Into The Thar Desert - Part II

March 12, 2010

……..As we continued our journey into the desert we were amazed at how much wildlife we were seeing all around us (besides Shrikant and Charanya :o). Birds were naturally the first things we started to see.

A Plum-headed Parakeet seemed to follow us for a short distance (I never got a photo, but found one on-line so you can see how beautiful they are).

We also saw many birds of prey flying over us as we went along (comforting sight!). The Imperial and Steppe Eagles were abundant (I got these photos on-line too as I could never catch a clear enough photo).

Imperial Eagle

Steppe Eagle

I was lucky enough to snap photos of a Tawny Pipit, Red-vented Bulbul and I think a Flycatcher who were checking us out from a tree when we stopped for lunch.

Tawny Pipit

Red-vented Bulbul

I think this is some sort of Flycatcher. I'm still working on a positive ID.

We also saw the Indian Gazelle/Antelope, called Chinkara. The Bishnoi tribes who inhabit the desert worship these animals. They can survive without water for very long periods and thrive mainly on wild grasses and various types of shrubs.

The other animal we saw was the Nilgali or Bluebull. It is actually not a cow, but an antelope, the largest in India.

It was now about 1pm and we were noticing how hot the sun was getting as it beat down on us (we were already at 100 degrees). Our Raika’s, being seasoned desert dwellers, know when to take a siesta, and now was the time. We ventured off of the beaten path and into a little dent in the sand where there were a few trees that had some foliage for shade. We made camp and the cook got right to setting up the kitchen and getting our lunch together. They also set up a mat under a tree for us to all sit and take in a cool drink before lunch. Thank goodness there was a breeze. We all imagined it was cooling us down.

No matter how ridiculous this Hepburn get-up looks, it was extremely effective at keeping that hot sun off of my face.

Once we stopped, we were more than happy to stand around for a bit so the blood could return to our legs and feet. We found that sitting on a camel for a length of time can make ones feet and knees go numb.

Our cook preparing our lunch. The rice is being made in the pressure cooker which is being heated by the red container of propane on the right.

Our little bit of shade and our hand washing bowl in the foreground.

No, our guide is not coming to torture us, he is serving us lunch! :o)

It is amazing how these guys can cook up such a delicious simple lunch way out here in the desert. Home made chippatti, cauliflower curry, Eggplant curry, fresh vegetable salad, Dhal and rice. Now the main task is to keep the sand out of our food! Everything was extremely delicious.

We jumped right in to the cool cucumber, tomato & onion salad. Aahhhhhhhhh! One note on the onions: The desert people eat lots of them as they contain mostly water and are used to quench ones thirst. They also keep extremely well in this environment so are taken on long camel trips into the desert. When water is scarce, onions are eaten. We found that this works! It's amazing!

Our yummy lunch

After eating, everyone laid down for a nap in the little bit of shade we had. A good strategy as we need to wait until at least 3:30pm to venture back into the desert sun, as the temperature starts to decline about this time. We remember in the movie 'Lawrence of Arabia' how there was always an afternoon break when crossing the desert. Now we know why.

With a full belly, Shrikant had no problem getting into the nap zone. Sorry Shri, I HAD to! :o)

While everyone else in our camp slept, I ventured out with my camera to take more photos. This is when I was able to get some of those bird photos at the beginning of this post, and also some great shots of the camels as they were resting too - right out in the beating sun!

Camels are so darn cute. They just keep smiling all the time! I even felt better after watching this guy have his scratch.

Stay tuned for Part III, as we head deeper into the desert and set up our evening camp for dinner.