Tunisia update!

First hostel

Tunisia is hot! Man, when we arrived here the heat hit us like a semi-truck. Hauling our big bags around in the heat is brutal, add in the long stares of Tunisians and you start to wonder if maybe Africa was a bad call. We struggled around getting acquainted with the local transport system and managed to wind up at a youth hostel on the beach. The sheets hadn’t been cleaned in a long time but there was air conditioning; we also found a perfect lipstick kiss on the wall! We headed for the beach, to swim away our trepidation, but on arrival we were astounded to find it packed with only men; the ratio was thirty males to one female (Amanda says more like fifty to one). The girls who were in the water were covered head to foot; there were no bikinis in sight. Needless to say Amanda didn’t feel like being a show for four hundred dudes. We decided to hit up an all inclusive for two nights so we could do some tandem swimming.

Next we bussed up north to Tabarka for some stellar snorkeling. Once we found a secluded spot away from the sausage fest of the beach, it was beautiful. The waving fronds of plant life with fish darting in between were amazing to behold. The water was a great temperature and the craggy rocks held new surprises at every turn. The town of Tabarka is beautiful just like its surrounding waters. It is a little seaside town overlooked by an ancient castle, where the buildings are white with blue trim.

Tunisia was a former colony of France and one of the legacies this western colonial power left behind was bilingualism. Tunisians speak Arabic as a first language and French as a second; many can even speak English, Italian and Spanish as well. This has made it fairly simple to get information and move around. It’s a lot easier than Ukraine!

The bay in Tabarka

Couscous: food of the desert

That being said it has been a little hard to adjust. Tunisia is a man’s world. Every single guy we pass oggles Amanda and then eye me up. It bothered me at first but I’ve come to accept it. All the cafés are 98% men except in bigger cities where more couples have coffee together. I’m just unused to so much dudage all over the place. I have no idea how the guys stand it their whole lives.

While Tunisia is beautiful it is marred by the presence of garbage everywhere. Once you get accustomed to its prevalence you get past it. Tunisia has so much variety from Grassland steppes to Saharan oases and thriving coastlines. Its massive olive orchards take me back to Greece and the date palms everywhere make me excited for Morocco. 

I think the highlight of our trip was a three-day excursion into the Tunisian south. We were recommended to not backpack the south on our own; the southern border is prone to more radical interpretations of Islam and a little wishy-washy for foreigners. Even though it was a little less DIY than usual it was a blast! We had drivers and a guide and it felt a little like being in a movie. The four by fours took us out into the dessert dunes and over mountains into oases. 

Camel time!

  At one point our driver was ripping along a dessert road made of compact sand at 100km/h, a pretty bumpy ride but exhilarating nonetheless. On our first day I stepped out of the Toyota and found myself with a hawk on my head, one on my arm, and two Tunisian boys ordering Amanda to take pictures of me. I was informed after that their unwanted services would cost me ten Dinar. I gave them all the change I had, a Dinar and a half, but was informed that this was not enough, they harassed me until I said if they didn’t want my change they could give it back, at that point they left.

Berber woman in her House

Over the whole trip we got to see: camels, scorpions, goats, donkeys, foxes, toads and a host of other desert and oasis inhabitants.  The people themselves were interesting too; many live a more traditional desert life and wear traditional dress. Their faces are leathered and weary carrying the stamp of life. The modes of transport used in the desert can vary as much as the people. While the roads have trucks and motorbikes whizzing down them, often donkeys and horses pulling carts trundle down the shoulder.  We saw plenty of shepherds with sheep; watermelons being sold on the side of the road; and even viewed a Berber house carved from hardened sand! The south seemed a separate world from the northern metropolis. The pace was slower and people hung out in the shade, seeking shelter from the ever-present Saharan sun. The sale of gasoline on the side of the street, from large canisters and hand-cranked pumps, seemed to be common practice. The guide assured me that this had been the practice not too long ago in Canada as well, but I have my doubts?

I got a gastro-intestinal flu the night before the tour and had a feverish time until the doctor showed up. It ended up being a little painful for the car ride; I had to run to the restroom at each stop. On the positive side I have seen more Tunisian toilettes, in different exotic locales, than most visitors! 

 

Greek island hopping

I'm in Greece. Stranded on Syros and hoping that our ferry to Athens will arrive soon. Our ferry has been delayed due to poor weather; winds so strong they remind me of Saskatchewan! I'm trying to sort out how to use semi colons. Please post and remedy my grammatical errors. We have been placed into rush mode by our Tunisian friends canceling our flight and reassigning it to an earlier date. Not the best of news. So we're hoping this ferry doesn't get cancelled.  On the plus side Tunisia is supposed to be cheaper than Greece!

Rhodes

Enough complaining let me tell you about Greece! We started in Rhodes. Flying in we had a birds eye view of the Greek isles, spread out below us and glowing in the Mediterranean sun.  The flight was followed by a long, hot, standing, bus ride that ended with a nice hotel and dip in the ocean. The ocean was wonderful. It is warmer than in Italy and we had fun floating in its salty waves. We finished off our first day with some Gyros and cold beers/Bacardi breezers. The next day we explored the walled medieval city, with it's original stones crumbling and un-replaced (most castles we have visited have been up-kept and as such don't look or feel old).  Leave it to the Greeks to let something crumble. After a small jaunt around the island Amanda and I opted to leave the more crowded Rhodes and head for the unexploited isle of Tilos.

Tilos

Tilos was beautiful. The whole island was something out of a novel. Friendly Greek people and an immensely pleasing calm pervaded the island.  We arrived at dusk and were welcomed by Greek hotel owners vying for our attention, competing with the buzzing crickets in the background. The island is small. Only three hundred year round inhabitants spread between two towns, Livadia and Megalo Horio. We stayed in Livadia the port town in a studio overlooking the marina!

Red Beach

Our first day we hiked to a secluded beach known as red beach. Upon arrival we found a couple of  naked older ladies. Amanda and I decided to strip as well to avoid appearing as gawkers and to enjoy the simple pleasure swimming naked in the Ocean. We had to run naked from the ocean to our towels as the red sand was extremely hot  and roasted our pale feet in an instant. Hiking back to the town at one p.m., we came to understand why everything was closed in the village. Between noon and five its impossible to do anything but sit and sweat in the shade, as the sun bakes the earth. We finished the day at a charming Greek restaurant where I was able to try local baby goat cooked in lemon and Amanda's Greek salad came simple and unadorned, just veggies and feta.

 

The night brought with it an array of stars. I haven't been able to see stars for a while due to big city lights and it was nice to see the multitude twinkling away up there. Even at night its still hot. The only saving grace is a cool sea breeze that whisks away the    radiating heat from the day.

The hard work of Greek slaves

Our second day was spent on a boat. A captain had sold us on a boat ride with three beach visits and homemade lunch, plus all the Retsina (a type of local Greek white wine) you could drink! Retsina has an earthy flavour. I found out this is due to the wine making process where they add resin to simulate the flavour from when they sealed amphora's with pine resin to keep them from spoiling. This earthiness seems to be in all things Greek. It permeates their bread, coffee and snacks. Because Amanda is vegetarian the Captain had his mother-in-law make us special beans, cooked in tomato sauce and olive oil, that were absolutely fantastic! We were joined by a Swedish family, on vacation, who let us try their Snorkeling equipment. After the one dive we were hooked and shortly after bought our own masks. The day was beautiful and we watched the island pass by with the boat engine chuffing away in the background. The whole island is covered in striations, formed from the countless garden beds the ancient Greeks forced slaves to erect. The raised beds prevent the soil from eroding off the island when it rains. Tilos looks as though some Greek god came down from above and pasted topographic lines onto every surface of the island.

The Biggest Church in Greece

Sunset on Kos

We left the next day on a long ferry ride stopping in Kos and then heading to Syros.  Arriving at four a.m. we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the owner of our guesthouse. He was soft spoken and kind and gave us a small tour of Syros in broken English before showing us to our room. The next day turned out to be a painful adventure. Amanda kicked a sea-urchin on our first snorkeling dive and had to head to the hospital to get the spines removed. A very painful experience, one I hope doesn't happen to me. This necessitated us renting a car which ended up being very cool. We drove along winding Greek roads from beach to beach all the next day.  It was too windy to snorkel but we found an amazing beach for bodysurfing and joined the locals frolicking in the windy waters. Syros is so small it takes no more than two hours to circumnavigate the whole island, and great views are to be found everywhere.  For dinner we had cheap but tasty Greek food in a mountain top restaurant overlooking the sea. Enjoying our spanakopita and Rabbit we listened to the wind sigh and watched the sun set.

The most even paving ever

View of Kini Beach, Syros

I think one of the coolest parts of the trip is the ferrys. I watch these monstrous boats lumber into the port and then to my amazement they stop, spin a one eighty, and back up to the pier. There is a guy who's job it is to chuck a rope to another guy on the pier, then they crank the ropes tight and let down the gangway and voila you have arrived! Anyway that's all from Greece for now!!

Venezia & Firenze

Venezia!! Thats right Venezia is Venice in Italian. Not exactly sure why every language feels the need to change the names of cities. I can pronounce Venezia so I'm not sure why English speakers changed it to Venice. The name Florence is even stranger, in Italian it is Firenze. Both these cities are beautiful though, whatever their names may be.

Camping Rialto

We started in Venezia. We found a cheap flight and bang! Naples to Venice in an hour an a half. We rolled into our sweet pad at camping Rialto around 11:00 am. Our cabin was fifteen minutes by bus from Venezia, but had the edge of being the cheapest accommodation possible. The bus ride consisted of driving over the long bridge that connects Venezia to the mainland; staring at the ocean fading into the horizon. We originally thought we were going to bus everywhere but upon arriving discovered that Venezia is small enough to walk everywhere. Good news for the wallet! We had lunch in a great little "Trattoria" recommend for its cheap, good, simple Italian fare. Amanda ordered spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce and I ordered tuna spaghetti. We both received tuna spaghetti and both enjoyed it. We surprised the server by declining the second course and paying the bill, as the bowl of pasta had been plenty. From there we walked through meandering passageways to arrive at a Klimt(one of Amandas favourites)showing that Amanda wanted to see.

Amanda at aperitivo time

We finished off the day with some Spritz served by whats locally known as "Cafe Rosso." The bar doesn't actually have a name, just"caffe" pasted over the ancient red facade. We had the good fortune of meeting up with a couple whom we'd met at the campground and had some great conversation. They were a couple years older than us; cruising around Europe with small backpacks to avoid checked baggage! We ended up sharing some wine over pizza with them. They ended up selling us their travel passes so that we could take free bus trips the next day!

Spritz

With the free bus passes we hopped on a meandering boat-bus that took us through Venezia and out to the island of Murano. Murano is famous for its hand blown glass. We got to witness masters at work shaping and blowing glass into fantastic shapes and colours!! Back in Venezia, later on, we checked out San Marco square and it's Basilica. It is Amazing. Each time we see a new church I keep wondering how the new ones trump the old. But San Marco takes the cake the walls are covered in gold painted Frescos. The detail put into every single item is completely mind boggling. Every single inch is carved or painted! They don't allow pictures so all I can post is a shot of the outside. To finish off the day we headed to the Peggy Guggenheim museum and perused some Picasso's and surrealist works.

San Marco's front door

Murano glass in the making

Florence

Firenze reminded me of Paris without the Parisian attitude. The avenues were laid out in similar fashion and the northern Italian people are quieter, much like the French. The view from our campsite was fantastic. We were in an olive grove and Florence stretched out below us. We spent most of the day just walking the streets and finished the night with a nice glass of strong Tuscan wine!



The next morning we checked out some churches as well as the local market. The main cathedral was massive and may have rivaled San Marco on the inside but the three hour line kept us away. The outside was good enough for me. It was all white marble inlaid with green olivine and had curling spires adorning all windows and archways. The market was cool and we had some great pasta from a cafeteria style pasteria, with a little wine of course. In the main square a gelato festival was taking place so we had some for dessert.

That night we headed out on the town with three Americans and two Quebec girls. We left the camping a little late and didn't manage to find a bar but enjoyed wandering the streets. The next morning we wandered the streets checked out Alice's masks. A store and workshop that had fantastic beautiful handmade masks. After that we boarded the train for home....Naples!!