Camel Visit Crew

(left to right) Kurtis, Russ, Mugbul, Allen and Romeo

Mugbul invited us to go and see the camels, try some camel milk and maybe even ride them. His cousin has a herd about a fifteen minute drive out into the desert from our location. We had a good time interacting with a couple Sudanese herders who showed us the herd. Mugbul enjoyed "rally" driving like a crazy man across the desert dunes in his Toyota Land Cruiser with us.

Scratching Feels Good

Everyone Has An Itch

I made the mistake of scratching some itches and soon became very popular. They really loved to be handled. They weren't aggressive but would follow you around a bit. If you weren't paying attention they might step on you.

She's a Beauty

Such Soft Lips and Long Lashes

I personally had a good time investigating the way the camels are put together. They're lashes are so long and the lips are very soft to the touch but they are tough enough to get past the thorny bushes they eat here. By the way, all the bushes seem to have thorns.

Romeo Knows How to Ride

Romeo Sits Atop the Camel

Mugbul, my Saudi friend, is drinking a cup of tea while Romeo rides the camel. Allen, Russ and I were all taking photos trying not to laugh.

Allen Dismounts

Allen Dismounts While the Big Male Watches

Camels are surprisingly tall and when you sit on the back you are about six feet in the air. The big male is the father of all the babies in this herd. The herders hobble him (note the feet are tied together) him to keep him close, as the males are known for wandering even further than the females.

Everyone Gets a Share

Russ Drinking His Share

Note the baby suckling. Also, the darker camel in the background has a saddle on. This was the camel we rode.

Looks Like Milk, Tastes Like Milk

Fresh from Mother - Allen Samples Jemel Halib (Camel Milk)

Marcus milked one of the camels and we all had a good long drink. The Saudis say if you have stomach problems and you drink the camel milk you will soon know it because the milk will very quickly clean your stomach out. Luckily this didn't happen to any of us.

The milk tasted like cow's milk but didn't leave the milky after-taste.

Note the camels in the background. They spread out and wander around grazing on bushes somewhat aimlessly until the herder calls them in by shouting certain commands.

Caring Mother Suckles Her Baby

The Baby Gets a Meal

One of the reasons we wanted to see the camels was to see the little ones. We counted roughly 200 camels in this herd with maybe 40 babies. The mothers were mildly skittish at first with all the loud talking and strange camera noises we were making but they really calmed down and allowed us to get as close as we dared. The babies remained wary and wouldn't let us too close.

What Big Feet You Have!

Size 10FFFFFFF - Wide to Hold the Load

This is my size ten next to one of the mother camel's feet. If you look closely you can see the toe nails or hooves. The wide camel feet are perfectly made for cruising across the sand.

Sudanese Herders

Tsegi, Marcus and Allen Sharing a Laugh

Tsegi and Marcus are from Sudan. According to the Saudis I have asked, the Sudanese make the best camel herders.

These two were very gracious hosts. We literally just drove up on them to ask for directions to my Saudi friend's cousin's herd and found out they had moved a day or two prior to a distant location. The Sudanese asked us to stay and look at their camels because the other herd was too far to drive to before the sun went down. We agreed and all got out. They were drinking tea and they both immediately gave us the little glass cups they were drinking from. We shared it with each other and thanked them. This is the custom of the Bedouins. You always have to offer tea to your guests.