Camels

One could concoct a fabulous tale of piety and devotion wherein the Portnoys were so dedicated to recreating a realistic recounting of the Passover story that we went into the desert to experience the journey of our forefathers. Yeah, sure. Camel riding is one of the only tourist attractions in Lanzarote and we were game.

The island has a desert climate, plus it's home to a now-dormant volcano that 200-300 years ago that took its toll on the surroundings, making for a spectacular landscape of bare, desiccated mountains and fields of black jagged volcanic rock. To see it all, one day we rented a car and drove up to the national park (Spain's most visited, we read), one section of which had camel rides. We thought the boys might balk over mounting these stinky beasts, but they actually didn't hesitate. Sarah, as she so often does, went along for the ride with no complaint despite the intense gusts of wind. The ride was bumpy but fun (and thankfully brief). It's now the source of some pretty fun "tall tales" between the boys and me over who rode the coolest camel. I say my camel Samel trumped their Luigi, but they beg to differ.