Saturday 25^th April – Bizerte, Tunisia (Tunis)

37:16.424N 9:52.819E

This morning we were up very early as we had decided to visit the medina in Tunis.

We knew there was a train out at 8.20 but we had been advised to take the bus as it was quicker. However, when we had visited the bus station the other day we hadn't been able to figure out the buses as all signs and timetables were in Arabic only.

So around 7.30am local time we headed off for the train station via the bus station, joined by Rosi and Otwin. When we arrived at the bus station we saw a bus ready to pull out. Otwin flagged it down and as it turned out there was a bus inspector aboard. We asked if it was headed for Tunis and then via sign language and ESP we found that this was not the right bus station, this was the local bus station and there was another one on the outskirts of town for the long distance buses. The inspector was very friendly and indicated that we should get on this bus and they would drop us off at the right station.

A few minutes later we were at the right bus station and we were then adopted by a nice lady from the bus who showed us where the tickets could be bought, 15 mins later we were on our way to Tunis in an air conditioned bus.

We arrived in Tunis about an hour later and it was already getting hot. Again, the bus terminal was out of town and we couldn't find the metro stop so we hopped into a metered cab which took us right into the centre, at least a 10 minute drive in the heavy traffic, for a grand total of one euro equivalent. On arrival it was immediately apparent that Tunis is much more touristy.

We looked for tourist information but couldn't find it so we visited the cathedral instead. We then stopped for a refreshing glass of tea at a cafe just outside the medina (prices definitely higher than Bizerte) and then headed off into the medina armed with Otwin's map from their previous visit.

The medina was interesting and certainly should not be tackled without a map; the shops reminded us of Marrakesh and we soon learnt not to show interest in anything or the shopkeeper wouldn't leave us alone.

The first visit in the medina was to the main mosque. Having paid a relatively large entrance fee and having been told that we would be able to see the courtyard, the minaret and the cupola, we were shocked to find that we were only allowed just inside the courtyard and that we literally could 'see' the courtyard and minaret and cupola in the distance! Fine though the buildings were it was a bit disappointing.

However, having registered our disgust, we were whisked off in the wake of someone who promised to show us a better view and he took us to the roof of a nearby building and we had great views across the city and into the mosque. It turns out that there are quite a few shops here which offer panoramic views of the rooftops to encourage custom.

Our 'guide' then tried to continue the tour but we were keen to go off on our own and explore; a tip, which he only grudgingly accepted, had him on his way back to the mosque for his next victims – he wanted to stay with us and earn himself a much bigger tip we think.

From the mosque we headed out on the less touristy streets and were rewarded with views into the workshops where the men were working on wood and metal and making shoes.

We were shattered by lunchtime and we went to a restaurant that was frequented by locals rather than tourists and had a well earned rest. I chose fish with cous cous and the waiter rescued the other three, who were going to order the lamb, by telling them that the dish was in fact a half sheep's head! Not feeling that brave, they ordered the roast chicken instead. Lunch was excellent and incredibly cheap.

After lunch we continued our tour around the medina and walked our feet off. We went down a street of old palaces and were invited into one that is now a theatre; there was no-one around and it was sympathetically adapted without removing the old architecture. We also found the modern art museum which we wandered around and had to ourselves, shown around by the curator.

By mid afternoon, it was very hot and the medina had become very busy. It was quite a battle to find our way out through the crowds.

Once out we headed for the train station as we had decided to try the train for the return journey. On the way we stopped off at a large supermarket to see if we could find any Tunisian wine; we haven't been able to find any in Bizerte but as Tunis has a Christian as well as Moslem population, and lots of tourists, we thought we might find some. We found some red wine and bought a couple of bottles to try.

When we arrived at the train station we found that the train was not for another two hours and that the journey would take two hours on top of that so we opted to take the bus. One benefit of going to the train station was that there was a very helpful tourist information office and so we have come back armed with the maps we need for next time.

We had an interesting time finding a cab back to the bus station as the train station appears to be where the pirates hang out. The first few cabs refused to put the meter on and wanted to charge us five times what we had paid in the morning. Eventually we found a legitimate cab and were on our way. He seemed to think he was Nigel Mansell and we were there very quickly.

Once back in Bizerte, we grabbed a cab for the short ride back to the marina. The taxi driver was very friendly and was teaching us some basic arabic as he drove us back.

Back at the boats we settled in the cockpit of Pyxis to sample the Tunisian wine as the sun went down. After we had finished the two we had brought back this time, it seemed a really good idea to see if the bottle Otwin had bought last year was still OK and then it seemed like really good idea to compare it with a Sardinian bottle too. Oh dear...