one hump or two

After camping in the Mojave Desert (11:11 (part 11)), I felt prepared and was excited to camp in the Sahara Desert. Yet while they were both deserts, I would describe the Mojave as a dusty arid land while the Sahara was a vast ocean of fluffy sand. Luckily, we had camels to transport us to camp as each step would have had us sinking in the sand.

The Sahara has the one-hump dromedary camels rather than the two-hump Bactrian camels. They were 'saddled up' and ready to go by the time we got there. It was not until the next day that I realized that the 'saddle' is not much of a saddle but a cushioned ring around the hump with a blanket on top. My derriere had to fit somewhere in between the hump and the back of the cushioned ring. Camels, like horses, follow the more 'alpha' one, which is why the trainers usually has an order in how they have the camels line up. 

With a life expectancy around 40 to 50 years-old, my camel at the ripe age of 41 years-old, led the pack. Perhaps because of such maturity, she was not amused by my silliness to put boxer briefs on her camel toe.

Vendors in and around the desert often displayed fossils and artifacts for sale. Sections of the desert had mounds of wells drilled for water. While the Sahara gets very little rain, it has an abundance of water underneath the sand dunes, resulting in the mythical oasis. The fossils tell a story of when the Sahara was a lush land and/or ocean.

As the temperatures dipped, I soon realized the lack of another body to share in body heat unfortunately resulted in a very cold night, making it difficult to sleep even with 4 wool blankets to anchor me down. However, like the Mojave Desert, I soon discovered my love for the beautiful sunsets, sunrises, and optimal canvas to showcase the twinkling stars, glowing moon and dancing clouds that can only be found in the desert.

Saharan sand angel