Tunisia Trip Journal from Oct. 05 to 18, 2007

Last updated Oct. 30, 2007. To return to Tunisia Pictures Page 1 or Tunisia Pictures Page 2.

Country: Tunisia

Duration: Oct. 05 to 18, 2007

Distance Traveled in the Country: Approx. 2500km on the motorcycles.

Most Memorable Impressions:

We were surprised of how much the French culture has rooted itself in the Tunisian/Arab/Berber heritage and current day to day life.  As a foreigner we were addressed in French first, signage in Arabic/French and most Tunisians are fluent in both languages.  Arriving off the boat from Italy, we were thrown back into the Muslim world, welcomed by the friendliness and helpfulness of Tunisians.  The country offers a taste of the Arab world, while still being very easy country for western visitors.  The green mountains of northern Tunisia stand in contrast to the barren deserts of the south.  The temperature changes were a shock to the system, as temperatures in the mountains drop to single digits.  The desert heat provided us with some needed warmth.  For a relatively small country, Tunisia offers ancient sites, sandy beaches, beautiful green mountains, Sahara desert and weird villages from another galaxy (Star Wars). Mostly, we will always remember Tunisia for experiencing Ramadan first hand.

Our Favourites:

- Sahara Desert

- Bulla Regia (Ancient Roman Underground Villas)

Fuel Cost: 1.15 Dinar/litre ($0.93CDN/litre) for 95 Octane Fuel.  The biggest problem in Tunisia was finding gasoline.  Plenty of gas stations, but some of them are out of gasoline.  Diesel is readily available.

Accommodations: Hotels from 25 to 60 Dinar/night ($20.00 to $50.00CDN/night) and Camping around 15 Dinar/night ($12.00CDN/night)

Exchange Rate: 1 Dinar = $0.81CDN

Special Thanks to: Chez Sghair Arafat from Les Amis Du Camping

Oct. 05 and 06, 2007.  We are on the Ferry from Trapani, Sicily to Tunis, Tunisia.  The ferry itself it pretty empty and we hang out in the theatre room in the reclining chairs.  As indicated previously we are under the impression that it is a 21 hour Ferry ride.  The sun sets and we make ourselves comfortable on the floor around 8pm for some sleep.  At 10:30pm a guy with a vacuum cleaner calls out to us in French something like wake up.  We scramble upright, all confused checking the time and somehow realize that the ferry had arrived 30 minutes ago way ahead to our presumed 21hr ride.  The cleaning staff was making their way through the ship and had run across us.  Thinking back it was pretty funny.  Trying to get oriented, we are asked if we had completed the custom papers.  What custom papers? Yeap we were organized.  After completing the paper work we get to the hull of the ship and are the last ones to get the motorcycles off.  At least we didn't have to wait in line for anything.  At customs we are approached by helpers, who will help you through the paperwork process in return for a fee.  As always signage is poor and our Arabic and French rusty.  Our helper speeds us through the process in 1/2hr.  No Carnet de Passage required for the motorcycles, but a note is stamped in the passport that they were brought into the country followed by our personal entry stamps.  Both motorcycles and our visa's were free.  For the service of the helper we paid 20Euro, after negotiations.  By the time we leave the customs at the port it is midnight.  We have no idea of where to go and decide to head to El-Fahs.  Our rule of not riding at night time was now out of the window, as we head straight into the centre of the Capital of Tunisia.  Tunis is a city of 700,000 people and the road from the port takes us directly to the Ave Habib Bourguiba and we end up via the Ave de France infront of the Bab Bahr (Porte de France), a huge arch, beyond which is the medina.  There was hundreds of people sitting at the cafe's and walking around.  All the shops were open and the souq/market in full swing.  Traffic was down to a crawl.  Did I mention that it was now approaching 1am in the morning.  We learn soon that it is Ramadan and the customs that accompany the tradition.  Somehow we find our way out to the centre of the city and are on the highway to El-Fahs.  It is pitch dark and around 2am we arrive in El-Fahs, there is still a lot of activity on the roads with people walking the streets and drinking tea at the cafe's.  We are unable to locate a hotel and ask the police who are stationed on almost every traffic circle in the country for some assistance.  The main language is French followed by Arabic.  We communicate our dilemma and are told that the closest hotel is 40km past Zaghouan.  We continue and realize that the police had radioed ahead to the police at the next traffic circle and we were directed to the hotel.  The hotel was situated at the base of a natural spring and came with a large Hammam (Bath).  Arriving at after 2am, we had no bargaining power to the price of the hotel.  If you would like to call it a hotel.  It definitely had seen better days.  The bathroom had no shower, but came with a kitchenette.  We paid for the luxury 40Euro.  Arriving this late in the country meant we didn't have a chance to hit the ATM machine. By 9am we are on the road again, our first priority finding a bank machine that will give us some local currency.  The small down of Zaghouan has an ATM machine and it actually works with our debit card, we are amazed.  The motorcycles are on empty and we fuel up.  It is giving us a reference to how much everything costs. 1.15Dinar/litre ($0.81/litre for 95 Octane Unleaded Fuel).  We are only 40kms from an ancient Roman Settlement called Thuburbo Majus. At daylight the surrounding country side surprises us.  There are actual mountains and rolling hills.  We have Thuburbo Majus as a waypoint in the GPS.  Street by Street routing was no longer possible, as we had to switch to the World Map for Tunisia.  The World Map indicates main highways and by off road routing we are able to determine the direction we are heading in.  It definitely helps, as signage range from Arabic to French to no signage.  The Roman settlement of Thuburbo Majus was established in 27BC. Today some of the remains excavated are the Capitol Temple, Colonnaded Exercise Yard, Forum and portions of the Roman Road.  The cost for all ancient sites are 3Dinar/person and 1Dinar/camera.  Very reasonable, especially as compared to Italy and the amount of Tourists are spares.  From here we stop in a small town to pick up some bread and drinks for breakfast.  We decide to head north to Cap Blanc and try our luck for a hotel along the coast.  Instead of heading directly through Tunis we try finding a by-pass highway, without luck.  After a couple of hours of snail speed traffic, diesel fumes and high temperatures we make our way through and are finally heading north.  We are unable to find a hotel along the coast and decide at 3pm to head to Tabarka.  We ride up to Bizerte and around Lake Bizerte and Ichkeul National Park.  The country side is hilly and the scenery ranges from barren wind swept plains to green mountains.  The road deteriorates and occasionally turns to gravel, adding to the excitement are the continuous corners. Tired and just avoiding a huge downpour we check into a very nice hotel in Tabarka for only 25Dinar/night ($20/night).  We already had done 400km in less then 24hrs in Tunisia of twisty roads and needed some rest. 

Oct. 07, 2007 and Oct. 08, 2007. Rest days.  We downloaded the remainder of the Italy pictures to the laptop and tried to catch up on the journal.  Tunisia is not very advanced in the aspects of Internet.  They are called Publinet and are closely controlled by the government.  The computer equipment is ancient and the connection poor.  It takes me 2hrs to check the Shaw e-mail account, including one power outage (no UPS back-up) and had to reboot a few times due to frozen screen. Out of patience, I return to the hotel and Mike brings the laptop, which we hook up.  At least the computer was faster; through the Internet connection still wasn't great. We update the Norton Virus scan, register the new GPS with Garmin and e-mail the Libyan Tourist Agency a copy of our passport and Itinerary for a Visa.  We are hoping to enter Libya on Aug. 18, 2007, pending on issuance of the Visa.  Tourist Escort through Libya is mandatory.  The weather has been mixed.  Huge storms pass through everyday and the guidebook indicates that October is the rainy season in Tunisia.  Tabarka lies on the north western corner of Tunisia, bordering Algeria (22km from the border).  The recent unsettlements in Algeria change our mind to enter the country.  Tabarka is a small town of about 13000 people and through it has a Tourist zone, pretty untouched by the mass tourism of places like Monastir.  We arrive in the middle season, and the streets are deserted and hotels empty.  From our hotel we are able to observe the daily activities of Ramadan tradition.  Ramadan is the Muslim holy month when the faithful renew their covenant with Allah through fasting during the hours of daylight.  Only when the sun sets, following the communal prayer, are Muslims allowed to eat meals and special sweets.  Every day at 7pm a canon would be set off, followed by prayer.  After 8pm, hundreds of men would come to the streets and hang out at café's.  Drinking tea and playing cards until the early morning hours.  We realized that trying to find restaurant food during Ramadan impossible.  One night we ventured out and explored the town in search for a restaurant.  We sat down at one restaurant called "Café and Pizzeria", which seemed quite popular with the locals, to order some Pizza.  Our hopes were short lived as we were told no Pizza during Ramadan.  Bread is normally not available until noon.  The grocery stores are small shops, where most food is displayed behind the counter.  We started to live on bread, cheese, salami, tomatoes and onions.  There is no shortage of sweets or stores that sell sweets.  We started to get fond of Makhroud, a pastry that included dates. 

Oct. 09, 2007.  Keeping our base in Tabarka we ride south to Dougga and then followed by Bulla Regia. The loop is 260km through lush green mountain range called the Khroumirie Mountains.  From Tabarka to Ain Draham is only 24kms and takes us almost an hour, as the road is very twisty.  Ain Draham is situated 1014m above sea level.  We leave Tabarka in the rain, the road is treacherous and as we gain altitude we start riding in the clouds.  Once over the mountain range, it opens up and the grey sky slowly disappears.  From Jendouba, we continue to Bou Salem and then turn onto a small country road to Teboursouk.  The best preserved Roman city in North Africa lies just 8km outside Teboursouk at an elevation of 900m, called Dougga. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, it gives a glimpse of how Romans used to live.  The layout is similar to Pompeii in Italy. The Captiol Temple and Theatre probably the most impressive feature of the site followed by the maze of roman roads.  We explore for two (2) hours and could have spent even two (2) more hours, but Bulla Regia was calling for us. One last picture of the motorcycles parked infront of the Theatre and we are off retracing our route to Jendouba.  Bulla Regia is famous for its underground villas and a site not to be missed, as we had not seen anything similar on our travels.  The underground villas were built by the Romans in 2^nd and 3^rd Century AD to escape from the hot Tunisian sun.  We are able to enter three (3) underground villas, which feature some amazing mosaics and colonnaded basement courtyards.  In addition to the villas the site has temples, baths and market square.  UNESCO has declared Bulla Regia a World Heritage Site to preserve it.  We return to Tabarka before sun set and take a final walk to the Les Aiguilles (The Needles), which are pointy needle shaped rock formation sharpened by the constant erosion of wind and rain.  In the distance the sun lights up the Genoese Fort.  It is time to move on.

Oct. 10, 2007.  From Tabarka we head south over the Khroumirie Mountains, past Le Kef to Makthar.  Originally a Numidian town, founded around 2^nd Century BC and eventually fell under the Roman empire in 46BC.  The site is mainly unexcavated.  Several Roman roads are exposed and the Ruins of Trajan's Arch is the most imposing structure on site. The mosaics in the Roman Bath is enormous and well preserved.  We have some breakfast in midst the ruins and decide to continue to Sbeitla.  The ancient Roman town, Sufetula, lies within the modern town of Sbeitla.  As we enter the town we have a full view of the Capitol and Arch of Diocletian. At the museum an English speaking guide, describes us the way to a cheap hotel.  Most hotels are gated.  But even with the motorcycles in the gate, the hotel owners are worried and we park them inside the restaurants or lobby.  We have not been concerned about the motorcycles since we arrived in Tunisia and as with most Muslim traditions, others property is off limits. The room was simple, but had hot showers for 40 Dinars/night ($32CDN/night).  It is late afternoon and we hit the local market, which is buzzing with life.  We love exploring them, as every turn you make, something weird appears.  Of course, only weird to us westerners.  The meat part of the market is never pretty, mostly due to the fresh skinned coats hanging in full view or chickens awaiting their end.  The fun parts are the fruit and vegetable area and sweets.  Most of the sweets include almonds and are soaked in honey or deep fried. We walk from stall to stall and buy our supper, which consist of bread, tomatoes and onions.  Before sun set we visit the outside of the ancient town.

Oct. 11, 2007. As usual we are at the entrance gates of Sufetula at 8am, opening time.  The sun rises to the east and aluminates the Capitol.  What an impressive sight.  Three temples are located in the north-western corner of the forum. A Roman Road leads up to them, passing through the Arch of Antoninus Pius.  We just smile at each other knowing that we are lucky to be able to see these amazing places.  The southern temple is the most impressive, with its steps leading up to large pillars.  We spent quite a bit of time here and then make our way to the St. Vitalis Basilica and Bellator Basilica. As with most Christian Churches in the area, they were built on Roman Temples and Villas.  The St. Vitalis Basilica has a beautiful restored oval basin decorated with mosaics in the Baptistery.  The site is quite large and well excavated.  Most of the temples and baths are only ruins.  The Roman Bridge and Theatre both have been restored.  After 2 1/2hrs of walking the ancient ruins we pack up the bikes and head north-east over Kairouan, Sousse to Monastir.  A small town, situated on the Mediterranean Sea, and known for its beaches and tourist get away.  Our hotel room has a view of the sea and costs us 50 Dinar/night ($40CDN/night) including breakfast.  It is the perfect base to explore the town.

Oct. 12, 2007.  Little did we know, but Ramadan was over and with that a huge celebration occurs, where everything shuts-down and time is spent with family.  Anything we had planned to explore was closed.  We had been trying to find a Publinet (Internet Café) to confirm our entry into Libya, but even that was closed.  Instead we walked around town, all the vendor stalls in the medina were empty.  The main attraction was the Habib Bourguiba Mausoleum, where the first president of Tunisia is buried.  It looks similar to a mosque and has two minarets.  The Mausoleum displays his Sarcophagus. Leading up to the Mausoleum are two (2) octagonal structures, called the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to all Tunisian soldiers who fought for freedom of the homeland.  Here we find a local vendor selling sausage on a bun, with the very popular spicy red chili and garlic sauce called Harissa.  Let's just say our mouths were on fire, but finally some real food in Tunisia instead of sweets.

Oct. 13, 2007.  The Ribat, Monastir's defensive fortress, is one of Tunisia's oldest and best preserved. As it was closed the previous day, we are at the gate at opening time 8:30am.  The fortress was used in movies like Monty Python's Life of Brian and Zeffirelli's Life of Christ.  We enter through the Side Entrance and explore all the stairways, little niches, rooms and climb the tower.  The Ribat gives an excellent view of the adjacent Great Mosque and Sidi el-Mezeri cemetery.  The white tombs glow in the early morning sun.  We return to the hotel and gear up the motorcycle.  On our way out we check the Publinet and it is open (10am).  Finally some internet connection and we check if our Visa and paper requirements for Libya are lined up.  Hadi of Fassano Tours had e-mailed us back to complete the motorcycle custom papers.  Here we are on a French keyboard, with a super slow internet connection trying to complete the simplest tasks.  From Monastir we ride to El-Jem. A quick stop enroute to the desert.  The ancient Roman Amphitheatre build AD 230 - 238 can been seen for miles as we approach the small town of El-Jem.  No signage for direction required for this site.  Less then a month ago we had been in the largest Roman Amphitheatre in the World, the Coliseum in Rome.  Here we were standing in front of the third largest Roman Amphitheatre.  The Coliseum is better preserved then the one in Rome.  There is access to almost all Corridors, steps lead up to the top floor and El=Jem gives you a chance to walk below the elliptical arena. Entrance is 6Dinar/person plus 1Dinar/camera.  From El-Jem we head south to Gabes and then west, skirting the Sahara Desert.  Temperatures start to rise and after a good day of riding we reach Kibili.  Kibili is our hub for a couple of days, as it is perfectly situated at the edge of the Sahara Desert and Chott el-Jerid.  Mike has the GPS coordinates for Les Amis Du Camping, and without that we would not have found the spot. (N33Deg 41' 42.7" and E8Deg 57' 45.7").  Our preparation of entering all the GPS coordinates for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, as well as good campsites, hotels and gas stations has came in handy and is a great asset.  The Les Amis Du Camping is run by Chez Sghair Arafat, his great hospitably and personality make this place.  The camping was 15 Dinar/night ($12.00CDN/night), and we were provided supper for another 6 Dinar/person ($5.00CDN), which consisted of a bowl of beans, a bowl of chicken, potatoes and vegetables.  For desert it was biscuit and yogurt.  Chez also kept us company.  He seemed to be well versed in a few languages and had no problem switching from English to French to Arabic to German.  The campground is his baby and childhood dream.  After spending seven (7) years with the police force, he opened up this campground ten (10) years ago.  Talking to Chez gave us the chance to get a more personal view on Tunisia.  The average person makes approx. 250 to 300 Dinar a month ($200 to $240.00CDN a month).  The police presence is strong to ensure that Tunisia stays a safe haven for tourists, especially as it is neighbored by Algeria and Libya.  All the check stops we have seen, are mainly to check for registration of the vehicle, insurance and broken headlights.  Personal computers can be used, but the connection to the internet is monitored by the government.  This explains the poor quality of computer equipment and internet connection at internet cafe's.  Hours of operations is also limited mostly from 10am to 6pm for the internet cafe's.

Oct. 14. 2007.  We are up at sun rise, as a big day of riding awaits us.  We are excited to be in the desert again.  We take the road from Kebili south to Douz and then start skirting the great sand dunes of the Sahara Desert from Douz to El Faouar.  In some spots the road almost disappears under the sand drifts and we can't resists stopping on the side of the road to run up the dunes.  The sand is fine like powder and each step uphill makes you slide back.  We are like a couple of kids seeing our first snow of the season again.  Just past El-Faouar we hit the southern end of Chott el-Jerid.  The largest salt lake in north Africa, stretching over 51,000sq km.  The bed is mostly dry until the rainy season hits and as flat as a pancake.  There is nothing as far as your eyes can see, except the blue of the sky and white of the salt/sand. We complete the 150km loop back to Kebili and after refueling continue on our exploration westwards.  The famous causeway, 90km paved road, that links Kebili and Tozour, cuts straight across Chott el-Jerid.  The guide books talks about seeing desert mirages and we have to confirm that with the heat glittering over the salt lake, the sun in the blue sky and the flatness of the never ending horizon does give you the image of water in the distance or a convoy of black images floating between the desert and horizon.  There are signs everywhere for Camel crossing and no kidding at one sign a camel was actually standing beside it (we have proof on the helmet video camera).  Talking about weird coincidences. The most striking about the Chott el-Jerid is the remaining water holes, which due to the crystals, shimmer pink, set in contrast by the white dried salt edges and blue sky.  Pending on the crystals present the color of the water holes can range from blue, white to pale green.  In Tozour, we grab some lunch, which consisted of some traditional Berber bread, chicken and harissa (hot chili sauce).  Here we are again on fire. As it is only 2pm in the afternoon we decide to make a detour to Tamerza.  Another great highlight.  It lies approx. 60km north east from Tozour and only 4kms from the Algerian border.  The scenery at Tamerza was made famous by the filming of the English Patient.  The road climbs and winds is way from the desert floor to an elevation of 600m into a reddish canyon.  Tamerza is an oasis and has a couple of small waterfalls situated at the canyon bottom.  The ruins of former Tamerza can been seen from the location of the now closed Tamerza Palace Hotel.  We are glad we did the detour, as it is well worth it.  We return back to the campsite at 7pm, 450km later, all smiles.  After a hot shower, Chez has supper waiting for us, which is now only 5 Dinar/person.  The longer we stay the more part of the family we become.  Supper is Couscous with beef and potato, biscuit and yogurt.  We are incredibly full and hang out with Chez for a while, talking about life and the future.  He has invited us to stay with him for a couple of weeks if we so desire once we are in Morocco next year.  It seems a long time away.  We look at the GPS tracks we have saved on the computer and how much African territory we have covered and it is scary of how much lies ahead.  I have hit 78,000km and we have done already 7300km so far.

Oct. 15, 2007.  I wake up with a tummy ache and not feeling too well.  We have some juice with Chez and continue our journey.  We back track to El-Hamma and then take the road to Matamata.  Just outside of El-Hamma, we stop and I throw up the juice.  Through as we pulled up there was no one to be seen, just after completing to make a mess a herd of sheep come stampeding through.  It never seems to amaze us.  Feeling a bit better, we arrive in Matamata and park in-front of the Hotel Sidi Driss, a troglodyte pit home.  The home consisted of a large central circular courtyard, dug out of the sandstone a few meter deep, and rounded rooms are then tunneled off the perimeter.  George Lucas used the location in his first Star Wars film.  The now Sidi Driss Hotel was used for interior shots of the Lars family homestead in Star Wars.  There are several other burrowed underground homes which are to this day occupied by Berbers. Matamata lies in midst of some very barren landscape at a higher elevation.  To road from Matamata to Medenine winds its way along the edge of the mountain range and we pass through a small village called Toujane.  The country side looks unforgiving, barren, no trees, just rocks and cold wind howling.  As we enter Medenine, we also return to sea level.  From here it is only another 50kms to Tataouine.  Our last base in Tunisia before hitting the Libyan border.  Exhausted from the bug I have caught, we check into a better hotel for 60dinar/night ($50CDN/night).  I crawl into the bed with a blanket and try to get better, while Mike gets some food and nourishment for us.  The hotel lies on the outskirts of Tataouine on the road to Chenini. In the evening a convoy of overlanders in mostly Toyota Land Cruisers set up camp in the courtyard. They are French and Swiss.  They were all rigged out, looking like they meant business, and are on the across Africa journey.  To our disappointment they were only on a 3-week Tunisia adventure. 

Oct. 16, 2007.  I am feeling better, but Mike is fighting a Migraine.  At breakfast we meet a French/Tunisian guy on a Aprilia 650.  His first adventure outside of Europe.  He had some tough days in the sand and the motorcycle shows it.  The Givi Top box broken off, both sides scratched and the chain gone and that only after a week of being here.  Through one of his crashes he has caused a misalignment of the steering.  We provide the air compressor to pump up his tires, which were at 10psi and as he had only another week left before returning to France, told him to ride the bike as it was.  We mount our bikes and ride to Ksar Ouled Soltane.  A Ksar is a fortified Berber village which provides storage for granary.  The central courtyard is surrounded by 2 to 4 story high cylindrical ghorfas (rooms). The entrance to the inner courtyard is concealed.  The Ksar Ouled Soltane is approx. 20km south of Tataouine and one of the best preserved fortified Berber villages in Tunisia.  It lies at an elevation of 500m and can be seen from the distance as a large square walled compound.  Once we enter the small courtyard we are in awe.  There is no entrance fee charged and the place was deserted.  Skinny stairs lead up the side of the building to each ghorfa (three to four stories high).  Then we enter main courtyard and are free to explore staircases and ghorfa's.  The slave quarters in Star Wars were filmed here.  Several other ksours are located around Tataouine and most of them are still occupied and used for granary storage and dwellings. Returning to Tataouine we venture west to Chenini, an ancient hilltop village located in the rocky ochre slopes.  A white washed mausoleum is set picture perfect in the red rock of the mountain.  We continue our ride up the mountain on a rocky pathway until it turns into a mere foot path.  Leaving the bikes behind we continue on foot.  Reaching the white mosque, the ancient now mainly abandoned hilltop town of Chenini spreads out behind.  The ruins blend in with the surrounding rock, small wooden doors 1m in size seal some of the homes.  As we walk along the ridge we observe the locals going about their daily activities.  Berber women are colorfully dressed, mostly in bride red scarf's.  They are retrieving water from the wells to wash their clothes.  Some are walking with a Donkey.  Camels are tied up outside the homes.  The view of the surrounding landscape beautiful.  It is late afternoon as we return to the hotel.  We are both beat and still fighting some kind of bug.  I call my mom in Canada, a weekly routine to let her now we are okay.  The satellite connection is excellent and we update each other on recent occurrences.  A stray black cat has shown up at her door step and has been added to the family.  All is well at home.

Oct. 17, 2007.  We are both relapsed and are sick.  No big deal as it was a "scheduled" off-day.  After breakfast we hit the local Publinet and hook up our computer, as the French keyboard drives us bananas.  The e-mails are coming in continuously from concerned friends, as there has not been an update on our website.  We sent out a mass e-mail to let everyone know of our whereabouts.  Hadi of Fessano Tours in Libya confirms that his guide will meet us at the Tunisian/Libyan Border at 12pm on Oct. 18, 2007.  All seems to be falling into place. One last stop at the grocery store and ATM machine and we are back at the hotel for some rest, reorganizing the gear and hand washing our clothes.

Oct. 18, 2007.  We leave Tataouine at 7am and ride to Ben Guerdane, situated 30 some km from the Libyan Border.  The Shell gas station was out of gasoline, continuing toward the border we noticed that the road was lined with illegal shacks selling gasoline in canisters.  No gas station.  A bit wary about the quality of the gasoline in the canisters we returned to Ben Guerdane and in the centre of the town find a gas station with gasoline.  There is a lot of illegal smuggling and changing of money going on.  It was quite a sight to see all the activities wide in the open.  By 10am we were at the Tunisian Border exist. Here we met Hanno and Ann from Belgium in there Toyota Land Cruiser Overlander.  The border formalities only took half an hour and we proceeded to the Libyan Border.

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