Kissing Camels in Tunisia

The one definite outting that we wanted to do, was the camel riding!!!
We booked a trip with one of the many stall holders within the hotel corridors, who assured us that it was a trip worthwhile.
We caught a bus at 7.30am and headed slightly inland. We drove for about an hour before our bus driver drove off the main road onto a dirt road and quite a steep incline. He stopped the bus and told us to walk down the road for about 20 metres. We were wondering just quite what we were walking towards, and thought that we wouldn’t be able to do that in S.A. as it was quite a remote area.

As we got to a fork in the road, we saw some camels being led down the road towards us. The guy told us to continue up the road. We got to a clearing and found about 12 camels all tethered together and lying down. There were some horses, donkeys and a cart being pulled by a donkey.

We were all gathered together and told that our little excursion would take about 2 hours in total, so we could swop animals. We were all heaved up onto our camels – 2 people on each. We set off and one can really feel a bit “seasick” as such, when riding on these huge animals. We came to a stop and were all taken down off the camels. Here our “guide” offered us lovely cold drinks – at quite a price I might add!!!
He then explained how the camels ate cactus plants. One camel has been singled out and he/she showed us just how much they enjoy this food, prickles and all. We were then issued with a small strip of cactus which we clasped between our teeth. We could then walk forward to the camel and it would take it from our mouths – forming a kiss!! At this point, a young man was slicking away with his camera.

The boys and I decided we had had enough camel riding and jumped on the cart along with a few other people for a luxurious ride back. This cart had an awning over it so provided some much needed protection from the scorching sun. I might just add that the temp was 40 odd degrees.
Lara just loved her camel and would not budge, so hubby had to journey back with her on their trusted camel.
Altogether our camel ride was about 2 hours long. We got back to a little shade and of course cold drinks were on sale once more.

Our guide then asked us to partake in a small meal which had been prepared for us. A woman in traditional dress had made a fire in a clay based oven. She had made bread which resembled pizza bases which she then wiped water over the one side, dipped her hand into the “clay oven” and stuck the bread to the side. She did this with all the bread rounds she had made and by the time she finished this task, she started taking the cooked breads out. They cut the bread into 4 pieces and then opened them, spooned a bit of olive oil into it and then added a mixture of tomato, onion, peppers and chilli. A very tasty snack. Along with this, they had sliced up a lovely watermelon.

After our meal, we were told to head back to where our bus had left us. The bus was waiting for us and we got back to the hotel in time for lunch.