Rick Steves, the famous travel writer noted that "travel is turbocharged living". I would add that it is also a roller coaster of emotion. While engaging and easy when your gaze and focus are pointedly on some new exciting and barely indecipherable historic artifact, getting there can be challenging. Therefore! - necessary for adventure travel is resiliency, patience and a great sense of humor. More on this later! In this trip to Tunisia where there is a noticeable absence of English and a sense of danger due to proximity to Tripoli and the lingering jitters caused by the beach massacre in 2015, there is trepidation enough for even the most seasoned traveler.
Our adventure took us from the capital and largest city Tunis (Carthage from the old days) in the north down the coast visiting 2 amazing remains of ancient civilizations ( El Jem Colosseum and the Great Mosque at Kairouan) and to many Mediterranean seaside towns along the way. By the way - the Olive trees stretch on into the distance seemingly forever...ahhhh ..... that's where that lovely liquid comes from.
My good friend Barry (an intrepid and perpetual traveler despite being on a fixed income) suggested Tunisia. He then tantalized the adventure by noting that Tunisia is second in the world for extremely well preserved Roman ruins. My wife Essie and I signed on immediately. While Tunisia is not on the first 25 highlighted travel destinations in the world, it is definitely overlooked in my humble opinion. Beautiful, safe, great value for money ..... and so much to see. This is in my top 10 countries I have visited ..... so far.
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A slightly puzzled Barry
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At the same time as it is all these wonderful accolades - it's a bit tricky. Barry (above) looks puzzled as he reads the Arabic on the package. I too had no idea if this was indeed milk. In the end - it was not. Milk is stored at the back of the store not in a refrigerator. Duh!
We spent 4 days in the capital Tunis, first at the magnificent Bardo Museum and then exploring the ruins left behind by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans and the French. This location was highly sought after as a key to domination of the region. The city itself is safe and beautiful with a vibrant community reminding me of Paris. Little hidden alleyways and elaborate balconies are perched here and there to discover. There are 700 million zillion coffee shops on each block full of smoking men and women sipping sweet mint tea and coffee. (I don't mean the Dua Lipa kinda smokin' - I mean the the cancer kinda of smoking) This smoking sipping festival seemed to be in full swing every night regardless of the day of the week. I love that commitment to getting out and off the couch!!
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Essie at the Bardo admiring a beautiful mosaic
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Disturbingly - this is where Arab spring began in December 2010 when a fruit seller lit himself on fire no longer able to deal with the stress of living in a completely unjust society. That triggered a tragic series of events that when combined with the murder of 38 people (and 39 wounded) in 2015 south of Tunis, has led to the tourist industry being decimated. I would say - however - it is well on it's way to recovery given the joy evident in the lives of the average Tunisian.
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Barry AKA Indian Jones with his most recent discovery
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A wonderful thing about the ruins of Carthage is that you can traipse around without a lot of "off limit areas" or "security services" watching over you. It's deliciously open to explore and poke about. Below is a picture of Barry in a small underground room we found well off the beaten track. The entrance not easily discernible and mother nature busy trying to obscure the entrance with bushes and such. It felt a bit like an Indiana Jones discovery - but of course it was not -- given the accumulation of Mars Bar wrappers in the corner. 😀
And the food!!!! Terrific!!! Gelow is a Maklouf cooked to perfection on some kinda clay pot. The stuffings of cheese fries veggies mayonnaise olives and of course the ubiquitous Harrisa. For the uninitiated, Harrisa is a blend of red bell peppers garlic onion and chili peppers in an eye-watering combination suitable for preventing bear attacks or adding a bit of kick to any food eaten in the country.
Also the late night treat (below) of this dough-nutty thing (Bomboloni) served hot from the cooking oil and glazed in sugar. Fabulous though perhaps best in limited quantities methinks....
Without question the adventure jewel of Tunisia (for me) is El Jem where perched in the stands you can imagine the lions roaring and the terrified Christians wondering what God could have sanctioned this? Or maybe the epic battle of gladiators in a fight to the death. Crowds cheering madly in this ancient precursor to MMA. Eerily quiet and beautifully preserved, it is sight to see. Not far away is the Great Mosque of Kairouan, an incredible piece of Arab and Muslim history and a similarly amazing to visit.
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Essie appears dwarfed by the pillars - or is she actually a dwarf? Hehe
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El Jem - about 2/3 the size of the coliseum in Rome
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The center area of the Great Mosque of Kairouan
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The first photo in this blog shows the view from the balcony of a beautiful hotel were we stayed. But that my friend is only part of the story. Recall the Roller Coaster comment earlier. Arriving late into Sfax we settled into our AirBNB suite exhausted and happy. Around midnight Essie woke me to a scene in our bed that looked more like a murder scene than a Snow White fairy tale (other than the handsome prince of course). Yes - the place was infested with bed bugs and they were everywhere and having a great ime gnawing on the two of us.. I have to hand it to Essie for handling the situation so calmly. Many would not have. "Well" she said " it looks like we are sleeping in the car". We threw our clothes into the freezer and went down the VW Golf rental car to snooze our the next hours.
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One of the late night uninvited visitors
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The very next day in a place called Madhia, our reservation went sideways and we were without a place to stay. We were in a bad part of town and it was feeling crappy. Again - I have to hand it to Essie for being resilient. We managed to find another part of town and went from vacant hotel to vacant hotel. Recall the decimated tourist industry). Suddenly, like an Oasis in the dessert, the Al Mansour appeared like a vision just ahead. "We can never afford that!!" were Essie's first words though not her last.
Undeterred I wiggled my way past a bunch of folks intent on having us sleep in the rental car again -- to the manager who finally (after some finagling) said "fine we'll get you a room - it's $350 for the night". "I'm sorry - I can't afford that - can you do a bit better." I whined. "How about $125 he said." " Sold!!!!!" said I ...and in we went. The host checked us in and then said "dinner is at 6:30 with breakfast and lunch tomorrow also included in your stay. " Damn!!! said I" ...."and" said she "you guys seem nice so we've put you in the Ambassadors suite overlooking the pool and mediterranian. " "Damn said I!!!" Heaven 😊
The very next day, as we drove the rental car and parked it at the airport at Tunis- a nice police officer fined me $150 for improper documentation. C'est la vie -- that is life. 😊😕
As I coach Barry on how to tie his shoes in the picture above, I am reminded of my need to thank Barry for his companionship and sharing his lust for adventure. Together we have explored a number of countries where his running commentary on the W5 of things is as engaging as it is appreciated. A teacher, a mentor and a friend -- who could ask for anything more?
Many thanks to a recent anonymous donor from Victoria for her generous donation to the kiddies at Malezi school in Majengo.
If you would like to donate to help me feed hungry kids - you can email me to chat about it -- or do so by sending a few shekels through:
MPESA -- +254745237248 (Kenya)
Or interact -- Laynemahon@live.com (Canada)
Or PayPal -- Laynemahon@live.com (Global)
I'll
be going in with a food donation in November and helping feed 250
kiddies! I'd appreciate any assistance you may be able to offer.
50 bucks would really help!!
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Teacher Grace and the recent graduating PP2 class from Majengo slum
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I promise not to spend the donation on Single Malt Scotch but have to admit spending it on this blended 16 year old would be tempting. It was shockingly good for all those who sample a wee dram from time to time. It also got me to sleep in the rental car 👌
Thanks for reading...Layno in Tunisia!!!
