I [Heart] Tunisia

Let me begin by stating an interesting fact: Tunisia is blessed with 355 days of rain-free, cloudless, sunny skies a year. You know those 10 days during the ENTIRE YEAR that they get rain? I was there for 3 of them :o)

That being said, the trip was absolutely phenomenal! I never thought I’d have a chance to get to Africa so soon, it was thrilling just to be on the continent for the first time. And being a safe, peaceful, touristy-friendly country, apparently Tunisia is a good segway to the continent for Africa-virgins like myself.

My flight was at 10:30am on December 26th which put me into Tozeur around 1pm. As soon as I stepped off the plane, I was greeted with beautiful sunshine, 70 degree weather, bright blue skies and palm trees. Once through customs, I got into the 4x4 that would take me to the hotel. The hotel itself was pretty blah. It looked great on the outside, but the rooms had just the bare minimum, which was pretty shabby and cheap looking at that. But hey, you get what you pay for! I was just praying that I wouldn’t get “The London Rash” (Paula and I got eaten alive by bedbugs in our hotel in London last spring—let’s not talk about it).

Day 1: I spent the day wandering around Tozeur. The hotel was at the top of Avenue Touristique, the main strip lined with shops and restaurants. I walked to the end of town and back again which took about 2 hours since I was constantly stopped by someone trying to sell me something or propose marriage (those Tunisian men are no joke… I can’t count the number of times I heard: “Gazelle! Where you from? African?” and I respond: “No, American”, to get back: “Ooohh America! You married?” lol, insanity). Afterwards, I sat out on my balcony and read until it was time for dinner. The coolest part was walking home as the sun was setting, the sky a dozen shades of pink and hearing the prayer calls from the mosque nearby. Amazing…

Day 2: Went to a museum, then I walked to the shopping district and picked up a bunch of knickknacks. I bought two jellebas (where in hell am I going to wear those? The vendor told me they’d be chic for a summer night in Paris… yeah, sure), two ceramic decorated plates, a little wooden drum, and a stuffed camel that plays a popular Arabic song when you squeeze it. Obviously I spent way too much money, even with the haggling, but I figured they needed it more than I do. One guy was telling me that he hadn’t sold anything in over a week and would take whatever I would give him for a little bejeweled jewelry box… although this could all be part of their plan! lol, oh well. At 3pm I left for my first excursion. I was partnered with a French family… husband, wife and their three adorable kids ages 3, 7 and 9. We boarded our 4x4 and went to Nefta to see the old town medina. There was a group of kids playing in one of the courtyards and when we passed, they all stopped and waved with big grins on their faces. At one point we stopped for a moment and two 4-year-old Tunis boys ran over to where we were standing. They were chasing each other and trying to hide behind my legs. And every time I spoke to them in English they screamed with laughter and tried to repeat the word… it was the cutest thing. Then out of no where, I feel a tiny little hand slip into mine. I looked down and one of the little boys was smiling up at me… just standing there holding my hand and wouldn't let go until we left. It nearly melted my cold heart; I will never forget that little boy. Next we drove through the desert oasis to get to the dunes overlooking Algeria to watch the sunset… the vbiew was incredible but sadly it was cloudy that day so we didn’t get to see much of a sunset. We did get harassed by the little Berber kids (nomads who live in the desert) who were trying to hawk their cheap jewelry though. Next we went to the sites where they filmed the English Patient and Star Wars. While driving out there, we passed a massive white tent smack in the middle of the desert. There were lights flashing and music playing… it looked like a wild party mirage. Our guide told us it was the Prince of Serbia who was out there hunting birds for the week. Hmm, must be nice…

my tour guide/driver

Star Wars film location

Day 3: Full day trip stopping at significant points on along the way to Douz, gateway to the Sahara Desert. We left at 8am and this time I was paired with a French couple and it was only the 3 of us on this trip. Our first stop was Chott El Jerid, the famous Salt Lake. Basically it’s a massive lake that is completely dried by the heat, leaving just crystallized salt in its place; and when the sun shines on the surface it glitters like a sea of diamonds. The next few stops I couldn’t tell you where we were—everything was explained in French and no one could translate… I did climb some big rocks and hold a falcon. Eventually we ended up in the place I’d been so anxious to get to: THE SAHARA DESERT!! We were outfitted in a traditional getup to protect us from the wind/sand, chose our camels and were on our way. We rode about 20 mins into the desert, passing people on dirt bikes, quad bikes and other camel riders. At one point, we met a “desert cowboy” who took each of us horseback riding—I’ve never galloped on a horse before, let alone through the Sahara. It was the scariest and coolest thing I’ve ever done. Next we stopped by the 40km (24.85 miles) Camel Race which was part of the annual “Festival of the Oasis” event that was going on in Tunisia that week—pretty wild. After lunch and a couple more stops, we returned to the hotel around 6pm.

Chott El Jerid (the Salt Lake)



Camel Race

Day 4: Our flight departed at 4:50AM. IN THE MORNING! Who in their right mind decided to schedule a flight take off that early? For what purpose? Anyway, it was pretty funny because the organizer didn’t want to tell us when the flight was scheduled to leave until the very last second. For days I kept asking and he was just like, “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know soon. But you’re confirmed”. I guess he didn’t want to ruin the trip with the bad news until the end. Anyway, we got back to Paris around 8am (flight was delayed of course… what kind of delay you could have at 4 in the freakin’ morning is beyond me but hey)

One funny thing was the reaction that I got from the French women while I was there (about 90% of the people staying in my hotel were French). Now French women in general aren’t the warmest and friendly people on earth, but try being a single girl alone on a vacation where NO ONE else is alone. Talk about being given the cold shoulder—all those women were so suspicious, they seriously thought I had some kind of ulterior motive for being there! Meanwhile, the men were very nice, offering to have me join them and their family for breakfast or dinner; and if I ever did take them up on the offer, I was given the death stare the entire time by the woman. It was nuts! They totally thought I was some hooch out to steal their husband/boyfriend! Pretty funny.

But anyway, the trip was great. It’s interesting to see the lives of the people who live in the 3rd world—makes me think of how much the rest of us have. We have so many ways to amuse ourselves its pretty ridiculous. Meanwhile, in a country like Tunisia, teenagers literally spend their day riding up and down the dirt road on a slab of plywood on wheels pulled by a donkey. But it looks like they enjoy their life so who am I to judge. And on the other hand, you'll see the random guy with his faux hawk, converse sneakers-- looking as Western as anyone. Anyway, I feel so blessed to have been able to go there! And I can’t wait until I can go back to Africa—I’m dying to see Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya…

*While I was in Tunisia, my copine Shelby was just getting back from a week-long vacay in another part of Africa—the Seychelles (an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of Africa) with her boyfriend Nicco. She's a fellow expat like me—quit her NYC magazine gig to move to Florence for a few months and is just having a time of it down there. Anyway, I'm just too jealous for words and had to share the picture slideshow from her fabulous trip. Like does this place truly exist? It looks like something out of a postcard! I know where I'm honeymooning... check it out here