Oasis Gabes

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.
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.
It is f...ing hot. 42 today.
We are having a fab time ...


Mel could you post the link to blog on Centre peel and ESL TEACHERS conf please.

... qui siamo andati all'oasi di Ksar Ghilane, il punto pił a sud che riesca a visitare con ragionevole facilitą (ci arriva, da non molto credo, una strada asfaltata oltre ad un miliardo di piste su cui non ci siamo avventurati, da brave personcine giudiziose). Ci si spinge verso sud per circa 70 km in mezzo al nulla, una pietraia che diventa piano piano sabbia, abitata da rare famiglie berbere (credo) con pecore al pascolo. E lo so che ...

Photo Essay mainly. Matmata. or the town of sunken houses. Not to be confused with the Matamata in central New Zealand, acknowledged hotbed and centre of rural wifeswapping. (It was in an Auckland magazine so it must be true) No wife swapping in Matmata thats for sure, They seem to keep them. Some have up to three wives ...

... in a cave though, and to have all your rooms lead on to an open air courtyard. In the height of summer it gets up over 40 degrees so presumably the roof, or lack of, has a cooling effect... although I like to think they ...

... 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.

... early in the morning, and stopped in a hillside village and then we were able to visit a troglodyte home (a home that is made up of man made caves built into the mountains in desert). We stopped breifly at a viewing area on the road where we were able to survey the vast expanse of mountains around us. We got into Gabes just in time to catch the train back to Tunis.

... strange that the first thing the Frenchies did when they invaded a country is slap a tall poofy white hat on everyone's head and say "come on boyz, let us bake some bread, no?". No complaints here. It's also decidedly different from Libya. I had my first argument within minutes of entering the country! I stopped at a roadside stall to buy blackmarket petrol smuggled from Libya. The last petrol ...

... tourists. It seemed like the rest of Tunisia to me, but without all the French tourists. I never saw a beach, possibly because there wasn't one. We saw the market and then the train station filled with Tunisian Boy Scouts waiting for the same train as us--going to Sousse. In the Gabes market we really got into it with some spice sellers over some saffron. Assuming it actually was saffron, we worked our way down to a pretty good deal--they ...

... money. One bleating creature is laid on its side roped to a trolley and hauled away. Carts are laden with richly hued spices, some wrapped in neat plastic bags of coriander or cumin, others in deep bowls and piled into dunes of paprika or cayenne. Always there are the cans of harissa, the hot sauce of Tunisia and baskets of olives, lemons and artichokes. Boxes are stacked four high and are filled, no, crammed with live birds that squawk until they are bought and their ...