When the sun raises the sand on the air.. Trip to the desert of Tunisia

Destination: desert south of Tunisia
Accommodation: hotels and tent
Flight: independent Internet
On site: Desert Rats Tunisia (oeratore Italian) mail: the_desert_rats@yahoo.it
Budget: € flight. 230 € all included raids of the desert. 1.000
Recommendation: I recommend all the variety of places visited.

 

Prologue

I decided to write this report of travel driven by the desire to share this wonderful experience.
I state that I started late, at thirty, to travel. Until that time travel was just a dream for me. After that was enough to break the ice to start a habit that took me to Brazil (4 times), a United States of America, China, Cuba, India and almost all of Europe.
When I travel I love the phrase "do it yourself" by buying just a flight to make do on the spot, of course, after I recorded mostly on the Internet. This is to get the result of "off" completely out of the routine and stress of a daily fact of computer, bills, appointments and phone calls.
It 'was during a discussion with a friend know about a blog for travelers who pointed out to me as I'd never been to Africa. From that moment it struck the spark that led me to places I describe below.
When I pointed to Tunisia, I do not deny that I have now turned their farm since joined the name of the country as tourist villages, picnic in the desert and the inevitable tour-plucked chickens in the souks for visitors.
To contradict everything we thought the "Benny" the Italian guide who lives in Tunisia for 37 years, which put me in touch via e-mail the_desert_rats@yahoo.it first and then by phone. Benny is able to stimulate my curiosity Suggest a tour in the desert, on the road, outside the normal flow of tourists to enjoy a unique experience. I preferred to trust an expert of the places, because despite having traveled much abroad in the past, and even considering an open mind toward the "new", I confess a certain distrust of the Arab and Muslim world. In India, I sometimes got to do with Muslims, but are not successful in spite of serious episodes, nor Serb mistrust toward some of their attitudes.
So here I put up the car organizer (and my Nokia phone book) to look for partners for this trip. The period is September, so it's not very easy because of work commitments, but the short period of eight days and the flight of just a couple of hours limited, means that we can form a group of five passengers, three boys and two girls. I consult the local guide about what we should bring back: a sleeping bag, trolley bag or soft, lightweight boots, lightweight clothing for during the day, suitable clothing for the cold night, valid passport, personal medicines for those who he needs, spotlight type miner (then you'll understand why!), bathrobe and of course camera and cam!
The personal baggage in total should not exceed 25kg as not to sacrifice the shipment (and here there was some difficulty actually!).
We manage to find a flight from Bergamo to less than €. 200 with a stopover in Rome, but we prefer to do it single-Malpensa Tunis with Air One (now or Alitalai CAI) for only 30 euros more, got on the internet!

1st day

We arrived in Tunis on a warm morning in mid-September. After the formalities of customs Tunisia unusually rapid, we meet our expedition leader, I can finally put a face to Benito and his helper who had previously only heard by telephone, the owner of his agency from the picturesque name of "THE DESERT RATS". I immediately think of these as we have played in the thrashing until '43 from these parts.
The program is tight, and not to waste time, let's start on board the two Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4, south, towards Douz, the gateway to the desert where we arrive late afternoon.
On the way we stop at El Jem, where we visit the Roman amphitheater, which I discovered only now be second in size only to the Colosseum in Rome (blissful ignorance). Dormant for discovering the wonders of the Colosseum Tunisian also clean off once inside of Matmata, a troglodyte village in the mountains, Benny Troglo us around a house, houses carved into the rock typical of these parts. They have a special moisture-retaining internal temperature of 18-20 degrees all year. We leave the mountains behind and we walk the miles that separate us from Douz, the gateway to the desert, situated along the rocky desert, to be ready to delve into the sand the next day. Stay overnight at the Hotel Mehari, with great surprise that I find to be a four-star spa with a pool of water inside, and with views of the first dunes. A providential shower, then we have dinner in a restaurant, from where we Magik knowledge with the rest of the staff.
Nearby is the Jebil National Park, this is the last remaining in the Tunisian Sahara savannah with a variety of animals, where you can go on safari. Too bad that the tight timeframe of the tour does not allow us to delve into the bush. I note in my diary this stage, perhaps to return, or in the future ...
After the banquet and the inevitable cigarette after coffee, we go to bed tired enough to sleep immediately.

2nd day

True to the promise that was not a Club Med vacation guide our forces us to an early, and after breakfast, with lots of pastries, we start at 6 ° ° at a time of Timbajne in the mountains. We leave the paved roads and deal with the first cross-motivated hard to get into the habit, seeing the first chains of dunes, then we're going to climb, with passages between them aboard our Toyota, we stop for one of the first sand quick lunch. This is a kind of training in preparation for the following days. Benny tells us how we should behave toward the people he meets, how to avoid unpleasant encounters with snakes and scorpions, like drinking and how to move. We finally venture into the desert of Sahara, the void. Sand and rocks everywhere, and the silence broken only by the sound of the wind. We stop only in the late afternoon in the middle of "nowhere", not forgetting to collect the firewood needed for the fire. Under the careful direction of our guide prepared the tented camp for the night. The first dinner under the stars, exchanging impressions of that first day feeling almost of the Tuareg warriors for our first day in the desert. After the usual combination of coffee and cigarette becomes impossible not to admire the incredible sky for us accustomed to the haze of smog and the city lights. This night I will always remain inside the attraction to that bonfire in the middle of nowhere, I do not know because it appeared as something of a "friend", reassuring. I had never stayed in the sands of the desert, although in the past made day trips in the deserts of Rajasthan and the SERT. Of course, the Sahara is another thing!

3rd day

At dawn, after breakfast now resume the march, accompanied by the slow passage of time, we are in the midst of a sea of sand and after the hubbub in recent days, the silence of today accompanied by the whistling of the wind reminding us to reflect who we are, confrontation with nature and the Sahara, which is no longer just the big yellow spot on the map, but now it really appears as one entity without borders.
The goal today is the Lake of the Moon, where we arrive after no little trouble crossing chains of sand dunes. After a day Benny tells us that we have overridden seven! Driving on sand is a very special, it is curious to observe how the dune is covered, always at the top to crack and not cover up the vehicles. After a stop for lunch, the caravan resumed the march, the road starts to get tired, the heat of the Saharan sun slowly becomes an adversary, which tires you out. I'm beginning to want to reach as soon as possible to the goal. I am reminded of the marches in the desert of legionnaires seen in old movies in black and white.
It 's almost a relief to face the last stretch that leads to the lake, where a thermal spring feeds the reservoir, contained in a natural context, difficult to describe, leaving aside all caution, and mindful of years of films set in the desert we throw ourselves into hot water without even changing, feeling divine. We are not alone, camped near there is a clan of "Arbaia," the guide explains a nomadic people of Algeria, fled to Tunisia with their flocks and camels, for their disagreements with the government. Ringalluzziti the unexpected bath, prepared the field, the chef will prepare us for the dinner and then a well-deserved rest. It would be curious to know our neighbors oasis, but fatigue prevails, and I do not seem so excited to stand next to this group of noisy Italians! We witness Benny who speaks to their leader, reminds me of John Wayne that deals with the Fort Apache Indian chief in the massacre. Oh well hopefully that will not end well this time too! Physically this far we were able to prove to ourselves we can do it ..... Of course we were on camels with Lawrence of Arabia, but I assure you that the feeling is great! It seems to touch the stars with your hands.

4th day

We always remember being in the middle of the Sahara, no waste, the sand now has slipped everywhere, we can not get rid of it, we live together ...., we are living the adventure in the desert, we are part of a movie!
We expect many hours of crossing chains of dunes, looking for novel passages as scouts, I never thought about it, but the dunes are moving, we head towards Ksar Ghilane oasis, where palm trees gives us the impression of the garden, again thermal spring with a pond. It's easy now to understand why the Arab tales offer as a goal of always refreshing oasis. It 's the feeling you get when you're in the midst of this annoying sand. The journey allows us to enjoy shows that make us feel how small we are and that we too are at the bottom of a grain of sand we come to the oasis in the dark, now we have become fast in making the tented camp in the palm grove. There are forces for dinner, always two steps ahead of the fire, exchanging impressions and feelings as they experience difficult times and why not, even the fun of the day.

5th day

We stay all day in the oasis devoted to relaxation, swimming in thermal water, 37 degrees, and get in touch with the people close to the oasis, which are very friendly and well disposed towards us. Does anyone speak French, so it is easy to exchange a few words with the locals.
In three, apparently not tired enough yet of the trip, we do not miss the opportunity to make a trip to camels accompanied by the locals to visit a Foreign Legion fort just an hour away. Not me I lost all the money in the world! Take away the smell and the seat uncomfortable, it's too "cool" to travel well in the desert in the footsteps of the legionaries. The inevitable ritual photos and then return to the oasis and spend the day that ends with the inevitable dinner as a main course that sees the kid just butchered.

6th day

After a day of relaxation, we have breakfast the next day, returning to the path at the time of Douz, where we greet the team, and reluctantly we realize that we have left behind the desert, who had become almost familiar with all due respect, direction Tunis, crossing the salt lake Chott El Djerid, after a visit to the oasis of Tamerza mountain road to the capital, not without some regret, realizing that our raid in the desert is over. It 'amazing how the desert times to widen. I seem to have left Italy for a month! On the way lunch at a restaurant. To set out at a time of Tunis where we arrive late afternoon. Accommodation in Sidi Bou Said, known as the pearl of Tunisia, the typical village perched on the cliff on the Mediterranean coast, one half of our ancestors in ancient Roman poets and writers. Bou Fares are staying at the charming small hotel built on an old Arab house restored by Moroccan craftsmen. The guide takes us to the Lebanese restaurant for dinner. In late evening we take the mint tea in one of the oldest cafe in Tunisia, the De Natt

7th day

We are in Tunis, where we immerse ourselves in the chaotic traffic. we have the opportunity to visit the Bardo Museum, one of the world's most important for mosaics in the presence of an almost perfect state of preservation, or rather some one walks right over. After the Bard go in Medina district, where we have lunch and walk among hundreds of small shops with its inevitable shopping. I imagined a very different Tunis, but it is very similar to many European cities of the Mediterranean.

8th day

Ultino The day is dedicated to the guests' belongings is not without a touch of nostalgia to take the direction of the airport where we greet and Benny ................. return to Italy.

Final considerations

As described above, we only bought the ticket in Italy, entrusted to the Agency for the rest of Benito. Choice that has proved very appropriate for a raid in search of adventure while still feeling calm and secure, which allowed us to bring us the feel of a very special adventure. Already planned another raid in the desert that our guide is organizing from Tunisia to Egypt through the desert of Libya. The temptation is strong!