Camels, Camels and more Camels

We decided to venture outside the city of Dubai today and go south east, into the desert. There were red rolling hills of beautiful orange sand everywhere, all around us, as far as your eyes could see. One thing is certain about the Middle East, where there is desert, expect to see camels - lots and lots of camels. Camels are one of the few animals that are equipped to survive in the deserts scorching heat, blowing sand and they can go days without water.
Camels meander, they are great at it, and we witnessed it first hand today as several of them decided to meander in front of our car and the cars in front of us. It was so fun to see them as they strolled across the road like they had all the time in the world. A small Toyota truck full of men went around the rest of us that were mesmerized and waiting patiently, speeding by the camels without any concern (see above). In fact the camels starting running along side the truck, almost like they were racing the men. Could camels be competitive ?  
Camels are large, noisy animals and it sounds like they are complaining, moaning and groaning constantly. You certainly could never sneak up on someone with a camel. When we stopped our car to wait for a couple of camels on the road, two others raced up to our car just as I snapped their picture (see below). It was impressive how fast they can run, especially in sand. The two camels were next to my window in a flash, batting their extremely long eye lashes at me and acting as if they wanted to be my friend. But all I could think as they got closer to my window, "what if they spit on me". Is that true that camels spit ? I wasn't willing to find out and quickly rolled up my window. Sorry guys, we can be friends with the glass between us. But aren't they cute and adorable !

Camels are beloved in the United Arab Emirates, if you hit and kill a camel with your car while it is crossing the road, you could be charged 20,000 dirhams ( @ $5,100.00 US dollars) to replace it. If the Bedouin herders get to you first and claim it is their best racing camel, the fine or replacement fee could be even more than what the police would charge. One important fact to remember here - camels are never at fault for crossing the road and /or being hit by a car.

Strangely though, at several camel sightings today, we noticed that they like to meander and stroll in single file. Isn't that interesting ? In movies, camel caravans are also depicted and as always walking in a single line. Jeff said it so simply, "camels are followers, if one walks, the others follow". Could it be that simple ? There must be more to it than that, but it is definitely a camel thing.

Camels fascinate me and it was great to see them in their natural element today. I definitely will have to research and find out more about them, since I live in a camel loving country in the Middle East.