Skanes (Tunisia) February 2013

Hotel: Rosa Beach, Skanes

We always like a little break away in the early months of the year, and after last years freezing cold trip to Krakow, we thought we would head somewhere a little warmer.

Our hotel was another all inclusive, but with just two Al a Carte restaurants and a Buffet, the selection wasn't as vast as our Dom Rep trip.

Our first night there we joined a game of cards that was happening with some of the "long-term" residents and a few of the new Entertainment Team.  The game was one card chase the ace, which as a family we had played for years.  This is were we met Peirre, a Tunisian member of the Entertainment Team who spoke 7 languages!

The weather we had hoped for was there, just a little windy to boot.  Always being a Star Wars fan, we had decided on Tunisia for the fact that the set was still in tact at Tattooine and could be worth a visit.  So early we booked onto the two night excursion 

A couple of days before our trip, we thought of a trek to the local town for a spot of local shopping.  We heard a little kerfuffle starting, but thought nothing of it.  A few minutes later, a full scale riot was happening outside the shops and we were scuttled into a local supermarket to hide.

Luckily our taxi driver was around and whisked us back to the hotel.  The residents of the hotel were under house arrest for their safety.  The trips and excursions were cancelled.

I decided to utilise this down time and had a couple of awesome shiatsu massages in the hotel, feeling relaxed whilst carnage was going on outside.

Clare, gutted about not being able to take me to Tattooine, had done some inquiring about hiring a taxi driver to take us on the 300 mile trip and had haggled a good price.  So at 5am we woke up and was greeted by an infected Tunisian to take us on this journey.

We arrived in Matmata (Tattooine) in the early morning and was shown round by a local boy, who after the tour demanded more of a tip.  I told him that I left my wallet at the hotel and he would have to come back with us to get the extra £5 he wanted.  This put him off knowing it would have been a 600 mile trip.

On our journey back we called at El Jem, the second largest (standing) ampitheatre in the world.  El Jem was fantastic, and really topped the day off well for me.  I think Clare was feeling a little tired and I was unsure on the health of our driver, so we returned back to the hotel.

We booked in for a Tunisian Meal at the Al a Carte restaurant that evening, and Clare had opted for the lighter option of Cous Cous.  We were all amazed when a tagine of cous cous turned up that could have fed everyone in the hotel, stacked with chicken and lamb.  As lovely as it looked, she could not eat it all, and we were all too stuffed to even contemplate helping.

We enjoyed Tunisia as much as we could, but with the house arrest, long journey to a galaxy far far away and the prevailing winds, I don't think it is somewhere we would rush back to.