At Sariska Game Reserve, we decided to give the camels a break while I recuperated (I'd picked up a stomach problem that took 4 days of being close to the toilet). We hired a local farmer to watch our camels. The plan was to have the camels forage in the jungle during the day. At night, they would be brought back to the farm where they would be fed dry feed to fatten them up. We wanted them to be very healthy for the next leg of the journey. What ended up happening was the opposite. The farmer hired failed to watch the camels in the jungle and two of our camels developed serious problems associated with their nose pegs. We think their reins became entangled in jungle undergrowth and they damaged their noses trying to free themselves. If the farmer had watched, as he was paid to do, they wouldn't have had to rescue themselves. We brought in a veterinarian to check them. He said they would need more time than we had available to recuperate. We had to make some hard decisions. Was the trip over? That night Dan and I sat down to decide if the safari would continue.

It wouldn't be fair to the injured camels to continue the trip, even though the vet said they could do it. We didn't want two animals to suffer. We chose to send Grey Beard, our best riding camel, and Humper Jack back to Bikaner by truck. Our friend Bubbles Singh arranged for two camel experts to come out to Sariska. The day they arrived, we reluctantly loaded Grey Beard and Humper Jack into the back of a truck. It sounds easy. It wasn't. First, an embankment had to be found that the truck could back up to. There's no tailgate on these trucks, so the camels would have to be able to walk directly into the truck bed. An earthen dam was located that the animals could walk out on to. Then dirt was dug to fill the back of the truck. You don't want the camels to think they are walking into a strange space. The dirt helps them to think it's just another area of ground. This subterfuge worked on Grey Beard who walked into the tuck like she'd done it a thousand times. She was then made to sit down. Then she was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey so that she wouldn't roll or injure herself on the ride home. Humper did not go so easily. As soon as she approached the truck, all 1250 lbs. of camel dug her heels in and refused to budge. We tried to lure her with food. No way! We tried pushing. Ever try to push a reluctant camel? No way. Then we had her sit on the ground. We tied her legs so she would have a harder time resisting. More dirt was put on the back of the truck so she would slide. Then six people puuuuuussssshheed. It took about 10 minutes of grunting to get her into the bed of the truck where she was tied up next to Grey Beard. As they drove off, I thought Dan might cry. Grey Beard was his riding camel and she was very affectionate with him. But it was best for the camels.

With only two camels left we had a problem. We had more gear than could be carried on two camels. We jettisoned more than half our gear, something we had already done at the beginning of the trip. This stripping was a painful process. We got rid of the cooking gear, spare clothing, extra cameras and lenses, computer gear. Each of us would have to carry our gear in two medium size bags that would fit on our riding camels.Our gear load looks more like we are going to the gym for a game of raquetball than another month of hard riding across India. We dumped gear left and right. Then we tried variations of tying the gear on, using a photocopy of an Indian Camel Corps army camel and the way it was packed in the early 1900s. We managed it. We were now a lean, mean traveling machine.

The trip continues. If you are wondering the fate of Grey Beard and Humper Jack, they arrived back in Bikaner. They are being given time for their noses to heal, then they will be sold back to their original owners at a discount or to another farmer who will take care of them. The money for their sale is being donated to a new school. This school will offer a free education to children who would otherwise be unable to afford it. The girls are going home.

Next, a terrifying night encounter.