Waterfalls and Canyons

Day four in Djerba was the day we left for Tozeur. Nidhal and I got in some swimming in the morning before we had to check out and then we were on our way. The drive was mostly uneventful except for the beautiful scenery and camel signs. I had seen a camel crossing sign on a postcard in Djerba and I had sincerely hoped to see one in real life. Well, I certainly wasn't disappointed. There were many many camel crossing signs on the way to Tozeur and everywhere else in the desert. Also, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. The first time I stepped out of the car to take a picture, the air felt hot but not as hot as I had expected. Everyone had said we were crazy for going to the desert in the summer, but it wasn't as bad as they made it sound.

We made it to Tozeur in the late afternoon. The hotel was a four star hotel this time and we were not disappointed. I would definitely recommend the El Mouradi hotel in Tozeur to everyone. There are two pools, good food, and very nice people working there. After resting for a bit, Nidhal and I went out to a night museum called Dar Cherait. There were three exhibits: a history of Tunisia, a museum with life size exhibits showing life in Tunisia, and another part that referred to Scheherazade's tales. I didn't really get the point of the last one, but the first two were good, especially the history of Tunisia. It began with a walk through a time machine with flashing lights and weird music, and then suddenly you step out into a sandy canyon with dinosaurs around you. Pretty cool. It continues with a recorded voice tour through the years. For each section, there are pictures and life size recreations of people, places, and events. Very interesting and worth the money.

Day two in Tozeur began with breakfast and then the little tiny car was tested to see if it dared go where only SUVs ventured. We drove through the desert to a little town called Chebika where there is an oasis and waterfall. It was beautiful, and now when I look at the pictures, it looks so cool that it looks fake... but it's definitely real. We then went to Tamerza, where we saw a few more waterfalls. The first two were together and really cool because it was possible to stand underneath them. The last one was harder to get to but still cool. Unfortunately, it was so hot and stuffy by the time we got to the last one that I had to suggest that we cut short our exploration of the canyon and go back up to the car. I barely made it back to the car. We then went to Mides, which is right next to the Algerian border. We could see a border crossing post and one of the residents of the town pointed out a white post in the distance and informed us that it was indeed Algeria. In Mides, there was an amazing canyon and a really nice guy who gave us free rocks (not just any rocks but cool rocks... one is transparent like glass).

After that hot and exhausting adventure, we had to go back to the hotel to cool off and rehydrate. I really don't remember what we did that evening... maybe nothing. I remember being so exhausted from the trip and I definitely can imagine that I didn't want to do anything but relax. Yeah, I think we just relaxed until dinner and then Nidhal had a chicha/shisha/hookah in the evening.