Hotel Ras El Ain Tozeur

... is done.

Our final activity of the day is a trip into the foothills, where we hike up to the tomb of an Islamic holy man. It rests on the side of one of the canyons used as a location for the movie "The English Patient." The hike is exhilarating, and the sun is setting, providing the perfect long rays of light for excellent photography. Early dinner tonight, and very early start tomorrow, as we head back to Tunis.

... accompanied by Berber youths. At one point I'm beckoned off my camel by a handsome man on a stallion and offered a ride on his horse. How could I resist?

We cross a huge salt lake on a causeway as the sun is setting, reaching our hotel in Tozeur. We’re very close to Algeria now, and looking forward to another day of desert and oasis adventures tomorrow.

... quasi assordante. Sveglia presto e giretto per la medina di Hammamet con ancora tutti i negozi chiusissimi (ma a che ora si svegliano qui?), l'unica attività fiorente era un caffè appena fuori dalle mura della medina stracolmo di uomini che sorseggiavano caffè e cappuccino (o almeno, una cosa color cappuccino con la schiuma sopra) e fumavano la shisha (il famoso ampollone da cui si fuma non si sa bene cosa tramite una sorta di tubi, ciò che tutti chiamano ...

The computers here are insanely slow and I'm not allowed to upload the pictures I've got! I 've written all the entries from the last one up till now, but alas, they're on a USB card too (used ethan's phone to type them out so that I wouldn't have to spend ages in an internet cafe). They're coming, don't worry. We're safe and everything's wonderful. I have lots of pictures and stories. We're off on our desert excursion tomorrow to the Grand ...

... to Tozeur to switch driver then left for the Chott El-Jerid. This see of Salt was amazing, 80 kms across to Douz the next town. Missed the Thursday market, we walked around Douz for a bit but there wasn't a lot happening. Was now around 6PM, we had to hurry to get to our camp before sunset. Camp El Bibane was in the Sahara at an oasis called Ksar Ghilane which was about 150 kms away. The road there was ok, drove in some dunes qand on some ...

... view from the window over the terrace and palmary beautiful. We started to get the flavour of being in an Arab country, as the Arab pop music blared out from a sound system on the terrace, and it hightened our feeling of anticipation - a different culture, new people, new experiences! Even this could not keep Paul Eric awake, as by the middle of the day he was very tired and had a sleep on the bed. I also was tired, but far too excited to sleep. Instead, I went out ...

The train left Tunis at 10:15am and pulled into Tozeur at 7pm. It was long but a pretty decent ride. We stocked up on groceries at a mart in the train station so food was not an issue. Also, since 1st Class seats were about $20 and 2nd Class seats were $12 it didn't seem like too much of a splurge for the additional comfort. However, we actually were riding 'Confort' class, which we had read was an unnecessary upgrade above 1st Class seats that you can buy in Tunisia ...

... but if anyone out there can offer some insights it would be appreciated. Back in Tozeur for a final look around. I should mention the architectural beauty that the area is apparently famous for. Pretty much everything here is built of tiny sun-dried bricks, applied into intense geometric patterns not unlike the weavings also typical of the ...

... that flows through town and has a couple of springs at the five star hotel end of town. The pools are quite attractive amongst the palms but the gushing of the water from large pipes reduces the tranquil feel a little. Still, good for a swim when it gets really hot here no doubt. Date palms are the big business here and no visit would be ...

... and got to wander around and take photos, I have quite a few. After that we drove to the top of another dune and watched the sun go down looking out towards Algieria. Very cool! Remember to drink lots of water! Oh ya, the Lonely Planet recommendation for top end in Tozeur, at least the one we picked, sucks. And we now know what the Survivor contestants feel like when the food cravings start. Ask me how many people I would kill right now to have a bowl of oatmeal, go ahead, ask me!