Another early taxi pickup to the camel staging area. We mounted our camels for an hour and a half ride on the coast to an excellent snorkeling area.
Ibrahim and his brother Achmed were our camel tenders as we rolled back and forth for several miles. Camels are unique in that unlike horses or dogs, the two left legs move together, then the two right. Hence the term "ships of the desert" because they sway back and forth like ships. Also, their feet are like flattened toilet bowl plungers, great for walking on the sand or pebbles.
The camels were quite well behaved, Gloria's talked more than mine but they got up and lay down on command. Quite a ride when they are doing so, you really need to hang on so you neither flip over their head or go sailing over their tail.
This is a view of the "village" where we stopped to snorkel and have tea. About 20 people live here, Ibraham, Achmed, his 4 sisters and his parents, and about 12 more. 20 total. They have electricity, but they have to bring all their water in by truck. The mountains in the background are on the other side of the Gulf of Akaba, in Saudi Arabia.
Oh, so you don't think they are too backward, Ibraham has two cell phones, he was talking on them half the time we were trekking.
Snorkeling was excellent, went twice. About 60 foot visibility, we are looking forward to the SCUBA in a few days.
