Tunisia
Djerba Island and back to Europe
01 / Mar / 2010
Making the best of our last few days left in Tunisia, we set up camp on the wild west coast of Djerba Island. The east coast consists of hotel complexes and more of what we are not looking for. Of course we run into the Germans again, initially met at Ksar Douiret (they probably were advised by the Italians again), we park the car behind a dune and set up camp on the beach. We find ourselves in the middle of "nowhere". All we see around are some palm trees and the Mediterranean sea with a beautiful sunset painted in the sky. Life can be great as long as you realize it. We get the butterfly seats out, some chips, drinks and enjoy the view for the next 2 days.
Early morning, we are awoken by the tides and we believe that the car is in the water. It sound so close that we sit up straight in bed and double check if we should get our life-vests. The coast is clear so back to sleep. When waking up in the morning, a few hours later, the local women fishing on the beach stare at us, looking quite surprised, as we climb out of the roof tent. Coffee, a book and the view is all we need to get through the day. Life is great!
February 27 we spend the night again in Samaris campsite, Hammamet, approximately 60km from Tunis. We fill up the diesel tanks the next day (diesel is cheaper in Tunisia) and see the radiator leaking....are we going to make it to the ferry? A screw driver to tighter a metal ring and 60km later we enter the port La Goulette in Tunis. Sorting out paperwork is quick, so we spend 2 hours waiting before boarding the ferry back to Genova, Italy. Goodbye Tunisia, hello again Italy. Fingers crossed again that we get all the visas sorted, for the Middle East this time, quickly.
Early morning, we are awoken by the tides and we believe that the car is in the water. It sound so close that we sit up straight in bed and double check if we should get our life-vests. The coast is clear so back to sleep. When waking up in the morning, a few hours later, the local women fishing on the beach stare at us, looking quite surprised, as we climb out of the roof tent. Coffee, a book and the view is all we need to get through the day. Life is great!
February 27 we spend the night again in Samaris campsite, Hammamet, approximately 60km from Tunis. We fill up the diesel tanks the next day (diesel is cheaper in Tunisia) and see the radiator leaking....are we going to make it to the ferry? A screw driver to tighter a metal ring and 60km later we enter the port La Goulette in Tunis. Sorting out paperwork is quick, so we spend 2 hours waiting before boarding the ferry back to Genova, Italy. Goodbye Tunisia, hello again Italy. Fingers crossed again that we get all the visas sorted, for the Middle East this time, quickly.
Wild camping in Ksar Douiret, Tunisia
26 / Feb / 2010
We drive south into the desert south of Tataouine, and camp rough down of Ksar Douiret in the mountains. There are several Italian campers already parked here and according to the Germans that just arrived as well, the Italians have been everywhere in Tunisia advising other people where to go! The Ksar used to be a storage space for the Berberes, keeping their agricultural products for the winter period. Nowadays, the Ksour are renovated and turned into hotels (at least the ones we are visiting). During that night, the wind picks up and keeps us awake for most of the night.
The next day we drive back to Medenine to find out if we can get into Libya. As soon as we reach the hotel from the night before, we download email and see that Libya is still closed. This means we find ourselves in a dead end street and that we have to look at other ways to continue our journey. We can head west into Algeria or back into Europe and try to get into Africa via Turkey and the Middle East. Just outside of the hotel we meet 2 overlanders, John and Marina, that just crossed Africa from Cape Town, exactly the way we had planned. They could get through Libya using their South African and British passports. Unfortunately, we do not have those so we are stuck, more or less.
Overnight we decide not to enter Algeria, as this would mean doing the western route down for which we do not have any paperwork, instead we'll go back to Europe and prepare visas for the Middle East. Online we book the ferry to Genova, Italy for February 28 which leaves us a few more days to enjoy Tunisia. Djerba looks like a nice destination so that's where we will go the next day.
The next day we drive back to Medenine to find out if we can get into Libya. As soon as we reach the hotel from the night before, we download email and see that Libya is still closed. This means we find ourselves in a dead end street and that we have to look at other ways to continue our journey. We can head west into Algeria or back into Europe and try to get into Africa via Turkey and the Middle East. Just outside of the hotel we meet 2 overlanders, John and Marina, that just crossed Africa from Cape Town, exactly the way we had planned. They could get through Libya using their South African and British passports. Unfortunately, we do not have those so we are stuck, more or less.
Overnight we decide not to enter Algeria, as this would mean doing the western route down for which we do not have any paperwork, instead we'll go back to Europe and prepare visas for the Middle East. Online we book the ferry to Genova, Italy for February 28 which leaves us a few more days to enjoy Tunisia. Djerba looks like a nice destination so that's where we will go the next day.
Goodbye Italy, hello Tunisia
23 / Feb / 2010
February 20, 5 o'clock in the morning the alarm wakes us up. A few minutes later, a quick shower, and we are packing the car. It is the day that we will take the ferry to Tunisia and finally enter the African continent, assuming of course we will not have any trouble on the way, or with customs in Tunisia. Saying goodbye to Val's brother and his girlfriend is emotional as expected. We drive off and head in the direction of Genova, Italy. Almost arrived in Italy, we are pulled over by the police on the highway.... what do we do wrong? We are not driving too fast (simply not possible with the Toyota) and all the lights are working correctly. "Please move the car forward, I will measure the weight of your vehicle." Ok, we think, this should not be a problem. Our car is ok, but we are not sure about the weight. We never checked the weight of the car after packing. "Papers please" says the highway police officer. He has a serious look and checks his machine again and says "Sorry but the weight of your car is 3,400 kg and you paper indicates the maximum weight can be 3,035 kg''. This could be a problem, we think, but we are not sure. Smile and look confused. Our driving license permits us to drive with a weight of 3,500 kg. "Where are you going?", the officer asks. "We are going to Cape Town, South Africa, sir". Big smile on his face and he lets us go. No fine!
We reach the port of Genova, Italy around 12:00 as planned and start getting the papers sorted. We are in Italy so this could take a while. They are not as organized as in Holland and this is a nice way to get us in the mood for the bureaucracy we will have to deal with later in Africa. After waiting for about an our for a few customs officers, we get the stamps we need and can move the car on the ferry. We get into the cabin and in 40 minutes we depart. The ferry is moving and Africa is getting closer. 2 hours later Barry is trying to find the doctor! We have all the medicine you could imagine in the car but we cannot get to the car, the garage is sealed. Val is getting greener and greener and is really getting seasick - 22 hours to go. We need pills to get rid of this. 3 hours later and 2 pills Val starts looking normal again. After a quick bite we get to bed early, knowing we will wake up in Tunis (if we sleep till 3 the next day).
Italian customs was fun but not as much as customs in Tunis. Getting stamps from every officer you could lay your eyes on was more or less the trick to get the car through customs. Confusing all of them, we collect some stamps and head off without having the car checked or searched! Bye, we are off in search of a place to sleep. Cash we got from an ATM machine at a Shell gas station and around 6 in the afternoon of the 21st we parked the car under a tree at the camping place Samaris, in Hammamet, about 75km south of Tunis. It's a bit cold (15 degrees) and we're a little lazy so we sleep in the car that 1st night.
The plan for Tunisia is basically to go to the border with Libya. Since it is only 600km, we can take it easy and have a look at the map. We head for Sfax and reach it early in the afternoon, so we continue to Gabes. Finally in Gabes, we are searching for the campsite that was listed in our GPS. We see the town from every angle, drive through the souk about 4 times, ask many police officers and hotels in the area, but no sign of the campsite. It is getting dark and we both do not really like the place. What do we do? Stay and feel uncomfortable or drive to the next town on the map in the dark? We agreed before we left not to stay at a place that we felt uncomfortable with or to drive in the dark. We find ourselves in an impasse. We drive to the next town in the dark. The name of the place is Medenine, another 70km.
Avoiding cars that are driving on our side of the road by turning on all our front lights, we reach Medenine exhausted and start looking for a place to sleep. Any decent place will do for the night. We see the word Hotel in neon signs and check in. We are safe and have a nice bed and a shower and the bonus is the internet connection. We can get to emails and update the website. Bye the way, mum and dad, we will plan the next part of the trip a little better, don't worry!
It is now 23rd of February and are planning to head into the desert to Tataouine and Chenini for the next 2 days. We still have no visa for Libya!!! Fingers crossed we will get it in time. The guide is booked, the place to meet arranged. All we need is Libya to reopen its border to Europeans...
We reach the port of Genova, Italy around 12:00 as planned and start getting the papers sorted. We are in Italy so this could take a while. They are not as organized as in Holland and this is a nice way to get us in the mood for the bureaucracy we will have to deal with later in Africa. After waiting for about an our for a few customs officers, we get the stamps we need and can move the car on the ferry. We get into the cabin and in 40 minutes we depart. The ferry is moving and Africa is getting closer. 2 hours later Barry is trying to find the doctor! We have all the medicine you could imagine in the car but we cannot get to the car, the garage is sealed. Val is getting greener and greener and is really getting seasick - 22 hours to go. We need pills to get rid of this. 3 hours later and 2 pills Val starts looking normal again. After a quick bite we get to bed early, knowing we will wake up in Tunis (if we sleep till 3 the next day).
Italian customs was fun but not as much as customs in Tunis. Getting stamps from every officer you could lay your eyes on was more or less the trick to get the car through customs. Confusing all of them, we collect some stamps and head off without having the car checked or searched! Bye, we are off in search of a place to sleep. Cash we got from an ATM machine at a Shell gas station and around 6 in the afternoon of the 21st we parked the car under a tree at the camping place Samaris, in Hammamet, about 75km south of Tunis. It's a bit cold (15 degrees) and we're a little lazy so we sleep in the car that 1st night.
The plan for Tunisia is basically to go to the border with Libya. Since it is only 600km, we can take it easy and have a look at the map. We head for Sfax and reach it early in the afternoon, so we continue to Gabes. Finally in Gabes, we are searching for the campsite that was listed in our GPS. We see the town from every angle, drive through the souk about 4 times, ask many police officers and hotels in the area, but no sign of the campsite. It is getting dark and we both do not really like the place. What do we do? Stay and feel uncomfortable or drive to the next town on the map in the dark? We agreed before we left not to stay at a place that we felt uncomfortable with or to drive in the dark. We find ourselves in an impasse. We drive to the next town in the dark. The name of the place is Medenine, another 70km.
Avoiding cars that are driving on our side of the road by turning on all our front lights, we reach Medenine exhausted and start looking for a place to sleep. Any decent place will do for the night. We see the word Hotel in neon signs and check in. We are safe and have a nice bed and a shower and the bonus is the internet connection. We can get to emails and update the website. Bye the way, mum and dad, we will plan the next part of the trip a little better, don't worry!
It is now 23rd of February and are planning to head into the desert to Tataouine and Chenini for the next 2 days. We still have no visa for Libya!!! Fingers crossed we will get it in time. The guide is booked, the place to meet arranged. All we need is Libya to reopen its border to Europeans...