Hotel Kousseila Matmata

Well what a day. We drove in 4x4 to an oasis in the Sahara. Arrived in time to swim in the hot spring which was actually cooler than the air temp. At dusk we went on a camal trek into the dunes. K was terrified for about 10 mins and then was a pro (by her own estimation). It was blowy and we were well wrapped. Pics are on K s camera so I will put those up later. Off to Douz today.

Imagine...they have internet in the Sahara.<br>Currently we are sleeping in a cave or old berber house as it is locally known. K is in heaven of course. I will attempt to upload pics soon. Off to Sahara proper tomorrow.<br>It is f...ing hot. 42 today.<br>We are having a fab time ...<br><br><br>Mel could you post the link to blog on Centre peel and ESL TEACHERS conf please.

... che sembrano i bagni colombo ad agosto e alcuni negozi di souvenir. Mamma mia. Sopravvivendo allo shock e superata la ressa si potrebbe andare verso un forte romano, ma ci separano da lui 3km di deserto vero ed è mezzogiorno, e ci è già passata la voglia di unirci alle impressionanti carovane di cammelli e (molti meno) cavalli che portano i turisti dopo il bagno (prima?) a vedere il forte, adeguatamente addobbati, tutti uguali, da ...

... Yeah gods, imagine paying for three divorces if it went wrong. Maybe thats why the houses were underground, you could just give them all a spade and leave them to it. and how would you chose which one to take to the wife swapping party...... I digress stay on topic.) We left the big city and went bush, or the Tunisian ...

... for lunch, which turned out to be a bit of a disappointment to be honest. I think they'd taken the flavour out of everything in case it was too spicy for us... not cool! After lunch we were given permission to view and ...

... live in the mountains in dug out homes (inspiration for the planet Tatooine in Star Wars) Drove for a few hours to Douz and then a camel ride through the Sahara. Stopped for some photos at Chott el Jerid (the salt lakes) before heading to Touzeur.

(NOTE: I've had WAY less internet access than I thought I would.. haven't been able to transcribe my written journals and post them, but I thought I'd just post the pictures to satisfy you guys for the moment. Keep sending me emails though! I'll send another email when I finally do post the actual writing. Love to all. -Chels) Today in brief: Left Ksar Ghilane ...

... the Starwars theme, it sometimes turns out to be ET or Superman). There are lots of old bits of set lying around (well, stuck to the wall). Did you know that in those futuristic pipes were just there to hide the palm trees inside? After breakfast I wanted to go to the Tashi station to pick up some power converters but the manager said I had chores to do before I wasted time with my friends ...

... us a sheepskin rug that we didn't want. We "bargained" him down by repeatedly telling him we didn't want it (which was true). This tactic brought the price down to a quarter of the initial price. We still didn't buy it. After all this haggling, we then proceeded to get hosed for two sandwiches and a soda, paying $4--WAY too much. We took the train to Sousse, where we got a hotel room and went to the beach for the sunset. Shannon ate a schwarma.

... past small groves of palms and the occasional troglodyte shack carved out of the low lying hills beside the road. It rose into some substantial hills about 40km inland from Gabes, so approaching the town surprised me as I was expecting a flat, barren wasteland much like the one Luke surveyed from the edge of a crater whilst pondering ...