Saudi – Travel With Oastler

The Unplanned Adventure

The official tour description: Camel Safari to Ras Abu Gallum At 8:00 a.m. you will leave. You reach the Blue Hole by jeep. There you spend 2 hours snorkeling. Then you take the camel until you arrive in Ras Abu Gallum, where you can go snorkeling. You will have a Bedouin meal and tea in at tent. At about 3:00 p.m. you will leave Ras Abu Gallum by camel back to the Blue Hole. From there you will take a jeep back to Dahab. What actually happened: The tour guide and driver had partied in the mountains the night before. They arrived at 9:00 a.m. looking a little worse for wear. We stopped at the store to get water and snacks. We arrived at the Blue Hole and after a little work convinced the guide that we could snorkel at the Blue Hole for an hour before getting on the camels. There was some camel riding and some walking with camel for about and hour and a half, over crazy terrain with an incredible view. “Hello Saudi Arabia” Ras Abu Gallum was a breath taking underwater experience. The idea of riding a camel for three hours in one day was too much for any western women to handle so we spent the night eating food cooked by the Bedouins and dancing under the stars. We woke up in the morning we went snorkeling again at Ras Abu Gallum, walked the camel back to the Blue Hole, snorkeled some more. The tour ended when we drove the jeep home. I took a long afternoon nap! Sometimes the unplanned is way better then the plan! Even if I tried I don’t think I could adequately explain the sense of pure joy on this adventure. Many times I have wondered if there still exists simple peaceful non-tourist places. Today it took one heck of a camel ride over rocky terrain and mountains but I found such a place in Ras Abu Gallum; clear water, sand for miles, larger than life mountains and only a handful of people. A few Bedouin wooded houses close the shore line faces the mountains of Saudi Arabia that was across the body of water. It was perfect! camel Alright let’s talk about the camels! For those of you who have not ridden a camel, and let me tell you I was not eager to be one of those camel riding people, it can be an effective means of transportations over big and little rocks, over boulders and up and down steep hills. A camel, who has walked a path many times, sort of puts himself on auto camel and seems to just know how to find the quickest and best way to walk to any destination. Camel take off and landing taking a little getting used to but once you know what to expect it really isn’t that different from climbing on and off a horse. So having ridden three different camels from Ras Abu Gallum I am by no means any type of camel expert but I feel comfortable saying that the key to a successful camel ride is how the seat or saddle is packed. Lots of cushions and a strong saddle handles to hold on to and you are good to enjoy you ride for at least the first hour. Stay turned for more on the adventure to Ras Abu Gallum…