Today we find our hero TJ, his lovely bride and their trusted driver on their way to the Red Sea. Along the way we see camels and desert and camels and desert and more camels and more desert. Our trusted driver Khaled realizes that we are excited to see camels and asks “you want to see more camels”. Thinking there must be a large herd close by, I say “Yes, we would like to see camels”. As soon as we turned off the road onto the sand I got this feeling we were in for an adventure…whether we liked it or not. We bumped our way across the desert sand to a small tented area several kilometers from the road where we found……camels. The driver rolled down his window and a discussion ensued with the local Saudi gentleman, a few minutes later and we were welcomed into his camel corral.
He quickly picked out his prettiest camel and allowed us to take our picture with it. Khaled and the Saudi again started to talk and we were asked if we wanted to get on a camel to which we graciously declined. The camel owner instructed us to follow him toward several camels in an adjoining area. Again we were encouraged to get on the camel to which we respectfully declined, after all, I do not have an international camel drivers license. Having now led us to his tamest camel he proceeded to place a “saddle” of sorts on the camel and prepare him for his first American passenger. The saddle consisted of a rope tied around the mid-section of the camel tied to a blanket that was tied to the “withers” section of the camel. All in all an interesting device but not road worthy in my estimation (however, I am not an expert on camels or camel saddles). In an effort to apease our Saudi host I sat on the camel providing my wife with a Kodak moment. A few unintelligible words were exchanged between the camel owner and Khaled which I later realized meant “hang on to the rope here” and POOF we were on the camel and the camel was upright. At this point I felt like T.E. Lawrence.
Since I was accompanied by my lovely wife, it must be a local custom that she too sit atop a camel because a few minutes later, Elizabeth was atop the tame beast smiling for all the world to see . It was a great experience and a lot of fun. When the camel first raises up on his front legs you are thrown backward and then he raises up on his hind legs and you are thrown forward. When it is time to get off, he plops down on his front knees and you are thrown forward, without the rope to hold on to, you would surely be thrown off. That experience made my day.
After our camel adventure, we continue on to the Red Sea, we were driving along a big divided highway and the driver started to slow down and then without warning, we cut across the median and onto a dirt road and off into the desert. It is clear it is a dirt road but it is not apparent that it goes anywhere. We drive several kilometers and I start feeling like we are in the Paris to Dakar Rally as we slide and spin through the desert sand. A few more kilometers and we can see the Red Sea. We drove around “The Sharm” which is a large water inlet. It is a very tidal area and you can see white salt from where the water recedes and the water evaporates leaving the salt. We are at a place called Barracuda Beach a favorite place for divers and for spearfishing. We walked along the beach a little, the water is so pretty, very clear and blue.
Since we were in the area I decided to check out the local fishing . Look closely and you can see a local man fishing on the beach with some camels in the picture and a fishing boat speeding through the cut. I think this was the weekend of the Bass Masters Tournament, it’s sponsored by Camel Cigarettes (ha ha).
We saw cranes, terns and some ducks (See Cranes in the Red Sea & Ducks at the Red Sea)
I had our trusty driver Khaled take a picture of us at the Red Sea and one of him and me. The water is really beautiful and clear (able to see the sea bed).
We now headed back to Yanbu along a road that parallels the sea. We stopped at some old ruins in old Yanbu. I think they are 400-500 years old. They are in pretty bad shape but interesting. Other buildings around them may be older from what I read however they are more primitive.
We had a great little day tour, a few new experiences and a lot of fun.
TJ & EA in KSA
Since I was accompanied by my lovely wife, it must be a local custom that she too sit atop a camel because a few minutes later, Elizabeth was atop the tame beast smiling for all the world to see . It was a great experience and a lot of fun. When the camel first raises up on his front legs you are thrown backward and then he raises up on his hind legs and you are thrown forward. When it is time to get off, he plops down on his front knees and you are thrown forward, without the rope to hold on to, you would surely be thrown off. That experience made my day.
After our camel adventure, we continue on to the Red Sea, we were driving along a big divided highway and the driver started to slow down and then without warning, we cut across the median and onto a dirt road and off into the desert. It is clear it is a dirt road but it is not apparent that it goes anywhere. We drive several kilometers and I start feeling like we are in the Paris to Dakar Rally as we slide and spin through the desert sand. A few more kilometers and we can see the Red Sea. We drove around “The Sharm” which is a large water inlet. It is a very tidal area and you can see white salt from where the water recedes and the water evaporates leaving the salt. We are at a place called Barracuda Beach a favorite place for divers and for spearfishing. We walked along the beach a little, the water is so pretty, very clear and blue.
Since we were in the area I decided to check out the local fishing . Look closely and you can see a local man fishing on the beach with some camels in the picture and a fishing boat speeding through the cut. I think this was the weekend of the Bass Masters Tournament, it’s sponsored by Camel Cigarettes (ha ha).
I had our trusty driver Khaled take a picture of us at the Red Sea and one of him and me. The water is really beautiful and clear (able to see the sea bed).
We now headed back to Yanbu along a road that parallels the sea. We stopped at some old ruins in old Yanbu. I think they are 400-500 years old. They are in pretty bad shape but interesting. Other buildings around them may be older from what I read however they are more primitive.
We had a great little day tour, a few new experiences and a lot of fun.
TJ & EA in KSA
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