Camel Ride

Yesterday, while at the pyramids, Cameron and I went on our first camel ride.  It was interesting.

You'd be surprised what it feels like to have a camel go from kneeling position to being all the way up.  I hadn't realized just how tall these animals are. The camel was told to kneel down so we could climb on.  It was a good thing we were holding on tightly when the camel got up since it would be easy to flip over the front during that first thrust up to standing position when the camel lifts his back legs with his front legs still in kneeling position.  Jeff stayed on the ground and took a couple photos of us.

Then the camel owner brought us to another camel and tried to get Jeff to go on that one.  We've heard some stories about challenges in negotiating camel rides, so I was glad Jeff chose to stay on the ground.  Still the camel owners (now two of them) were determined to get him up there and at one point collected the bags from his hands and had hooked them on the saddle of the other camel.  But Jeff didn't go along with that so the guide instead wrapped him up in his turban and took his photo with Cameron and me, (see bottom photo).

Cameron liked the camel ride for the first 20 yards, then was saying he was ready to get down.  (It really does feel high when you're on the camel's back.)  

Speaking of camels, we're debating about whether to go to the camel market that is outside of Cairo.  That is where you go if you want to trade or buy camels.  The guide books say it is an interesting place to visit for a short time, but that some of the animals are not treated well.  They caution that young children might be upset by what they see at the market.  I guess we'll think more about this.  At least we have now seen and ridden a camel so passing on the camel market might not be so bad.