Luckily for us, the shore excursion didn't start until 9:00am so we could sleep in a bit. Our first impression of Tunisia was the dreary port and we were the only cruise ship in the port. Actually, from the appearance of the port, they were not used to receiving tourists. We got on the bus and off we went to the first stop on the excursion the "vibrant and colorful" Gabes Market. The drive through the town reminded us of Egypt. There was trash lining the streets and people just standing around. Everything was falling down and dirty. When we arrived at the market, I experienced for the first time on our trip a true feeling of discomfort. It did not seem like a safe place to get out and there was no market in sight. But, we all trooped off of the bus and through a dirty shop to the open market.
From the description in the brochure it was picturesque and loaded with stalls of basket makers, jewelers, and many others exhibiting their products. Sadly, the market fell drastically short of this description. There were only a few stalls and from the sight of the men running the market, I did not want to be alone. Matt did get cornered and had to watch a presentation by a guy who wanted him to buy a "magic camel" for mixing drinks. The only interesting part of the market was the stall that sold spices. There were mounds of different spices out in the open and people would buy bags of whichever spice they chose. Once again, from the looks of the men running the stalls and the flies everywhere, I do not think my immune system is used to the secret ingredients in their spices.
The "vibrant" market looked more like a ghost town
The spices, on the other hand, were colorful!
Once the half hour in the market crawled by, we went back to the buses to journey to where part of the first Star Wars movie was filmed (well, the first in terms of release date, actually the 4th in the series), a town called Matmata. We saw the area where the Cantina Bar scene was filmed. We remember the music from that scene but we really don't remember the visual part of the movie, so we will have to rewatch it to truly appreciate where we visited. Also in Matmata we were able to see a traditional home. Most of the homes we saw in Matmata and on the way there were in the sides of hills or underground. While they do have some running water and electricity, the homes are nothing more than holes dug into rock. The land, being desert, was bleak and dry. We drove for hours through sandy, dry land. By far, Tunisia was the most poverty stricken place we have visited. We were reminded, once again, of all the wonderful blessings we have in America.
Cantina Bar
Typical Scenery
The day was supposed to end with a horse drawn carriage ride through an "oasis", but by the time we arrived at the carriage loading station, we were all tired of Tunisia. Hours of desert road tends to make one a little stir crazy. Plus, we were going to have to wait 30-60 minutes to ride on a primitive carriage. The people on the bus almost turned into what Matt was calling an angry mob. We all just wanted to go back to the boat and get out of Tunisia. So, we ended up skipping the carriage ride and headed back to the boat.
Once on the boat we had lunch, played some more ping pong, and relaxed. After dinner we attended our first cruise show, a comedian. He was alright, but not too impressive. We were quite disappointed with today's excursion, simply because the brochure mislead us in its description of the place. If we had known what the trip would have included, we would not have gone. As the cruise director said, "I have never seen so many coffee shops in a place where there is so little to stay awake for." What is amazing is how happy the natives are despite what little they have, a principle from which we all may learn. We look forward to a great day in Malta tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment