First month in Montreal

Tunisie: Le Sud

MATMATA
This part of the trip was a bit weird and I could definitely say it was the least pleasant. When you arrive in these villages you notice that people are watching you and trying to find a way to get some money off of you. They come up to you and insist so much that it becomes unbearable and you give in. I don´t think I ever got this angry at a human being before.

Despite the harassment, it was interesting to see how they lived.



Woman grinding flour.
Villages in the middle of nowhere



TATAOUINE:




Ksar Ouled Soltane This used to be a fortification used by Berber villages in North Africa to store large amounts of grain.
One of the most beautiful man made things I've seen in my life. I really loved this.




DOUZ This Bedouin we met the night we arrived in this town wanted to go for a night out in the desert, so he proposed to call his Berber friend who was a desert guide and had a jeep of his own. They fetched everything we needed like tent, couscous pot, food, sleeping bags, etc and we'd head out all together. At first, I must admit I was a bit suspicious with all this but we went for it and it ended up being a peaceful adventure with the locals and no tourists. And best of it all, we were on our own in the middle of the desert in the dark with absolutely no human, sound nor light pollution.

Other than the desert trip he took us around to see his family´s date plantation and showed us the whole process...

showed us around what they call ´the door to the Sahara´



...the difference between the camels. Like this whiter one is Algerian...(they are more beautiful),

and these are Tunisian dromedaries out in the desert with their shepherd.



An autumn Sahara sunset
An infinity of sand.....




This is the Berber friend who had his own jeep. He made the best couscous ever... it was scrumptious!
Desert rat. It's incredibly fast! Took me quite a while to get a decent picture.

Mr. Berber Cooka making lamb couscous

This is how dark it really was. The other pix are obviously bright cus´of the flash.

Yes, we ate out of the same dish... it was delicious tho!


Our dessert, mint tea and Chicha


Explaining how the size makes a difference...hehe.

It was a great night. We slept in a tent they brought for us. The Bedouin and his friend s


Our breakfast - pain de sable which means sand bread. Looking at the pix you can already guess why that name was given to it.
Covered in ashes to cook it.

They beat it really well cus´I really didn´t feel any sand while chewing it ot maybe the sand is just too thin to feel.

Dip it in olive oil, and ready to eat! Hmmmm....delicious!

We looked like kids playing with sand. Actually, it was more like trying to walk on the sand.
fun...

silent...
peaceful...
immense...

treacherous...


unpredictable...



Ksar Ghilane This is the oasis we were going to originally sleep over had we not chosen to stick with our Berber and Bedouin friends. After seeing this tiny, overpriced thing I was so glad we chose to camp in the middle of nowhere.


Tourist tents with local stuff

On our own exploring more of Southern Tunisia after the Sahara adventure. This time heading Northwest towards Tozeur close to the border with Aleria


Chott El Jerid a salt lake. When you walk on it, it´s as if you were walking on a bunch of cookies.








Small and very cute place we stayed at in Tozeur. For some reason I didn´t take pictures of the city, maybe cus I was tired after a few weeks traveling and needed a break, but the city is adorable. Lots of things to see and the restaurants we went to were really good.

TAMERZAT right on the border with Algeria. The region is called Oasis de montagne and the oasis here are just gorgeous
Hungry??? Pick som dates!

An abandoned village, complete ghost town.







An extremely sought place by the tourists... we managed to get away from everyone

MIDÈS






METLAOUI we went for a train ride around the Gorges de Selja








On our way back up towards Sbeïtla
Street mechoui (bbq) - delicious

That sheep is the next... I know it sounds awful but at least unlike us, they only kill when they really need to.


SBEÏTLA Roman ruins from sometime BC







And that´s it for the South. We drove another 9 hours back Northeast to Hammamet on the Mediterranean.