Camel Safari

We actually got our act together this weekend and made the camel safari happen. The group did a fantastic job of stepping up to help plan and filling in the detail gaps along the way. I REALLY appreciate that no one person in our group is too hung up on calling the shots, and contrastingly, no one passively defers to whoever is leading at any given time. We all voice our opinions in a helpful way and all come up with ideas to work through situations. There's such an awesome variety of skill sets and personalities in our group that it not only makes planning things easier because basically every analytical base is covered, but also makes traveling together a RIOT.

We found ourselves smashed together on the overnight train to Jaisalmer, and after a long sand storm filled night, found ourselves in Jaisalmer at 5am with no particular place to go. So we headed to the fort and after some exploring, found a great spot to take in sunrise over the city. It was both fun and awe-inspiring.

We headed out on the "safari" in the afternoon, starting by jeep to get farther out and stopped at some old deserted village along the way. It was probably cool. I didn't drink enough water with lunch, nor did I bring a water bottle with me because they told us it would be provided and they didn't give us any, so I quickly found myself slipping into the lethargy of dehydration. I thought I was fine, but when I noticed that I'd stopped sweating, I'll admit I got a little worried.

We got to the camels soon enough and secured ONE liter of water. Let the rationing begin. At first, I felt a bit like I was on an amusement park ride (which is a negative in my book) given that we literally were JUST riding the camels, and not interacting or controlling any of the experience. BUT I got to be in the front so I appreciated not feeling like I was mindlessly following along. And I was stoked to find that my allergies had NO problems. Seriously, not one sneeze or itch or hive the entire time. It makes me wonder if my horse allergen has gotten better as well...

The dunes were amazing. I was out of water again at this point so I was focused on conserving energy and staying in the shade, but really, they were quite a sight to behold. We watched the sun set over the flat open desert and headed to the camp. After a campfire dinner, some stories from "Mr. Desert" (the guy who runs the business), and some group shenanigans we fell asleep on the cots, with only the sky above us. Couldn't really see the stars because the moon was still high in the sky, but I woke up randomly in the middle of the night and for the 5 seconds before I fell back asleep, they were completely amazing.

They woke us up at 6am for sunrise, which was quick but cool. We headed out on the camels again (with plenty of water this time) for a few hours and then headed back to the city. After an afternoon of killing time by migrating from restaurant to restaurant, getting massages, and having our palms read, we headed out on the overnight train and arrived back in Jodhpur at 5am, excessively dirty, sandy, and exhausted, but glad to have had such a great weekend.