Life By Louage

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Louage: (n) a six or eight person taxi; a ubiquitous form of transportation in Tunisia. Also, Stacey's place of residence during most of her sejour.

Since Tozeur, I have continued my whirlwind trip of the south.

I've driven across the Chott el Jerid, a dried up salt lake... where Luke contemplated the two moons on his home planet in "A New Hope." Yup, I'm still geeking out.

I've sprinted through Saharan sand dunes. Myself and 6 other people spent a night under the stars in the desert, riding out on camelback and having a lovely after lunch-snack of sand on the way. However, by nighttime, the wind was perfect, the scarab beetles were rare, and the moon was being eclipsed. It was actually a truly awe-inspiring and breathtaking night.

I did, however, have to field off the childish pouty advances of a Bedouin cameldriver.

I've taken louage, after louage, after louage. For example, from Douz (down south, the 'gateway to the Sahara) I took a louage north to Kebili, east to Gabes, south to the Ville Nouvelle of Matmata and south again to the Ville Ancienne of Matmata.

Where I had an epic 3am battle with a mysteriously apparating (I still have no idea where they came from) army of enormous red fire ants in a troglodyte dwelling (underground houses by the Berber/indigenous desert people- natural aircon, and very cool!). I met my first Grecians ever, who corrected my idea that 'Opa' meant 'Cheers'. (lord, they laughed at that one... I suppose it's the equivalent to saying Canadians say 'aboot'). I ran into the same Spanish couple that I went into the desert with... I posed as Yoda in Luke's/ Uncle Owen's house on Luke's home planet.

Again, louage after louage. However, I checked myself into an extremely posh hotel right next to a beach where I DON'T get hassled for wearing a bikini (who knew such a place existed!) and I'm soaking in as much as I can of my last four days on what has been an epic, epic tasmanian devil tornado of a journey.

Stacey

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