.
I wasn’t prepared for fine sand blowing up my nose, into my face, eyes and my expensive camera lens. I wasn’t prepared for my pants to ride up exposing skin to the sun and giving me that “high water” look. In the photos, I did not look like the actors in the movies. I looked like a goober.
I was surprised how the camel’s foot action mesmerized me. I would lean to one side and watch the hoof splay out with weight, then contract when lifted. Over and over, every step, specifically suited to sand. Magical.
I was also unprepared for how I would devour the dinner prepared by our guides on the fragrant wood fire. In the Sahara, we ate a mouthwatering, savory chicken tagine and rice. We ate after dark with a few candle lanterns spaced about. We ate with our hands which seemed so natural. I was desperately hungry and worried that the others on the tour would eat more than their fair share. Lord Of The Flies scenario.
My Tutorial For A First-Time Camel Rider:
1. Inspect your camel and assess it for threats (and remember that it’s nothing like riding a horse). Stay away from the big, yellow teeth. Camels will spit, bite, chew and kick sideways. Gauge its height if there is a standing camel nearby. Picture your precipitous drop to the ground from the saddle in order to get a grip of the situation when the camel stands. 8-10 feet is a good guess. Try not to stand downwind of your camel or breathe through your nose. Check out the long neck, which, I can assure you, can whip around, like a dragon, and be in your face in a heartbeat with big, yellow teeth. Keep in mind that you paid money for this experience.
2. Whatever happens, don’t be the first to mount your camel. Learn from the mistakes of your fellow travelers as you witness them catapulting forward and back as their camel stands. And when it’s your turn, make your daughter promise not to film you. Since your daughter is sneaky, check her camera afterwards.
3. Approach your camel with authority. I’m laughing as I write this. The camel driver will signal for you to get on. He might be smirking. Swing your leg over the saddle, which is nearly chest high. On my trips, various camel drivers have pushed my bum to get me up in the saddle. Since I was using both hands to pull myself into position, I was unable to severely smack the
helpful” drivers.
a. The saddle sits atop thick cushions and pads, with pieces of luggage and cooking pots and pans piled behind the place for your bum. This makes quite a stacked heap to swing your leg over. Ladies: Do. Not. Wear. A. Skirt.
b. The width of the saddle is akin to riding a pregnant Clydesdale draft mare, with additional blanket pads. At this stage, prophylactic Ibuprofen would not be amiss.
4. Brace yourself. The hind legs straighten, causing you to lurch forward onto the 10 inch saddle horn for a rib cage puncture. You will see and smell the camel’s ears up close and personal. Camels are not fragrant. The front legs straighten, causing you to lurch backward, smacking your head on the aluminum pans and plastic oil containers strapped on behind you. Truly a rodeo experience but without the championship belt buckle. Gain extra rodeo points for executing these movements with one arm flailing about, just like a bull rider.
*Much later on, when you “dismount,” your steed will bend the front legs, pitching you precipitously forward. Then the hind legs bend, slamming you suddenly backwards towards those familiar pans and oil containers.
5. Grab on to all your valuables. Now that you and the camel are upright, realize that you must not drop anything—sunglasses, hat, scarf, or water bottle. If you drop anything, the guides will not take the time to help you down. They will stalk back, pick up your dropped item and hand it to you with a shaming look. And know that when the camel drivers are talking and laughing, they are talking about you.
6. Accept that you have no control. You now see you have no reins. Your camel is connected to the camel driver ahead of you by a nose plug and rope. It dawns on you that you have no power over this huge beast. Remember that you paid money for this experience.
7. Load up on Ibuprofen (with the hopes that you brought it) and prepare for days of pain. You see that there are NO STIRRUPS which means no support for your spine and bum. You realize, as your various body parts are rapidly adjusting to the width of the saddle, saddle pads, and camel’s girth, that you will be walking funny for days after.
9. Surrender to the realization that you’re never going to look as graceful and elegant as people in the movies do. In contrast to cinematic images of nomadic women wearing long, flowing robes and effortlessly riding camels, you’re slathered in a grungy film of sand, sunscreen, and sweat while hanging on for your dear life.
10. Accept defeat when your guide kicks his lead camel into a trot. All camels are connected by nose pegs and rope so, ergo; all camels pick up the trot. Tourists have no reins, no stirrups, no “seat.” “Seat” means the quality of how you sit in the saddle. You have no seat. You are a bouncing bag of potatoes hitting a hard surface. And, you have no idea when the lead camel driver will stop trotting.
Your guide looks back with a smug grin knowing how much you’ll all suffer. He’s in total control and you’re not.
11. Your kidneys, tailbone, lower back, lumbar and neck areas are on full alert.
”Riding off into the Sunset” will never evoke the same image again.
Just remember, you paid a good bit of money for this.
P.S. I’d love to hear from you. Have you ever ridden a camel — or had a travel moment that was far less glamorous than you imagined? Join the Substack party and leave a comment below. If you’re new here, you can create a free Substack account to like, comment, and follow along.
Camel riders in the Moroccan Sahara cast silhouettes across the sand at sunset. Photo Credit: Rachel Sarah Thurston
Copyright Karen Custer Thurston 2020
Photo Credits:
Unsplash Photo Credits: Savvas Kalimeris, Frederico Guttierez, Jacob Jacobsy, Youhanna Nassif
Thank you, Caryn Stroeh! and I’m so pleased your son is visiting…xoxoxo
Such a fabulous story, Mom! So proud of all your writing over the years and grateful beyond expression for our countless years of travel adventures around the world together!