thedogandthefox's blog

The desert planet of Tataouine

Submitted by thedogandthefox on Wed, 2006-06-07 21:05.

First things first: it’s a real place, way down south in Tunisia, far from the beaches, beyond where most tourists go. 


Secondly, it’s not actually the desert, though it is the last proper town before the desert: go any further and you’ll be out in the sand, no water, where it freezes at night in winter and is, to us, mysterious, further than mere miles might suggest. 

We got there – improbably enough – first by a longish drive in the transit to Genova (or Genoa, or Genes – suit yourself), via friends in Ivrea and Turin, and then a day with Grimaldi lines on the Victory. 

From Tunis we drove, via a night in a comfy hotel in Hammamet, and a break in El Jem where, disgracefully, we ate a snack opposite the Roman amphitheatre but didn’t actually visit it, and the excellent public art on the seafront at Mahares (another snack, in the Café du festival), to arrive only an hour late for our 5 pm appointment with chum Oliver at the m’Bil al Harem.

Bongo summer

Submitted by thedogandthefox on Sat, 2006-05-20 13:06.

We - Gill and Hil - being of more advanced years than Ali and Malc, have just acquired our new bongo. A bongo, you may believe, is a type of drum. Or if you're a know-it-all, you may think it's a rather natty horned beast with stripes, a sort of antelope with attitude (no, really). Ours is a camper van and it's very lovely.
It has to go to the kennels with the dogs for two weeks today though, because we are off to Tunisia, driving the transit this time. You may not quite credit the driving bit, but it's true, at least as far as Genoa. Then we go to Tunis on a spanking new Italian ferry, owned by a company whose name translates as Big Fast Boats. We shall see.