BY: MJ + PJ
We are not shy of taking advice that may lead to something we didn’t know we wanted to see. That is the premise on how we ended up staying in the Sousse, Tunisia, region for two weeks. For a more in-depth look at our time in Tunisia, visit our PHOTOS post.
First, some background on how this happened.
While trying to arrange to meet up for a few more days with our Worcester friends, we had to determine where we were going next, and when. We wanted to visit with them again and see their city prior to our exit from Great Britain We were also looking forward to catching more time with family in Twickenham. Since they were planning to travel at around the same time, we needed to pin down some specifics. They were going to Tunisia to hang out near a beach at a resort.
To be frank, that country and that kind of plan was not on our radar. Tunisia and Morocco had been brought up once while we were in Bicester, but our list of places to visit and time remaining to do so had a very inverse relationship. Tunisia sounded awesome, and we were having logistical challenges with getting to Turkey. The scene was set!
Within a few days Tunisia became the destination for the next flight we bought! We were needing some down time and to stay put for longer than a week in one place. Additionally, we still needed to bide time before entering any of the EU Schengen countries. These goals could be achieved if we went to Tunisia, plus we could also keep our budget under control with a favorable exchange rate.
When we arrived at the very barren airport in Enfida, Tunisia, there appeared few options to get us to Sousse. Luckily we asked a few questions and were able to squeeze in a van that operated as a part of a tour company from Britain. This van dropped us off right at our resort’s foyer. On the way, we learned about how they drive in Tunisia. We got a real ‘feel’ for it! (Clearly there is more to this story! That is for another time and post!!)
Not many Americans or Australians take vacation in this region, so we were a bit of a novelty. We played this out as a good thing. To be honest though, we were a bit uneasy about how we might fit in amongst the mostly British, German, and northern European tourists. Initial apprehensions aside, we found Tunisia turned into another valuable travel learning experience for us.
The lessons learned? Take a calculated approach to where you choose to go; be open to new and very different things; and be prepared to be uncomfortable until you work out what there really is to experience. Sounds easy, but it doesn’t feel easy. It was also a reminder about our unexpected time in Bolivia: Have few expectations and you shall be rewarded bountifully.
Once settled, and having taken a day or two of poolside downtime, we decided upon some local tours. By this time our Worcester friends had arrived and we made some plans to get out and about. Our first tour was a full day on a large tour bus exploring the regional history inland and to the south. This tour took us to the ancient cities of Kairouan and El Jem.
At these places we saw some exemplary examples of engineering that are about 2000 years old. The Amphitheatre of El Jem was clearly a highlight – the external facades and walls are in astonishing condition, you can go in and around and underneath, and it is still the most impressive structure for miles around. It was one of the last Roman amphitheatres built, and one of the largest ever built, thanks to the roaring olive oil trade of the time. It was a long day and we took far too many photos!
There were plenty of easy days thrown in between anything we did while in Sousse. It was meant to be down time for us, as we had just raced through Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland in the space of three weeks. MJ got to run a few times on the beach, PJ got plenty of yoga in, and AJ made plenty of new friends – getting long hours away from his parents. They were barely doing anything anyway! It would be difficult to forget that each morning, from our east facing third floor room, we could watch the sun rise from our bed!
A few days after the ancient cities tour, we took another tour. This time it was along the coast to the north to see the Nabul markets, visit and tour an amazing pottery store, and to sample the goods at a winery. Again it was the Colorado-Worcester crew. This time however it was in a small van with just the five of us, the driver and the guide. Boo-yah! “Private” tour! This was only a 3/4 day tour, but it packed a lot of punch in terms of experience and fun!
The pottery store was packed to the rafters, literally, with all manner of items and designs, and we wished we could buy and ship a crate full of items. Since they were far too heavy and bulky, would risk being broken as we threw our packs around for the next 4 months, and would cost a fortune to ship, we only bought 2 small tiles.
The Nabeul marketplace was huge. It was street after street after alley after alley of goods. We suspect some visitors do not walk deep enough to realize how vast it is. There were textiles and clothing and olive wood utensils and electrical appliances and chainsaws and shoes and toys and sacks of spices and more! There was also a large area like an empty lot – dusty and uneven – with an enormous amount of fresh fruit and vegetables and second hand clothes for sale. It was immense! We walked around for two hours and did not see it all.
It would be truly unjust to not mention the winery and lunch we had. The guide had warned us that “Wine tasting in Tunisia is not like other places – you don’t spit anything out”. We entered to find a long table with about 12 bottles of wine – most from the winery itself (La Chateau), but also a few regional examples included. Our tour guide acted as translator for the ‘wine guy’ (for lack of a better term) as he described each bottle. Then they walked away, saying “Taste them. Taste them all. Then we’ll have lunch.” So we did, appreciating the small tapas style dishes that were also laid out.
Lunch was next on the menu, and it was five courses. Woah… wasn’t expecting that! Back on the bus we were all pretty much done for the rest of the ride back to the resort. The day had had a little bit of everything!
On another day, we walked the beach to visit the Medina of Sousse. We wandered through the narrow cobbled streets and ended up at the Sousse Archelogical Museum which is in the fort structure on the Medina wall. This museum houses the second largest collection of Roman era mosaics, with the largest collection being housed in the Bardo Museum in the capital of Tunis. Knowing we would not likely get time extended time in Tunis to see the musuem, we took the time to have a good look at the samples housed here.
One of the nice things about the resort was that AJ was able to get some quality social time and to make new friends. He could enjoy these friendships as most people were staying about a week, and he could see his friends daily. This was a big change to what he had experienced since being in Ohio – short episodes of play, usually over a half hour of playground time. It made us happy to see him interacting with so many different peers day after day.
After spending 14 days in Tunisia we headed back into Europe. It was an unexpected location, but it proved to give us more than we anticipated and some things we needed. It was a vacation in our vacation, also getting to spend time with both existing and new friends.
