These were perhaps the most bored animals on Planet Earth. Their whole job is to lie down, let a tourist get on top of them, stand up (this part is actually quite a production), walk about 100 yards, get photographed, and then walk back and lie down again. Ihab and the other GCT angels had prearranged a (very cheap) group price with the camel wranglers, which didn't stop said camel wranglers from hitting us up for more money. Baksheesh is kind of a theme here.
On the original literature from Grand Circle, they had said we had to choose between riding a camel and seeing the Solar Boat (about which, more later). However when we got here it turned out that we could do both!
I was the first to board:
but soon Dad got into the camel-riding act:
and we were off across the dunes like Lawrence of Arabia! Actually, the camel's gait was very comfortable once I found the second stirrup, and I would have enjoyed riding for a lot longer!
We paused for a few minutes to just stand there and marvel at the pyramid complex. It was smoggy, so the pyramids were slightly veiled
but they were still amazing. I wish we could have seen them with their original smooth limestone covering
but most of it was "recycled" into various buildings in Cairo and its environs.
Next stop: the Solar Barque!
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