Truckin Around Tunisia (Or "Clutch in, Nerd out!!")

Heading into our first option for hotels, and Mrs. Huntswoman nailed it.  It has a gated/walled parking lot with guards so we pull in.  She heads inside to check on prices and it's $150 for the night.  Honestly it's a bit more than we were expecting but why be tight with money now?  We take it.

The rest of us follow her back in and when we get there we meet the jolliest guy you can imagine behind the counter.  His English is perfect and he's stoked to see some Americans in attendance.  He asks where we're from he find's out Mrs. Huntswoman is from Texas.

"OH, I LOVE Texas!"  He exclaims.  "Cowboys, John Wayne!  Do you have boots and a hat?  Where did you live?"

She's laughing her butt off, and answers that she doesn't but the boys and I both do and that she's from San Antonio where the Alamo is.

Then he asks if she has a horse, can she ride one?  and speaking right out of her butt she answers in the affirmative (she has never owned a horse, and I don't think she's ever ridden one).  But this guys is just way too excited to disappoint.

We get a discount because of the youngest Huntsman's age and that brings us down to $108, which is a much nicer price (and I gotta say, this place is pretty nice)

The first thing the boys notice is the pool, and we 100% brought them their swim gear.

So, after we were all unpacked, after we sunblocked back up and hydrated, we all went down to the pool.

I give the boys a coin to dive in the water for, but they later find a colorful plastic ring that sinks.  We're still a bit gross coming out of the desert and we're DEFINITELY a big contrast to some of the people who are very much trying to look rich/important as they lounge around this nice hotel (one young guy has very expensive sunglasses and a bluetooth speaker and now we all have to listen to his music)

We do stand out though so we do ask the kids to keep it under a reasonable volume.  Ultimately they're able to have their fun, and I dont think we bothered anyone too much (plus the beers were cold)

Later that night it'd be rum and cokes in the room while watching Bollywood action movies.  The kids LOVE their lack of physics, and we all have a good time.  Once home we'll find out that this is Tunisia's holiest city (4th holiest in the Islamic religion) and will wish we had spent some time touring the mosques that reside in the area.

aaaah question mark days.  You win some and you miss some.  All in all it wasn't bad.

When you get to work in the morning and there's no new update.  ;^)

In reply to Jerry :

I know, this guys running around in the desert 1/2 way around the world, we need instant info about the trip!

Moar!

  (those are supposed to be laugh emojis) You guys are too much. 

Apologies for ghosting on Friday, but things got busy and I just could NOT get to a computer.  Hopefully this one makes up for it.

There I was, feeling like I was back in Kuwait again!

We're up at 6:30 and the eldest Huntsman is looking out the window, which lets a bit of light in.  I respond with the obligatory "hissssssss".  He's in a goofy mood so he comes and jumps on the bed.  "How about I play on my phone and you don't get mad about it" he asks.

"How about you go get us coffee" I sass back.

And the kid actually does it.  I pull out the equivalent or $3 (10TND) and the dude ducks out the door.  Now, I don't expect anything to happen so I lay back in bad.  Soon there's someone messing with our door.  I open it and it's the darn eldest with a lady carrying a tray.  On the tray are two coffees!

Well, heck.  She comes in, and I clear a spot for the tray.  The Huntsman gives her the cash I gave him, and she's on out the door.

well, nothing for it now... I gotta let the kid play.

Last night we brought our fridge up from the truck and plugged it in to the wall.  It has a USB port so we plugged in our powerbank of an overnight charge.  It's at 67%.  With it we're able to get some juice on our devices and that's when we look up the terrorist activity we were warned about and compare it to the date that the wild camp was added to iOverlander.

Here's what we found out:

Looks like the camp entry was made a year before the terrorist activity, so I take it upon myself to update the camp with the new info (I did note that we were "risk intolerant", so others can plan accordingly).

It also appears like the local authorities have longe since broken up the organization that took over the mountain.  Unfortunately they also report that random individuals are still carrying out acts of violence or vandalism in their name, so probably not something we needed to worry too much about but always better to exaggerate safety.

Mrs. Huntswoman also notices that this is the first day we don't have anything to update on our bingo cards.  And that kind of drives the point home that the wild and exciting part of this vacation might all be behind us.  What was supposed to be our last wild camp got turned into this luxurious night by the pool.  Tonight we're headed for the coast and will stay near the waterfront for some beach time.  We're kinda bummed about that...

We all head to the porch for a look out over the street.  All of us agree.  This 100% feels like we're back in Kuwait.

It's also weird waking up with clean fingernails...  I don't think that's ever happened on this trip.

Some hotel info if you're able to zoom in and read.  But also, this place had the COOLEST shower curtains I've ever seen in a hotel:

Downstairs was breakfast, which mostly consisted of pre-packaged pastries, warm milk (with coco, for the younger huntsmen who now LOVE warm milk) and free coffee.

Wait.  Free coffee???

(We both look at the eldest)

"what?  Yeah.  of course it's free.  It comes with breakfast"  He says

"so you gave that lady a 10TND tip?"

"Yup!"

meh, we both shrug it off.

after that it's time to clean up the truck a bit while we have facilities.  Lots of trash comes out, the fridge goes back in, fluids get checked, and we are off like a shot.

(ooh!  We did get to see our favorite counterperson today as well and he was just as friendly as he was yesterday.  We'll pull a coffee cup out of the truck and give it to him as a gift.  He loves it)

I gotta say though, after my absolute rage filled experience that was my tenure with an optima yellow top... this red top is holding up quite well.  When tested, the yellow top wasn't even able to manage a single crank of the engine even when the fridge was set to its most conservative setting.  The red top on the other hand?  It can run the fridge until it shuts down (about 11.5v), then operate the electric back window, and then crank the engine like it's its job.

First destination today is El Jem.  We're on the road by 9:30, and it's a pretty uneventful drive now that we're back in civilization.  To pass the time, Mrs. Huntswoman and I tally up our cash.  With the money we have stashed in our secret hiding spot we have 345TND (about 115 USD).  We need 70TND for camp one night and 30 TND for camp another night so each of us takes enough cash for one of those days.  The rest we split and will handle ATM stops on a case by case basis (like, beers are usually paid in cash but we think gas stops probably wont be)

DRINK!

Yup, that game is still going.

We also take time to reflect.  This really is the turning point in the trip.  Everything after here takes us closer to Tunis, and that means our vacation is getting closer to ending.  One thing we all decide on is we need to find more local food.  Damn those pizzerias!

We hit El Jem by 10:30 and the only site we're going to stop at is a Roman Colosseum.  Driving through town is plenty "local" but I find a dirt lot and park on it.  From there we'll walk to the runs.

Dude... this place is NICE.  I'll pit it against the one in Rome any day

The area around the Colosseum is pretty well built up and the souvenir salesmen are all high pressure again.  They all seem to have some variety of the same "genuine fake crap" (painted tiles, small rugs, and trinkets that they all claim are hand made)

One western couple (I seem to think they were Slovakian for some reason) was walking towards us and one salesman started draping a shemagh over the Slovak man's head.  He didn't get far before the Slovak man started protesting, but I took note and started giving these salesmen a wide berth.

When we arrive at the entrance of the Colosseum we learn that part of the movie "Gladiator" was filmed here, and (more importantly) part of the movie "Life of Brian" was filmed here.

Nerd points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This entire trip, and I think this was the first time I saw the eldest take pictures with his phone...  Seriously.

Touring out here is insane to me.  You're kind of left to your own devices and are allowed to walk just about ANYWHERE (so we do!)

(we did have to leave our knives at the metal detector though.  OOPS!)

There's a little bookstore/souvenir shop just inside the gate that we poke around in for souvenirs.  Just outside is a spot we decide we'll stop at for lunch.

If you look just outside the covering we're eating under then you'll see the grill that the skewers were cooked on.  Soup came from inside the building, and the rest of the plate came from two buildings over.  It's a cool process to watch and it seems like all these little restaurants are in cahoots with each other.

We're 100% paying "tourist prices" in a place like this, but with the exchange rate it's not a problem for any western traveler no matter the budget.  I very very much like that we can just do stuff here without counting our pennies.  PLUS we were able to get a vegetable skewer for Mrs. Hungary (so that's a definite win).

Heading on out, the youngest wants one of the tile mosaics we've been seeing (it's of a cat).  We know it's not hand made, but none of us care.  We go in a shop and the salesman is a bit pushy for our tastes.  He wants to sell the one the youngest wants for 35TND.  I counter with 20 and we agree on 30TND ($10).  This has the effect of absolutely BLOWING the other Huntsmen's minds (Huntswoman included).  I guess I don't barter ever?

We have a good laugh and a chat about it but are again avoiding groups of souvenir salesmen.

Mrs. Huntswoman is eyeing a cart with wide brim hats on it.  The dude is solo, so we think it's safe to stop.  He pushing this hat, he's pushing that hat.  Mrs. Huntswoman knows what she wants but that hat doesn't fit.  I gesture that we need something bigger, but he's not listening.  I try "kabir" (big) and again he's not listening.  Just pushes this hat, just pushes that hat.  We already have our hands up like "no... no..." and back away saying "thank you"

As we do, the pushiness increases and turns into desperation.  30dinar!

20dinar!

10dinar!  (this would be $3)

Sorry dude, if it don't fit then we ain't buying.
 

Unfortunately his attempts continue until we're out of earshot.  I feel kind of bad. 

Back at the dirt lot we're approaching the truck when we're approached by a guy who printed and laminated a version of this sign:

It's kind of funny really because before he even says anything I already know what he wants.  He's VERY obviously not any sort of parking attendant, but this is his scam.  He comes up and says something to the effect of "we have to pay because we parked here"

And in one sweet move that I'll never be able to pull off again in my entire life, I put on my most disappointed face and in the most "oh buddy, you can't possibly think that I'd fall for that" soft and disappointed dad voice I say the following two words:

"Habibi... Halass"  (Oh, my friend.  Stop)

and for one split second he's stunned speechless.

"Halass what?" he's finally able to utter.

But it's too late.  In that brief moment we were already in the vehicle and buckled up.  I put her in gear and leave the man in the empty lot.

It was all we could do to keep our laughter in until we were out of ear shot

Naturally, we didn't have time to queue up the GPS so somewhere on the edge of town we did that as well.

Next stop!  Monastir!

1hr and 9 minutes to our destination today

And look!  Flamingos!

So we're back in civilization which means toll roads.  There was a kid selling raw almonds at one of the booths so I bought some (mostly out of curiosity).  I'll be honest, I'm still a bit overstimulated by those souvenir guys back in El Jem.  That sort of energy really takes it out of me.

Fuel, too, is done at a proper gas station where I finally unlock the hubs.  There are proper police stops, where our papers are checked.  And grocery stores inside Monastir that we try to stop at.  One is called "Superette" but turns out to be nothing more than a curbside quick-shop.  I buy water from there just because.

The next store was also a Superette (this time with photos on google maps showing that it was a proper super market) but when I get there (and I'm not kidding) everyone was on their phones.

I walked RIGHT passed the security guy without him so much as glancing in my direction.  There are multiple shelf stockers sitting on boxes, all looking at their phones.  And it's funny too, because it's like they stopped right in the middle of their task.  The cashiers too!  Everyone is on their phones.  It's legit like a zombie movie in here...

I don't buy anything and walk right out without anyone noticing my presence, I think. 

There was an ATM nearby, and I used that (it worked!)

And then we're at the hotel

This place is NICE!!!  It's got everything we need.  Fridge, kitchen, bedroom, HUGE terrace, and that boat you see in the background is playing loud music and people are jumping off of it and swimming.

Mrs. Huntswoman connects to the wifi and sends our bank another message "hey, the card is blocked again..."  but it's Sunday so probably not getting fixed today.

We passed one more grocery store that was on the marina grounds on our way in.  We walk back that way and stock up on supplies for the next two days (we're staying two nights here).  This is the Marina Cap Hotel for anyone interested, and if you google it online then know that the rooms aren't as nice as they look in the pics (but plenty nice enough for the likes of us).  There's a Hotel Regency in the same area as well, but they required a bank transfer to make the reservation so we opted to stay here.

Supplies for the next two days include 12 beers (super small, remember?) a bottle of captain morgan white rum, and some cheap dry gin.  Woo hoo!

Back at the hotel we have to fill out all these post cards we've been buying.  Lots of family members we bought for and even a few friends.  It's all good because we have a couple hours before it'll be cool enough to go swimming.  With that it's "boots off, beers up!"

The younger Huntsmen have come up with an idea of Mrs. Huntswoman GM-ing a "Harry Potter" DND game.  To lean forward, they're taking all sorts of quizzes as to "which wand should you have", "what house are you in" and so on.

The youngest is in Ravenclaw while the rest of us are Griffendor.  THe eldest decides his name will be "Percival Wulric Dumbeldore".  I decide my petronas will be a Basset Hound (completely unlike me, I'm just being goofy) and the quiz decides my wand will be "Sprucewood with unicorn core.  11-1/4" with pliant flexibility.

Afterwards we kick around the marina in an effort to find food.  It's not easy with Mrs. Huntswoman's veg restriction as most everything is surf or turf.  Eventually though we find a spot where the waiter offers her a "spanish omelette" (which we're expecting to be a "tortilla de patata" which is REALLY delicious)

Honestly, as long is it's not more noodles, Mrs. Huntswoman would probably have eaten just about anything.  The youngest ordered a steak and the waiter wasn't sure.  I had to tell him I'd help before he'd write it down.  We also have no idea how that boat from Michigan got all the way over here, but it won't be the only one we see (the other from Washington State).  and of course there are cats.  While we're doing our absolute BEST to not make it obvious we're sneaking them food, it gets pretty aparent pretty quick.

and then it's down at the beach

Three guys have a walled section of the beach where they've cleaned up all the trash and have permanently placed umbrellas.  It's 15TND ($5) for entry for all four of us, so we pay and take our spot in the shade.

And, of course:  there's more than just cola in that bottle 

Cheers, guys!

Extra-long update on a Monday morning.

Jerry said:

Extra-long update on a Monday morning.

Hopefully this week will offer a bit more free time than I did last week.  Summer break is great for getting things done, but when the kids are home they can be a real productivity killer

So there we were, kicking around the marina.  Nothing on the "to do" list.  Life is good.

I made mention to Mrs. Huntswoman when we were kicking around the desert. "Do you know how good we must have it to INTENTIONALLY make things more difficult for us on vacation?  Most people go to resorts, or travel destinations...  Not us.  We're like 'ooh!  Let's drive to the Sahara in June in an old truck without AC and poop in a bucket!'  No one that has it rough intentionally goes out and does that.."

Which makes us reflect, but being at the marina really drives that point home.  Not only are we in civilization now, but we're in a local travel destination and finally kicking back and relaxing.

7am was my wake-up time and the eldest Huntsman wants to watch instagram reels.  This is our morning routine back home, and since we have wifi (and a room separate from where Mrs. Huntswoman is sleeping) it's possible.  By 8am I head down to the truck to get the coffee making stuff.

I tried the stove and it didn't work, so I had to go back down and get our spare gas burner to get coffee started (I didn't want to run the coleman stove indoors).  I was updating my travel journal when I realized I was sitting right next to the breaker panel, and sure enough it was just a tripped breaker.  I reset it and the stove would work for the rest of our stay (the induction stove, while GREAT for cooking oatmeal, did not work with the coffee maker)

And there's nothing better in the morning than an early swim so we all get dressed in our swimsuits and head back to that clean portion of the beach.  Obviously we weren't able to take any pictures, but we did tons of belly surfing on the waves with the kids, attempted a game of "Marco Polo", and all that jazz.

On the way back, we walk beyond the hotel and out to a peninsula.  Google maps listed a "cliff jumping" spot and I wanted to check it out.  We found the spot, but it wasn't anything to get excited about.  Only about 30 feet and there were older kids already in the area.  No need to spoil their fun.

On the peninsula though were ruins of an old building and what looked to be a long abandoned boat ramp carved into the solid rock.  That was pretty cool to see.  And then there were the views...  again, not a bad one in sight.  Unfortunately I didn't have a camera with me so you'll just have to take my word.

Back at the hotel we rinse off in the shower and pack up for a walk in town.  There's a mosque we want to see, along with a fort.

The ticket seller is SUPER nice, and it turns out he has family in Georgia (small world!).  We'll also learn that some of the scenes from "Life of Brian" were filmed here, which means:  MORE NERD POINTS!

Honestly, I DO like Monty Python but Life of Brian wasn't one of my favorites.  Maybe I should watch it again.

Anyhoo, the fort (like the other tourist spots) we're largely left to our own devices and there is a LOT to explore.  Some rooms have displays (English descriptions are usually included) and there are plenty of crevices and places to explore.  When I climb the tower with the youngest there's an english speaking mother carrying her child that goes up at the same time as me AND we run into Hungarian speakers at the top.

We left no stone unturned in that place and STILL could have spent more time there.  Plus the views from the walls weren't bad.  The only thing we couldn't find was a coffee shop that was listed on the map.  We're getting kind of hungry and should probably stop to eat soon.

Lunch was at a restaurant with an open terrace that happened to be across the street from a police station.  There were what looked to be a BUNCH of migrant workers out front, and it was like they expected the place to be open and it wasn't.  No idea what was going on.

At one point, I ducked across the street to use an ATM, but otherwise things were uneventful.

We're right on the edge of a walking district (souk) and we decide that after lunch we'll kick it through the streets to see if there's anything we want to buy.  Mrs. Huntswoman spots a dress shop and against our better judgment at this point we head on in.

The owner?  Super chill guy.  He's manning the cash register, establishes a common language, and tells us "hey, all the prices are listed.  If you want something, just let me know"

THAT, is a nice change of pace.

Ultimately Mrs. Huntswoman decides on one dress, but kind of wants this second one.  Both are nice and the negotiations begin.  Of course because the guy "likes us so much" we get a "very special discount" and end up buying both (and they are nice dresses).

After that it's off to what we thought was a "decorative mosque" (it's not far from the fort, as you'll see in the second photo)

Walking up are some people selling trinkets, and one guy with a camel.  We head around to the right of the building to pay for entrance and once in, the youngest Huntsman spots two cats mating.

"well, now I know that about cats!" he says.

Not normally what I'd expect when visiting a mosque, but hey.  We're all learning here.

On display inside is a room full of political looking items.  There's a desk that looks like it belonged to an important politician and photos of important political figures on the wall (even one of former President Regan).  It turns out that we've stumbled on the "Bourguiba mausoleum".  Resting place of Habib Bourguiba, president of Tunisia from 1957 to 1987.

I gotta say, the building and the grounds were insanely nice.

And again, we have zero plans for the day so after we leave the mausoleum we really have no idea what to do (and it's nice).  We kick it around the marina real quick.  We're going to be in an established camp site tomorrow so we do buy some groceries for dinner, etc.

We spot a statue we call "The Little Mermaid", and of course:  more cats

Still, NO idea how these boats from the US are getting here.  Especially not one from my home state!

Ok, no getting around it though.  We need a wall charger for our phones, and this means walking back into the crowded part of town.  I opt to jump on that grenade if Mrs. Huntswoman want's to go drop off the groceries.  I've got like 5% left on my phone after today's photos and comms are difficult with the language barrier.  What I do to get around that last point is que up a photo of a wall charger and plan to use it to show any potential shop keepers what I'm after.

Just out of the marina area I spot a corner store.

no dice.

Heading down streets I start looking for another chance.  I spot one at a similar looking corner shop (my phone is almost dead now).  I show the guy the photo (with the screen going dark now) and he asks where I'm from.  Once I tell him he tells me that he doesn't have what I need, but to follow him outside.  This guy is like "lots of blonde hash" levels of chill and owns it like it's his job.  I love it.

As I'm following he tells me of a local rapper who has a song "Obama", and then starts rapping it in a low voice while staying in step with the beat until we're outside and on the corner of the street.  He tells me to head down this small side street and hang a left.  The shop I'm looking for is there.

and it was.  I bought a dual USB-C charger.

Back at the hotel Mrs. Huntswoman has the solitarie deck outand the younger Huntsmen are playing video games (while listening to Weird Al's "The Saga Begins").  Aside from the Eldest Huntsman's phone, all our devices are dead at this point (power bank is down to 14%) so we take an hour to charge things up.

After that, it's time to check something out (Mrs. Huntswoman and the eldest noticed it on their walk)  Here goes:

No one but me has ever laser tagged before (and admittedly, it's been a while for me).  We try to make the teams even, but the youngers want to battle their elders.

Shewt.  Let's do it!

How did it go?

Oh man, we ate their lunch (I was "Hulk")

Not a bad way to work up an appetite.  We'll eat again in the marina (grilled meat for us boys) and head back to swim.  It will only be the boys this time (rum and cokes for parents) but the sunset is nice.