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!