When we arrived to Tunisia we really didn’t have much booked – just our first couple of nights of accommodation and a couple of nights near the end. We were the most excited about the end one because it was in a cave at the top of a mountain!
The Berber people from long ago built these dwellings to help protect themselves and their grain from raiders. Most of them are crumbling but a few have been restored, including ours which has been converted into a little hotel.
We were shown to our room, which amazingly stays cool in the heat and warm in the cold. I’m surprised that RockyB didn’t roast me more in her blog (https://www.delafrijoles.com/2023/05/from-stormy-seas-to-magical-mountains/) because I still give her a hard time over Rock-Awn 4.0 when she booked a hotel room that didn’t have a bathroom door. This cave room took it to another level because it had a shower at the foot of our beds! One night we laughed so hard because RockyB was showering while I was laying in my bed reading my book.
When we arrived it was a little weird and I was disappointed by some poor communication, so we weren’t sure that we were going to stay the full time. Our host made some adjustments, but I think the true turning point was meeting the only 2 other guests staying there. This Argentinian and Kazakhstan couple who live in the US had a car and were also touring the area. I was really proud of myself for getting the courage to step outside of my comfort zone and ask them if we could hang with them the next day. They were very welcoming and we all had a great time exploring the nearby sights.
We drove to Tatouine (the name inspired the Tatooine from Star Wars) and from there our friend drove this tiny rental car up a very rustic road to our first sight.
From afar Ksar Tounket didn’t look like much, but as we walked up to it our jaws dropped.
We then drove to Chenini village, which is a much larger village built into the side of a mountain, including a striking white mosque.
On our 2nd day at the cave hotel we hired a local villager to take us on a sunset hike. I think this was one of my highlights of the whole trip. Aymen taught us about all of the different herbs and spices along the trail. We hiked to some of the oldest Berber villages in the area and watched the sunset from the top vantage point.
I’ll leave you with more of the views from our epic ksar accommodation. We’ve now made our way back to Tunis and this Rock-Awn 6.0 adventure will come to an end. It definitely won’t be the last Rock-Awn instalment!!! Tomorrow I fly to Venice to meet RobO and family, so stay tuned for some robodawno adventures.
One Reply to “Desert Life”