We only have two days left of what was supposed to have been a six-day road trip. We sort of “lost” the first two days due to the package ordeal, but we are still satisfied with the trip. We are especially excited for today.

But let’s get back to last night. We arrived at the Maison D’Hôtes Dar Fatima in the early evening. This is a B&B and what a B&B it is! We 100 percent recommend this to anyone who wants to stay in a lovely home, with delightful and friendly proprietors, and excellent food! Oh, if you like cats, you will like one of their cats. Even they say that one is nice and one is mean! 🙂

Here are a few pictures of the rooms and the terrace:

We ate a big breakfast and headed out the door.

I’d told Michael that I wanted pictures of camels today. We hadn’t seen many at all thus far (maybe three?) and hadn’t taken any pictures. Boy, did we hit the motherload of camels!!! I mean, we didn’t really hit them, we just admired them. First there was just this one guy by the side of the road:

Then, there were 11 camels crossing the road. . . . quite near a camel crossing sign. 🙂 🙂

Okay, so that was super fun! We didn’t see another camel, so the camel gods were with us at that exact moment.

Now we were off to see two oases and a canyon. The oases have nothing to do with Star War, but the canyon supposedly did. (More on “supposedly” later.)

The first oasis we visited was Chebika Oasis. From Tunisia Travel Guide: “Close to the Algerian border, in an astonishing setting, between the gypsum mountains (orange rocks at the origin of the “sand roses”), the ocher-colored sand and the dazzling blue sky, this oasis is considered the most beautiful in Tunisia. It is located near a very pretty old village (former Roman military camp: Ad Speculum) which offers it the source of water necessary for the growth of its palm grove and from where the view is breathtaking.”

Oh. My. Goodness. We had so much fun climbing on the sand and rock formations and taking a copious number of pictures.

We needed to use the restroom. I am taking this opportunity to show you what most of the toilettes are like in Tunisia. No toilet paper, but a hose that squirts water.

And now, to Mides Canyon. About forty miles from Tozeur, Mides Canyon stretches three kilometers across the spectacular, barren landscape. The impressive gorge with its many layers of tawny-colored rock sets the scene for the pod race on Tatooine in Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace. (I should mention that we found this Star Wars reference in more than one place, but other sources list a different canyon – Sidi Bouhlel – near Mides, as the canyon where Episodes I and IV were shot. I actually think that Sidi Bouhlel is correct.) The one thing I can say is that the canyons we saw at Mides and, oddly enough, at the Tamerza (or Tamaghza) oasis, both look a lot like the pod race canyon. In the end, we just enjoyed the canyons!

We had to wait for the sheep to cross the road before we could pass.

We could only see Mides Canyon from the rim. There might be a way to climb down, but we didn’t. It was spectacular!

We learned that we were only 200 meters from the Algerian border!

It was time to drive to our last destination of the day: Tamerza (or Tamaghza) Oasis. We got to drive on one of the dirt desert roads again:

Tamerza (or Tamaghza) Oasis is the largest mountain oasis in Tunisia. It has a canyon and an abandoned old town. The town was abandoned after the river flooded for 22 days in 1969. It receives fresh water from the nearby hills. The standout feature is the Tamerza Waterfall.

To be honest, I liked the Chebika Oasis a bit more because there were so many places to climb around there. Although. . . this one has a very cool canyon, and that very cool canyon definitely reminded me of Star Wars and the pod races. And, you can walk in the canyon rather than viewing it from the rim. So there’s that.

We saw more interesting sand and rock formations on our drive back to the hotel.

It was nearly Christmas and we’d been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas shows as much as possible. We watched White Christmas in the B&B after our fabulous day of sightseeing.

We started the next – and our last – day eating breakfast with other B&B guests. Oh my, did we have fun! There was a mom, her two grown daughters, and two children (one per daughter). The young girl had been learning English in school for three years, so she was doing pretty well. Her mom was chatting away in English pretty well, and would stop and ask the group how to say a word in English when she didn’t know it. Sometimes Michael and I would try to guess the word she was looking for. Here’s an example:

The woman with the daughter (both of whom were doing most of the talking) live on a farm. They have 11 camels, 24 cats, sheep, chickens, and peacocks. At one point, they were talking about sending their camels to the ______. They couldn’t think of the word. The “mom” pulled her finger across her neck and I immediately thought of a priest’s collar. So I said, “priest?” Michael guessed, “butcher.” He was correct. 🙂 🙂

Anyway, we had such fun talking with them! And the family that owns the farm invited us to come visit them! We will definitely do that, as the farm is in Monastir, not that far from the marina.

Today was all about driving home, with one stop at El Jem Amphitheatre. From UNESCO: “The impressive ruins of the largest colosseum in North Africa, a huge amphitheatre which could hold up to 35,000 spectators, are found in the small village of El Jem. This 3rd-century monument illustrates the grandeur and extent of Imperial Rome.

The Amphitheatre of El Jem bears outstanding witness to Roman architecture, notably monuments built for spectator events, in Africa. Located in a plain in the centre of Tunisia, this amphitheatre is built entirely of stone blocks, with no foundations and free-standing. In this respect it is modeled on the Coliseum of Rome without being an exact copy of the Flavian construction. Its size (big axis of 148 metres and small axis 122 metres) and its capacity (judged to be 35,000 spectators) make it without a doubt among the largest amphitheatres in the world. Its facade comprises three levels of arcades of Corinthian or composite style. Inside, the monument has conserved most of the supporting infrastructure for the tiered seating. The wall of the podium, the arena and the underground passages are practically intact. This architectural and artistic creation built around 238 AD, constitutes an important milestone in the comprehension of the history of Roman Africa. The Amphitheatre of El Jem also bears witness to the prosperity of the small city of Thysdrus (current El Jem) at the time of the Roman Empire.”

First, views along the way, then the amphitheater.

That’s it! Our Tunisian road trip.

We arrived at the marina the evening of the 23rd of December. We joined about a dozen other cruisers for a three course meal at a restaurant on Christmas Eve, and we had a potluck with almost the same group on Christmas Day. We played charades and had a lot of fun!

Tonight (Friday, December 29) is drinks, snacks, and game night in the Yacht Club. We will get together again on New Year’s Eve for a curry potluck.

This is a GREAT MARINA for cruisers! And the cruisers are simply delightful!