Tunis, Tunisia - Day 38 - Boots on the Loose

Got off ferry in Tunis after dark; customs was funny… supposed to fill in sheet for weird things we were importing into the country but we didn’t really understand it, so we didn’t do it, played dumb and kept walking. Two big guys wanting to drive us in their cars into town; we went to cab instead and watched a shouting match between the 3 or 4 of them.

Welcome to Africa.

Sped excessively to town in an early 90’s Honda Civic that smelled of burning electrical components; driver turned out to be fairly nice and dropped us off in front of the Carleton Hotel which was equally nice (though 100 dinar/night so a little expensive… a dinar is roughly the same as a CDN $) Jamie quite sick still with a cold went to bed right away, Jen and I headed out for a quick bite. Wandered down the main drag and back, we settled on an outdoor cafe right near the hotel and had a couple Fantas and crepes. A beer of course was what I wanted, but isn’t so available in Tunisia (being a Muslim country… though alcohol isn’t impossible to find; turns out they actually do make wine and have a national beer called Celtia).

First reaction I had to it all was being slightly fearful of the constant stares everyone gives (especially to Jen of course); got over it though within a day or so, and now I’m one of those people I’m always so irritated about at home that watches their feet everytime someone passes. Hopefully I’ll figure out a more intelligent way of dealing with it.

Next morning after a breakfast consisting of something more than a croissant (finally), went and found a cheaper hotel (15 dinar/person) right near the Medina. Spent a couple hours wandering the Medina and stopped for lunch. Decided to take a cab out to the Bardo Museum which was supposed to cost about 5 dinar; of course we didn’t question him using the metre, took (apparently) the long route and charged us 20 dinar instead. Grrr.

I’d say that currently we’re being ripped off 3 times per day on average, but each time it happens we learn something new, and have already saved ourselves once from the “metre” trick.

Museum was decent; a lot of mosaics from Carthage and other ruins in the area. Took the train back to avoid the cab fiasco.

Next morning walked up to the North train route and did a day trip to the ruins at Carthage. As was noted in the book, you really do have to use your imagination for the main area. Did the museum, walked to the amphitheatre just in time for some shelter from the rain, eventually ended up at the bath house which was easily some of the best ruins we’ve seen so far (but had to be very careful to not point the camera in the direction of the adjacent palace surrounded by heavily armed guards).

Tired from another long day, train pulled up FULL of people. I mean so completely packed that the doors don’t shut, people hang out the side as the train goes. So we hurriedly crammed ourselves in, and within 1 stop Jamie had his wallet taken from his pocket. Son of a bitch.

After a good long rest rest and reflection back at the hotel, wandered out for some more crepes, and finished the emotionally bumpy day with a good old-fashioned hooka. 2.7 dinar for the smoke, tea, orange juice, and big bottle of water. Fantastic (and Jen’s allowed in too!).

Next morning we used our cab-haggling skills to get a 5 dinar ride to the bus station (though he tried the metre trick of course). Once there we ended up taking a small van to a town called Tabarka. Lesson of the day: get him to write down the price. I swore he said 16 dinar (in French though) and of course wanted 60 once there. Hard to argue with someone in a different language (plus 16 dinar did seem unrealistically cheap for a 3 hour journey).

Drive was fairly nice; quite a bit of farming, really good highways, neat cork forest part of the way. Switched to a different van halfway (where we learned the real price of the trip) which wasn’t as good.

Wandered up the hill to the Hotel Mamossa which is actually incredibly nice (pool, bar, great view, neat old colonial-style building); book said it would be approximately $10USD/night but turned out to be over double. She knocked the price down for us a bit since it’s low season but still hard to swallow. Wandered around town after looking for cheaper ones, but the biggest savings we could find was only 5 dinar/night and not even close to as nice.

Lots of restaurants have chickens on rotisseries going all day which look amazing so we set out that night to try it. $2.50 included soup, bread, salad, fries and chicken. Best deal we’ve seen yet!

Next day Jamie did a day trip out to some underground Roman caves which he said were great; Jen and I hung around town, walked up to an old 16th century Genoese castle at the top of the (man-made) peninsula at the front of town. We were told you couldn’t go in but just as Jen was looking for a spot to pee, a guy poked his head out a window of the castle and invited us in. Knowing now that no one does anything for free, I gave him 1.5 dinar before he had a chance to ask (which seemed fair since he gave us tea and was quite nice). I must add how impressed I was at our ability to communicate with him in French (and everyone else thus far too!).