Wednesday 5th December
Our trekking party gradually awoke to find the ten or so guides wide awake and preparing breakfast, as the sight of the rising sun and our camels enjoying an early morning poo met our blinking eyes. The orange glow of the sun across the scrub covered hills was beautiful, not least for me as I knew that it would soon be warmer.
Most of the group were in good form despite the reports of pains and strains picked up the day before. Those of us who had paid for a shorter trip finishing in the morning, were in a noticeably spritelier mood than those who would be trekking on into a further afternoon. I had been advised that a day was enough, and it certainly was. Safaris of up to four days are available but I cannot think what you would want to do something like that for! Those who were due back later in the day even asked whether it was possible to cut short their trek and come back with the rest of us, but arrangements had been made for a jeep to pick them up at a time that could not have been changed. Poor sods, they looked so sad.
The camels were readied and we were back in the saddle ahead of another ninety minute trek back to the meet the jeep. Pennsylvanian Dave decided that he had had enough from the day before and thought it preferable to walk himself, realising that camels are slow and uncomfortable beasts of burden. I think it was only out of a desire not to upset the guides that the rest of us got back on the damn things as the pains and aches were much worse the second day.
We were all glad to say goodbye to our camels and guides, and took the short jeep ride back to the hotel in Jaisalmer. It had been a very enjoyable experience, not least for some of the laughs that we had along the way. After freshening up, I got my stuff together and took a bus back to Jodhpu where I had planned to stopover ahead of the trip further south to Udaipur. I booked once more into the Amar Niwas guesthouse and got a very early night, looking forward to a decent nights sleep in a proper bed.
