Reminders of home by an African beach
Dave the motorhome hasn’t moved, he’s transfixed by the view from his spot at the Centre des Stages et Vacances in Aghir, on the Isle of Jerba, Tunisia (N33.75751 E11.01483). We’re right on the beach and the Scout group of nippers left this morning so we have the place to ourselves – a little piece of paradise.
A perfect place to rest for the day!
It’s Sunday, so we’ve had the day off – of course any day can be Sunday to us, so it was really just an excuse! A lovely walk along the beach this morning revealed huge white hotels just around the corner from us, each with their own private beach. There were even a few hardy Europeans lying out on the sun loungers – it all feels very strange after the past few weeks of feeling like we were on another planet. I guess we’ll now be firmly on the tourist trail as we follow the coast north, but there’s no need to rush – there’s still plenty more to see (and besides we haven’t booked our return ferry yet!).
A little piece of Europe in Tunisia
Construction work is still going on to build new hotels here
Lining the beach were dilapidated bars and sun shades, the place was obviously once a big tourist area, but now they seem to be few and far between. I like to think it’s because we’re here out of season, but in reality I think the tourist industry here has severely suffered because of the revolution and troubles in Libya and Algeria – which is a shame.
Charlie joins me for a dance at one of the mothballed beach bars
Jay rests up at another beach bar – also closed!
Back at Dave we spent the day relaxing in the sunshine, sitting out reading and Skyping family and friends. It’s always strange to have a little taste of home for a short time, my Brother really made us feel like driving back as he described his day which included bacon for breakfast followed by a pint or two by the fire in the local pub – pretty much all the things we miss! But what we don’t miss is the rain, and it looks like everyone has had their fill of that back home (that and horsemeat!).
Charlie loves the round bits of trees which are all over the beach – free balls!
After a dip Charlie likes a good run to dry off!
We’ve seen loads of people out fishing in these, dragging their nets behind them.
Jay cooked up cottage pie a la Dave for our tea – as we have no oven it’s pretty much mince, onions, gravy and veggies cooked up, then served with mash on top – a homely treat. Tomorrow we’re heading to the ‘capital’ of Jerba island, which is a small town which has a Libyan souk on a Monday. Then we’re not sure where we’ll head. We’ve heard that you can wild camp on the beaches further around the island, but after our previous wild camping attempt when we first landed in Tunisia, we’re a bit nervous of trying it, so we may end up back here – after all the island is only about 25km across!
Can you spot Dave?
Sun sets on another glorious day in Tunisia
Have a great week everyone.
Ju x
Hi, have just finished “A monkey ate my breakfast” on my kindle, congratulations on a great book, interesting, entertaining and a great read. Any chance of a book on the entire trip please?! Hope you continue to have a great time. We have just bought our first motorhome as a retirement present, definitely won’t be any where near as adventurous as you though!!!
Hi Christine
Thanks for taking the time to let us know you enjoyed our book, and for your kind words about our book, it’s great to get feedback. We get comments on the blog, but not much about the book!
I doubt there will be a book like that one of the entire trip, it would rival the encyclopaedia britannia for size, and may take us until the end of our days! :)
Hopefully the blog will quench your thirst for more, although we have toyed with the idea of writing one of our time here in Tunisia – and as they say, never say never, so there could be a round up of trip highlights one day.
We never realised just how much time and effort it takes to write a book. Now we know we’re reluctant to commit to another while the pain of the first one is still fresh!
Could I be cheeky and ask if you’d please pop a quick review on Amazon for it if you have time? We’re keen to get as many as possible on there to try and sway potential purchasers who don’t read our blog!
Great news that you’re joining the world of life on four wheels, it is a great way to travel. Just getting out there and seeing stuff is adventure enough, it doesn’t matter where it is. Not sure if you’ve ever caravaned or hired a motorhome before, but it is great fun – France is a particularly fab place to venture around as they have motorhome facilities in pretty much every town.
If you have any questions about motorhoming – however random, because chances are we’ve asked them too – please drop us a line.
Cheers
Julie
Why move on? That looks like a perfect spot, living the dream :-)
Hi Colin
You must have read our minds. We did move, drove to the main town had a look around then came back. It’s so great (and cheap) here we’ll stop a few more nights and use it as a base to explore the island.
Julie
Have a lovely stay Gretings from Holland