"When I says whoa, I means whoa!" (quote from the great theologian, Yosemite Sam off of Bugs Bunny, while riding his camel)
On Saturday, we went camel riding near Madaoua. Some friends took us to this group of nomads called the Tuaregs that they know, who live just outside of town during the cold season, and will move on up north once the rainy season comes. They own camels, and are willing to 
take out interested people on rides. It was such a good time! The trick to begin with is just the getting up on the animal once you're in the saddle- their legs fold so many ways that first you get bumped forward in the saddle, then backward, then forward again, so we were all very glad for the arms holding us on. Once you are up, it is a LONG way down! The saddles we rode in were very different from horseback riding - as you can see from the pictures, there are no stirrups but there is a support in the front and the back of you. The trick is to figure out where to place your feet - they need to be barefoot (just watch where you put your sandals, as camels are likely to step on them as you can see!). You place your toes on the neck of the camels and push yourself continuously onto your saddle . In order to get them trotting or galloping, there are a number of factors involved, none of which any one of us mastered. Your need to grab hold of the neck by squeezing your toes on it, and you "tap" it with toes and they go faster. When the Tuaregs saw some of our group trying, they took the camels out for a demonstration of how they got the animals moving very quickly - it was fun to watch! These camels were very well behaved, and were very responsive to neck-reigning. You can see from the pictures that the camels either have a nose ring or a ring around the mouth, through which they have a lead rope attached and this makes them very responsive! They have to be one of the oddest creatures
in God's kingdom, with such funny proportions, yet they are also an animal we have not yet gotten tired of seeing all over Niger.
take out interested people on rides. It was such a good time! The trick to begin with is just the getting up on the animal once you're in the saddle- their legs fold so many ways that first you get bumped forward in the saddle, then backward, then forward again, so we were all very glad for the arms holding us on. Once you are up, it is a LONG way down! The saddles we rode in were very different from horseback riding - as you can see from the pictures, there are no stirrups but there is a support in the front and the back of you. The trick is to figure out where to place your feet - they need to be barefoot (just watch where you put your sandals, as camels are likely to step on them as you can see!). You place your toes on the neck of the camels and push yourself continuously onto your saddle . In order to get them trotting or galloping, there are a number of factors involved, none of which any one of us mastered. Your need to grab hold of the neck by squeezing your toes on it, and you "tap" it with toes and they go faster. When the Tuaregs saw some of our group trying, they took the camels out for a demonstration of how they got the animals moving very quickly - it was fun to watch! These camels were very well behaved, and were very responsive to neck-reigning. You can see from the pictures that the camels either have a nose ring or a ring around the mouth, through which they have a lead rope attached and this makes them very responsive! They have to be one of the oddest creatures
in God's kingdom, with such funny proportions, yet they are also an animal we have not yet gotten tired of seeing all over Niger. This was the gentleman who got the camels ready for us to ride on - you can see from this picture what a typical riding saddle looks like.
1 comment:
And here we thought your trip to Africa was going to be all work and no play! Looks better than a ride at Disneyland! So sorry we haven't written lately. Only excuses I'm afraid. We love your blog because we feel like we are along for the ride with you - no pun intended! Brooklyn wishes she was there with you and has been praying diligently for the boys. Happy Birthday to Matthew from all of the Sawatzkys. We love you lots.
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