Katherine1965's travel blogs:
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Midoun market, and quad biking
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Wow! What a day! Who would have thought that quad-biking was so much fun.......
Firstly, we had at last learned that markets here start early. So we made it up for breakfast, and got out to the splendid Midoun market, with rows upon rows of all sorts of goods, and many customers, both local and tourist looking for a bargain. Paul Eric stocked up on more men's perfume (!), and whilst he was inside the shop, a lady selling fabrics dressed me up in a traditional Djerban costume and took a photo of me. The following picture is an example of traditional Djerban cloth, but the woman is not me, if you were wondering!
Neither am I one of these women on the ferry! S
he was not very happy when I didn't buy anything, but I was not sure I would really get much use for the item, and decided to save my money. Instead, I bought two tableclothes, a scarf, honey and a pair of trousers for Paul Eric, all at comfortable prices. Paul Eric was interested in a black, leather belt with a huge skull for a buckle. I thought it was tasteless and hoped he wouldn't buy it, especially when they were asking 20 dinars for it. I refused to let him buy it and ushered him away. Then the guy came running after us, offering to sell it for 10 dinars. Even I couldn't resist that bargain, so my young adolescent got to buy his cool belt after all! Lunch was the famous, tasty schwarma from a local shop. We didn't mind standing in line with all the locals for a long time, to get that beautiful, fresh escalope and french fries! The following is a photo of the bread that was used, and which could be found everywhere. Delicious, and much better than the French sticks!
Then it was in a taxi to find a quad-bike firm in the tourist zone - a special treat for Paul Eric. We were told the price would be kr.250 for one quad which we would share. Having paid, they took us in a taxi to where the vehicle stood ready, and then told us for another 50 kroner, we could have a quad each! That too was something Paul Eric understandably wanted, so we went for that! Though this is not the company we hired from, this is very similar, and the quad bike looked exactly like the one in the picture. (Habib, by the way is a man's name and means "friend" or " darling"! Interesting!
With helmets, and a crash course in how to drive we were equipped for our 1.5 hour journey. Nobody seemed to mind that there was a sign on the quad indicating that under 16s were not supposed to drive, and nobody asked his age either. Well, well........adherence to rules means loss of income, so never mind that, eh? Anyway, I am glad to say Paul Eric was an excellent driver, following closely behind the guide all the way, with me in tow. (Hate to admit it, but sometimes they had to wait for old mum in the rear). The guide was a really nice young guy, who seemed to get just as much pleasure from the ride as us! First we followed a sandy track through a desert area, with high banks on either side, and some houses and cacti. We couldn't drive very fast here, as we had to negotiate the turns, but suddenly we were out on the wide open beach with compact sand, and man, did we get the speed up! The feeling of the wind seizing my jacket and helmet was so exhilerating as I soared over the sands! Indescribably free and exciting - better than I would have imagined! We had time to stop for photos and for a short walk on the rocks by the sea. What was really fun was the break-time at a small, local café where many others had also parked their quad bikes and were enjoying mint tea or coffee. We felt like a motorbike clubbers at a rendezvous with helmets under our arms and drinks in our hands!
We got a lift back to the hotel by the guy that ran the shop over the road - in his "Mercedes", an old banger that was falling apart! Swimming and dinner followed. The food was getting progressively better, and tonight Tunisian specialities were on the menu - by far the best option! After dinner, I watched the Tunisian folklore show, with belly-dancer, and local, Djerban dancers, all accompanied by a big drum, a small one and a kind of oboe (sorry I don't know the names of the instruments. Will try to find out!)
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