Beetroot

Lovelies

I bet you hoped you'd heard the back of me! Sorry, back again.

I am struggling with the internet today - there is no broadband and this computer keeps crashing. And the chappie who owns this place (who has been bringing me cups of tea and whom I assisted to open a facebook account a couple of days ago) is very sweetly making eyes at me. Poor soul. He just poured tea down himself and all the kids outside laughed at him.

Now. I know I love beetroot -- although not as much as avocado -- but I don't think it suits me as a skin tone: I have just returned from two days in the desert. I took precautions insofar that I covered up my body, so only my hands, feet and face were on show. And now my hands, face and feet are awfully sunburnt. I have never burnt the back of my hands before... It was jolly hot out there - at a guess in the mid 40s.

Anyhows, Belen, Jacinta and I all tootled off yesterday on our camel ride. Belen and Jacinta are two delightful Spanish girls I met a few days ago. They are hilarious fun and don't stop giggling. Once we arrived in the desert we were each given our own camel (mine had just had a baby, Selly, who was a complete cutie and tailed us all the way there and back); and the guide (Khan) and his two helpers shared one camel (poor beast). The six of us set out on our great expedition. I don't think I've ever been that up close to a camel before. When I was in Jaipur, I bought a painting depiciting an elephant ("luck"), a horse ("strength") and a camel ("love"). I was a little surprised by the camel symbolising love, as it always struck me as a rather ungainly beast. How wrong was I. They are magnificent, standing proudly with their heads held high, and their fine Roman features delicately examining the world around. Do you remember the Dark Crystal? Camels remind me of the Mystics. Awesome.

And so it was. We gamboled through the desert, among the wind farms and miliary bases. It was very romantic, in a Lawrence of Arabia (although not Arabia) sort of way. When we finally reached our destination, we set up camp.

I have to say that camping on the banks of the River Niger last year was positively five star compared to last night! The boys made us dinner, which was nice. And we settled down to prepare ourselves for bed. Indians are terribly economical: all the rugs which were used to protect the camels' backs (and our bottoms) during the daily ride were multi purpose, they were also our bedding. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

So as dusk drew in, I settled down, wearing the filthy clothes I'd been wearing all day, sharing some camel-stinking bedding with two other people. A fairly unique experience. We had no tents, and so were free to the elements, which included flying ants and bugs the size of your big toe (I have photographic evidence). It was about at this point that we noticed, in the distance, clouds gathering and lightning flashing.

It was one of the most exhilerating things I have ever felt: the arrival of a huge storm knowing there is no shelter. We watched and waited as the sky lit up and thunder growled. The storm grew closer. The wind slowly picked up. It was dark by now, and the sky was one massive firework display. And still we waited and the tension grew. Khan found us a plastic sheet, and using the camel saddles as a prop on one side, he prepared a [very makeshift] bivouak. And lucky for us we had it. For very soon the storm hit us. It was the most surreal feeling, stuck under a plastic sheet in the desert as the elements howled around: it was a monsoon rain storm whose each drop feels like hail stone. We could each feel the water seeping in beneath us and could barely hear each other shrieking with excitement over the wind, which was trying dreadfully hard to rip the plastic covering from our hands. And so it continued. And continued. Until suddently it stopped.

At which point we went and annoyed Khan and asked him to sing to us (I have a film of this) and do his brilliant impression of Japanese tourists (I also have footage of this: it is beyond priceless).

Enough for now. I am going to eat before I catch my night bus to Jodpur.

Bises