Our whirlwind tour of the north

After relaxing on the island of Jerba for a few days we headed out in another rental car to head north. The rental car has been great as it has allowed us to access all sorts of small towns and villages we never would have been able to get too. As well, it is has let us get to know the Tunisian police, or as we now refer to them , the Tunisian Welcoming Comittee.

They are basically at the entrance and exit to most towns. They usually just stand in the middle of the road and Dairn almost hit them a number of times. The first time we were pulled over ( we think for speeding) Dairn said he did not speak French and I did a little. The cop started laughing and speaking to the other police officer. He asked our Nationality and Dairn said Canadian, the police officer smiled and said we could continue and yelled after us , Welcome to Tunisia!

The next time we were pulled over it was because the cop wanted to point us in the right direction for the ruins we were trying to find, and he shook our hands and welcomed us.

The next time was more serious as I had illegally passed a car (after Dairn told me too) and the police actually asked for our passports, and with a big smile on his face, told me I did a wrong thing. That was the extent of his English so he said welcome and be careful, and let us continue. We are still hoping to get a photo with a police officer.

The police arent the only welcoming people; almost every Tunisian that helps us wants to take their pictures with us. Of course this feels quite normal for me, but I think Dairn has never received so much attention.

We have seen some incredable Roman ruins and visited some great beaches. The North is very green and lush and it feels more like driving through France than Tunisia.

The car has also let us do a tour of the side of the road food stands. Often we get an egg or chicken sandwich, depending on what the person thinks I am attempting to order. Our favorite has been the Brik L'oeuf, which is a pastry with some mashed potatoes, capers, spices, herbs and an egg cracked in the middle and deep fried.

After days of seeing dead sheep hanging outside on the highway beside bbq's, we also stopped and had the freshest, tastiest bbq'ed lamb ever! There is no doubt about what you are eating when the carcass is hanging in front of you as you chow down.

We are in a little town called Kelibia right now and have a great hotel with a sea view! Relaxing and doing laundry and eating the best sea food I have ever had. We met some Tunisians who directed us to a restuarant where you walk in on one side and and choose what fish you want (from a whole room full of every kind of fresh fish.) Then they weigh it and you go sit in the restaurant while they cook it for you. I don't think I have ever tasted anything so good nor eaten so much fish and calamari in one sitting. I still feel a little full and that was last night, but we are planning on going back again tonight. It was an expensive meal by Tunisian standards but cost about $15 Canadian for the whole thing, I love this country!

And yes, I realized I have talked a lot about food, but really would you expect anything else? And also to my delight fresh roasted almonds are sold at almost every little road side store. Not that there was ever any worries, but I am not going hungry :)

A few more days in Tunisia and we just bought are plane tickets this morning to head over to Egypt for the next adventure!


Thanks for all the emails, comments and texts so nice to hear from home.

Beyond the Sahara

We left our little home at Juanita,s and travelled around southern Tunisia. There is very little English here and we are surviving on what I can remember from French 12, so yes I am cursing myself for not studying harder.

We saw a lot of sights from star wars movies which also happen to be national hisoric sites as well, I was just tring to pretend I was in Star Wars, so imagine my delight!

Now we are on a little island on the east coast of Tunisa called Djerba, We have discovered that if you stay in a cheap hotel and then visit the all-inclusives, they have no idea. We have also discovered other tourists after being almost totally alone for the first weeks. There is something comforting about them actually, although they are mostly older French tourists. The exciting part is we have finally found a hotel that will serve us beer! Who knew it would be so difficult __ insert question mark if I could find it on this computer__ Tunisia actually makes great beer but no one from here will drink it, accept a few that sneak into the tourist hotels.

The people here have been amazing and are so friendly and welcoming! We have been giving ourselves a break this morning from the sun but it time to sneak back into a resort, thinking about using the pool today...

Will try to up load photos soon, but it is hard enough trying to figure out this keyboard which is all Arabic and French.

Sahara pics

So still figuring out this blog thing and pictures etc. Will try to add some more now

Surviving the Sahara

I more then survived the Sahara, I totally fell in love with it!

The day after we arrived in Tunis Dairn and I took a 10 hour bus ride to Douz/Juanita's. Since the moment we arrived we have been getting complete Tunisian experiences. The first day we shopped and got outfitted for our trek, then had lunch in a bedouin home, tried out a camel and smoked sheesha.

The next day we headed out for 4 hours in 4x4's to Mt. Timbaine, where we met up with our camels and 2 guides, neither of whom spoke any English.

I will try to add some pictures because it is way to hard to describe 6 days of everything from extreme heat to days of constant sand blowing in your face. Dairn described it like standing in front of a fan while some one is continuously throwing flour in it and then part way through serving you a bowl of soup.

We saw everything from Algerian Bedouins herding their goats to a helicopter landing by the oasis for lunch. One Bedouin even joined us for part of the trek.

Feeling well rested after a night at Juanita's and a scrub in a Hammam. Tonight we go to a Bedouin wedding to watch some camel dancing and then we are renting a car for a few days...