Travelling Tim

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December 08, 2006

Tripping in Tripoli

Tripping in Tripoli - a title I couldn't resist, but I will hurry to assure all concerned readers that the 'trip' in question is my Overland Trip or Journey, not a new accident concerning my ankle!

If you have been following my story, or know me personally, you will know how I broke my ankle just 10 weeks before this journey commenced. I am pleased to report that it has improved greatly, and although I am still using crutches for long walks of over 2 miles duration, I am now able to hobble about effectively on even quite rough terrain. It is still quite painful as I walk about, but perseverance triumphs and exercise definitely makes a big difference: even after a morning's walking over a rough Roman road or cobbled street, the difference to mobility the next day is very encouraging. Actually, I've already worn through the bottom of one crutch, so its about time I stopped using them. As you might have seen from my 'Where's Travelling Tim' page, I am currently in Tripoli, preparing to go into the Sahara desert, and guess that crutches won't be very useful in sand anyway, so I better get used to being without them!

Latest news: Well, I've got as far as Tripoli! Arrived 2 days ago, and am enjoying the country and the people very much. Suprises: so many people speak English here - yes really! In Tunisia I got used to having to struggle with my basic French skills, but that's not necessary here. There is always someone who speaks English, and most of the time they are very pleased to practise their skills and spend time chatting. Other suprise: wow there are Sooooooooooooooooooooo many cars here. I guess the price of fuel has something to do with it - diesel is just 11 cents US per litre. For my British readers, that's about 36p per gallon. The roads are just jammed with cars of every type, except Toyota Land Cruisers - only the police and army are allowed to use those. Everyone drives very fast and very close, with lots of screeching of tyres but suprisingly few accidents.

I spent yesterday wandering around the medina - the old city - with its maze of narrow streets and its hundreds of shops, generally grouped by type as is typical throughout the Middle East: a street of goldsmiths, a street of shoemakers, a street selling spices, and another selling cakes and pastries. Its very easy to get lost in such a warren of twists and turns, but who cares - I often make unexpected finds that way, such as a small courtyard with a fountain where I can sit and rest for a while, or a bakery where I can watch the time-old process of producing the daily bread, and maybe take a photo. I tried that this morning, and was greeted like a long-lost friend, and presented with a small loaf straight out of the oven - they would not accept any money.

Today, being a Friday, is the Holy day, and most of the shops are closed, but I hope to visit Tripoli's Great Mosque later on this evening. We will be staying here just one more night, then journey south into the Sahara. I will have to have an extra long shower - its the last one we will get for 10 days!

The journey so far: whoops - I didn't mention that, did I?! We all met up at Dover on the 22nd, before crossing to Calais. When I say 'all' I use it in its loosest sense, as on this first leg of the journey there were only 2 passengers and 2 crew in a truck that will seat 24! The first week was essentially a transit through Europe, so no major sightseeing was expected, though we did see the magnificent cathedral in Reims, where I lit a candle for all friends and family, and thought of the pleasure my Dad would have had seeing such impressive architecture.

Most of the time during the first week was spent driving: through the flat farmlands and WW1 battle grounds of Northern France, then down through Dijon and the vineyards of Aix en Provence to Toulon, the Cote d'Azur, and the sun of the Mediterranean. We travelled along the coast road through Antibes, Cannes and Nice, which was nice. Didn't have any chance to mix with the Jet Set as they had all jetted off to some other part of the world, leaving their luxury villas locked up for the winter, and the roads comparatively clear of Lamborginis and Maseratis. No chance to park for the night in MonteCarlo (at 10 Euros per hour) so we continued on to Italy, and stayed in one of their excellent motorway service-stations, with salad and pizza for dinner, and coffee and croissants for breakfast.

The next day, passing through the mountains, we drove to Genoa (or Genova) to wait for the Grimaldi Lines ferry to Tunis. Had a great 36 hours exploring the city and its own maze of back-streets, where the houses are so close you can reach across to borrow a cup of sugar from your neighbour quite easily, and where even the Emergency Services use tiny little vans to fit between the buildings. The journey across the Mediterranean was uneventful. The sea was calm and flat, and the ship made a good 21 knots (39Km/hour) for most of the journey, arriving at Tunis early. I used the 22 hours to write Christmas cards, which were posted in Tunis on the the 1st of December. The sun shone most of the way, though there was little to sea from the deck, despite sailing fairly close to Corsica and Sardinia. Just one or two ships to wave to. (I like waving.)

Reception of the BBC world news on my little Sony short-wave radio was excellent, as has proved the case throughout Tunisia and Libya too, so I am able to keep in touch with world events. I haven't seen a newspaper in English since leaving Europe, but the BBC keeps me up-to-date with all important happenings, such as San Francisco's recent move to pipe the smell of cookies into some bus shelters, and the subsequent complaints from the local Diabetics Society, who felt left out.

In Tunisia we picked up 10 new passengers, taking the total to 12, which is a bit more like an Overland Trip. Canadians, mostly, with Brits and New Zealanders making up the numbers. Quite a few are only going as far as Cairo, so there will be big changes there as the passenger-count increases to 19. We spent the first few days in Tunis, a lovely city, which I would recommend highly. Lots to see, pleasant weather, cheap food, and plently of cats. Tunis has got to be the number one cat-capital of the world, and the people, likewise, are proud but friendly, pleased to have visitors, and partial to Tuna, which as a vegetarian I have had great problems avoiding. They put it in everything!!

There are more photos of Tunis and the Museum on my Africa Photos-1 page.

After Tunis we travelled to the wonderful Roman ruins at Dougga, the ancient city of Le Kef, the famous mosque at Kairouan, and the stunning ampitheatre of Thysdrus at El Djem that held 30,000 people. As a total change, we then went to see the underground houses of Matmata, some of which were used in the movie 'Star Wars' and as such attract quite a few visitors! The set-decorations are still there! Crossing the Tunisian-Libyan border was a LOT easier than we expected, and after a day at the Roman site of Sabratha (which gives you another name to Google for images) we arrived at Tripoli, which brings me back to the start of this Blog-page, and is therefore an excellent place to end, for now.

See the Africa Photos-1 page for more photos.

Posted by travellingtim at December 8, 2006 05:19 PM