I have not been horse riding for some 30 years or more but when a chance to get in the saddle came up me and BC jumped at it. Having taken a few lumps of sugar to the stables the stable hand must have assumed I was an experienced horseman and put me in charge of some feisty little filly that I called lightning. After only a few minutes I realised I should have worn a cricket box. Lightning was determined to jog out of sync with me and as I went up he went down and when we did met it was painful. As painful as this was it was even funnier to watch BC try and get into the saddle. Being only 5 foot nothing she had to stand on a wall to get on the horse. Getting off was even funnier and when it came to the time to remount she gave up and got into the horse and cart.
It was a wonderful morning and set us up for dinner so we decided to go to one of the local restaurants. The local food is excellent if a little heavy on the olive oil for my liking and the owner apologised for not having any wine in the building and even offered to take us somewhere where we could buy some. In general most of the locals I met were very friendly and away from the tourist traps the people seem nice. There are lots of places to go in this wonderful country and I spent a few hours in Yasmine Hammamet at the harbour and some time on the beach at Hammamet.
Recycling is not an item that seems to feature heavily amongst Tunisian culture and I was saddened and angry by the amount of plastic waste that floats by on the breeze. You do not expect to see Tesco carrier bags drifting by in the Sahara. In the camps fire were continuously burning as people burnt rubbish and plastic releasing god knows what into the atmosphere. The government seems to pass this by as in the case of the cheap petrol being ignored and livelihoods by beggars being encouraged. Tunisia has a lot to learn in the tourism stakes.
I am glad I have been to Tunisia but I will not be in a hurry to go back there. Being accosted by beggars and pestered by people at every opportunity for money, looking at the rubbish flying about, having to barter for every item (which strikes me as dishonest because they are not selling something for what it is worth merely for as much as they can get and this can change depending upon who they are selling it to). For everything that made me smile in this country there was something that me cringe. There are many things it has not been possible to put within the confines of this blog, both good and bad in equal measure, but it was almost a relief when the last day arrived.
The last day came and we said goodbye to the many wonderful people we had met, amongst them Chubby and Gill, the Newlyweds from Doncaster, Sheldon and his crew, the two Scottish lads who were larger than life and twice as much fun, the RAF dentist and his wife Sue and finally the staff. It was great to be with you all and I won’t forget any of you in a hurry. May you all continue to enjoy your travels.