Postcard from Marrakech #2: How to Ride a Camel

1. Watch with trepidation as camels approach the oasis where you are currently taking a little nap. Follow them with the corner of your eye, Oh my they are taller than I thought!



2. Gently touch camel with tip of finger. Notice that the front knees bend a different direction from the back knees, and that camel is not in a mood for any nonsense.



3. Get on camel. This is not easy--one must first straddle the camel, and half-leap onto the saddle. The camel then gets up only with much encouragement and much complaint. It is such an achievement that even the camel herder breaks out in a relieved smile.


(Puss on Jacques the camel, our guide amused)

4. Live out short-lived Lawrence of Arabia fantasies, as camels slowly circle oasis at a mile an hour, versus sprinting across the Sahara. Hey, we're beginners!



5. Take a break for the next five hours, in a lounge chair in front of a Berber tent.


(Asleep at Le Pause, pants Rag & Bone, jacket Y-3, Hermes cashmere scarf worn as a keffiyeh, boots Timberland)

(And after a little taste of the desert, a sudden desire to explore its solitude)