Having been initiated by our first hour or so of camel riding, we graduated to a new speed: running. I knew something was up when all of the guides had either shared a camel with one of the tourists, or had mounted the extremely vocal camel-in-training. A few whips along the camels’ butts, and we were sent forward with speed. If you’ve ridden a camel, you know that each step inevitably launches you a bit off of the saddle, so it might not come as a shock to know that the height increases proportionally to the camel’s speed. The acceleration was fun, but the constant speed wreaked havoc on my thighs. As you might have guessed, there WAS a growing concern for Ray’s future progeny!

The warp-7 went on for about ten minutes before we slowed down again, and it was just in time to see some wild antelope running off in the distance. We caught a couple more glimpses of antelope herds before we reached the dunes and settled down for an evening under the stars.

With just enough daylight left, G and I frolicked in the sand, taking pictures of the serenity and eventually the sunset. The dunes stretched about a half a mile, and were surrounded by a more familiar landscape of cactus and desert foliage. This gave us very picturesque portrait studio to work with.

As the day came to a close, and the stars started to peek through the curtain of night, we all sat around the fire, drinking chai and awaiting another Rajasthani meal. During this time we were joined by Dhanna, our CS host, and Hannah, a fellow couch surfer.

Having eaten about 5 chapatis, a plate full of rice, and a splash of lentils (called dhal), I’d had my fill. The evening was starting to come to a close. G and I, situated on a blanket around the fire, laid down and watched the night sky while our guides entertained. Breaking into song, our guides started to dance, bobbing up and down and making wave like motions with their hands. It was only after two songs that another guide from a nearby camp came within shouting distance to yell at our cheery entertainers. I couldn’t understand the Hindi that was being shouted, but the expression change on the most vibrant guide’s face said it all. One moment he was grinning brightly ear to ear singing a traditional Rajasthani tune, and the next he was sitting legs crossed on his blanket with shadows covering his face. All was soon silent, and we were sent to bed with two sheets. A thinner one to lay on, and a thicker one to pull over us.

Laying down fully clothed helped a bit, but the desert got chilly. It was a night of little sleep, and we awoke many times to the cold, only to try and clutch one another for warmth. [ngfilename filename='P1110451.JPG' float=right w=240 h=180] Just before sunrise, G decided to get up to make use of our outdoor studio. Grudgingly I followed, barely awake, only to be scared half to death by one of the camels who had decided to sleep five feet from me. Looking back down the hill we just climbed, we saw that our camp was still fast asleep while the two nearby camps were up and moving around. It was perfect timing since the sun hadn’t yet started to peek above the horizon. G got the spectacular three minutes on video for the lazy few still stuck in their Zs.

About half an hour later, our camp decided to make use of the light. The eight of us, including Dhanna and Hannah, huddled around a serving blanket where chai, toast and jam, boiled eggs, and papaya were served. After breakfast, Dhanna and Hannah decided to head back to the fort, but their jeep, unfortunately, wouldn’t start. A majority of the group got behind it, and tried to jump start the engine by pushing it along. Nothing happened. A few more people gathered around the jeep and we pushed again with more force. With a “putt putt putt VROOM” the jeep’s engine started, and we waved goodbye to Dhanna and Hannah.

Since the novelty of riding a camel had worn off after the first day, the group, almost unanimously, decided to reach our destination the ‘fast way.’ Some of us were unaware that this would result in a sustained gallop, and soon realized that ‘fast’ might not have been the best description to use!

While this was fun, it was exceedingly hard to try and direct the camel without any proper instruction. Having only just received the reins for the first time, I started waving the rope around, throwing my left-hand’s portion up above the camel’s head and then doing the same with my right-hand’s portion. Understandably, the camel had no idea what to do, so he started to gallop in whichever direction he saw fit. After the guides caught up to me, and my eyeballs were carefully seated back in their sockets, I was reintegrated into the camel conga line for the remainder of the journey.

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Lunch again was served under an enormous tree and consisted of chapati, instant noodles, curry, and chai. Since we chose the fast route, we had plenty of time after lunch to rest in the shade before our jeep back to the fort arrived. Realizing the coolness of the trip, and taking a final few pictures of the silly camel faces, we departed our friendly animals in favor of a shower and bed.

Be sure to check out the photos of Day 2 of the camel safari.