Blogs from Tunisia, Africa - page 15

Quite unexpectedly we find ourselves publishing a blog about our drive through Northern Tunisia from Bizerte to Tabarka. What was expected to be an ordinary journey turned out to be a fascinating voyage through beautiful countryside: resting on beautiful beaches, admiring the natural beauty of white storks and contemplating the horror of World War II at a Commonwealth Cemetery. On the edge of Bizerte we were stopped by the police! We had been expecting this to happen as there are many, many checkpoints around the country. He didn’t want to see our documents though, he wanted a lift!! Who were we to say no? So he jumped into the back of our car along with his friend and we took them about 30km through beautiful countryside. It’s a shame we had “guests” because we felt we ... read more

From Tozeur we had intended to make our way up the Western edge of Tunisia. Our experiences of taking louages and other forms of public transport in remote areas put us off somewhat. Instead we abandoned those plans and headed back over the Chott El Jerid salt lake to the town of Kebili. We stayed in the Hotel Kitam on the Northern edge of town. We were the only guests and it was rather more expensive than we had hoped for. At 50 dinars (£22) for a double room we expected something really nice but as the only guests it seemed we were just an inconvenience to the tranquil life of the owners. They made Basil Fawlty look like a guest relations specialist and breakfast the following morning saw a pot of coffee on the table ... read more

We had a stroke of luck in Tataouine. As we were searching for a taxi to take us to the bus station, we met a taxi driver from the island of Djerba, our next destination, and he agreed to take us there for the same price as the bus or louage. That meant a three hour journey in a luxurious 9 seat taxi with no fellow passengers save the waifs and strays he picked up along the way for a few kilometres here and there. Djerba is an island off the South East coast of Tunisia. To get there you have two options: one is to take a short ferry over the water, the other is to go many miles out of your way to drive over a causeway left over from Roman days. Needless to ... read more

From Gabes it took us two hours on a louage to reach Tataouine. On the way we passed the town of Mareth with its impressive museum and wished we could have stopped for a visit. The museum is dedicated to the Mareth Line, scene of General Montgomery and his desert rats’ famous victory over Rommel in World War II. Sadly it seems it’s easier to visit if you rent a car rather then travel around on public transport. Tataouine the town should not be confused with Tatooine the planet. It’s very real and only has one sun, whilst George Lucas’ fictional planet had two. Still, inspiration has to come from somewhere and it’s not hard to see where it came from here. Harsh desert landscapes and weird and wonderful local costumes all played their part in ... read more

We decided to take the train up to Tunis for a couple of days to see what the city was like with a bit of hustle and bustle. Last time we were there it was a public holiday weekend and so it was eerily quiet. This time the intensity of the city hit us as soon as we got off the train! We walked round to the Transatlantique hotel which was cheap (38 Dinar / £17 for a double room with breakfast) and sort of cheerful. It’s colonial decor was faded but interesting and the mosquitoes seem to have failed to notice that it is still winter!! Half an hour on the train from the Maritime station, just beyond the ruins of Carthage, is the town of Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia’s answer to the Greek Islands. ... read more