DAY 73. TUES 17/04. Gabes to Hammamet. 329 kms. Total 16420 kms. Camping Ideal. N36 24.425 E10 32.637

Left Gabes with the vague intention of getting closer to Tunis and then phoning the consulate to check on the status of the visas and then deciding where to go based on the outcome of the phone call. Heading back up the beach we saw fishermen pulling in their nets on a long rope, tug of war style. As they were stretched right across the beach from the sea to the dunes, we had to wait for them to stop and put the rope down and stand on it so as not to loose any ground, while we drove over it. We took a slightly different route, heading inland via Kairouan thus bypassing Sfax and Sousse. Quite a good route and probably slightly shorter anyway. Also as you spend less time on the motorway, it is slightly cheaper too - only paid bout 1.7 TD on tolls this way. Called the consulate about our visas at around lunch time and were told no, tomorrow! Which was good in a way as it didn't sound like a maybe tomorrow? But a definitely tomorrow! Decided to stop short of Tunis and try another camp site for a change at Hammamet, 50 kms south of Tunis so were there quite early in the afternoon which made a bit of a change for us. Very nice campsite, massive toilets, showers, laundry and dishwashing area. But again empty and not cheap! Also the distinctive smell in the air of olive oil production nearby which you can't escape in Tunisia as it seems wherever you go there are olive trees. Drained the last of our bad "In Salah" water and filled up both jerries and tank with fresh water. Also did some blog, reading, showers etc. while being scavenged for food by the very bold campsite chooks and resident cockerels! Pretty low key day!

DAY 74. WED 18/04. Hammamet to Gabes, via Tunis. 464 kms. Total 16884. "Bushcamp" - Control Point, Gabes.

In the morning we had a bit of a surprise waiting for us with a flat starter battery.(due to charging the laptop while running the engine to try and charge the auxiliary battery which was low but draining the starter battery instead) So it was jumper leads time again - not used since Spain! Eventually got going and Rob haired up the motorway to get some charge into the battery while slip streaming trucks. Must have overdone it and cooked the oil (although the gauges seemed normal) as when we pulled up outside the consulate, on a steep downhill slope, the oil vented through the oil filter and out the front causing a mini oil slick. Rob built a sand castle on the road to soak up the oil and a kind local man came out of the bank with a damp cloth which he donated to us for Rob to wipe his hands. (He must have noticed our efforts to minimize any potential environmental impact from our oil slick?) Then in was off to the consulate again where good news was waiting. Fill in a green form, one photograph , 32 dinars each (about 20 €) and come back in an hour and a half to collect the visas. Passed the time in our usual internet cafe` nearby and went back at the agreed time only to wait for a further 30mins before walking out with our visas, pleased as punch. Although only 7 day transit visas, they effectively allowed us to travel independently across Libya without a guide or agency arrangement which is usually required (and expensive!) Finally, mission accomplished! So now all that was left was to say a final goodbye to Tunis, which we now knew like the back of our hand - especially the route to the consulate, turn around and head back for Gabes for the 3rd time in 5 nights, which is what we did. But 1st we celebrated our visa success with a lovely toasted shwarma wrap and coke for lunch at a Turkish fast food place near the consulate. Luckily Cathey started fine - no problems with the battery which was fully charged, so again was down to "user error". Stopped once on level ground again to top up the oil which was obviously low. Then took the route via Kairouan again - only they charged us more in tolls this time - 2.4TD this time! Go figure! Wind was blowing really strongly by the time we got down to Gabes in the evening and didn't fancy camping on the beach again which would have been somewhat unpleasant so just stopped next to some trucks on an open, sandy patch of land next to a traffic control point at a roundabout on the Gabes bypass road. It was too windy and sandy to venture outside much so we just ate a quick snack for dinner in the front seats. While doing this the policemen came over to find out what we doing and said it was fine for us to sleep there and secure as they were stationed there round the clock. Result! Crawled into the back and fall asleep with Cathey rocking in the wind.

DAY 75. THURS 19/04. Gabes to Sabratha, Libya. 279 kms. Total 17163 kms. Camping Youth Hostel, Sabratha. N32 47.998 E12 29.317

Drove off this morning without even setting foot outside Cathey - 1st time we have done that! Front was covered in sand that had blown in through the vents during the night! Drove for about half an hour before stopping at a service station for breakfast and toilets. Had our last Tunisian coffee and pastries. Arrived at Tunisian border N33 08.907 E11 33.447 at about 1pm. Straight through immigration - didn't even have to leave the car, just hand passports in at cubicle as you drive past - lovely! But a fairly long wait at customs while they "checked passport???" before stamping out vehicle. Cost for this is 1TD. Then it was over to the Libyan border N33 08.900 E11 33.807 where the process was a bit more complex. 1st immigration didn't quite know what to do with us. Get the feeling they don't have that many "tourists" coming through on transit visas and are more used to the guide and travel agency arrangement so they shipped us from one booth to the next and eventually after making a few phone calls we were allowed in. Next we had to sort out the car. Was a bit confusing at first but luckily there were many friendly people on hand to help and tell us what to do, which was to become the norm right through Libya. First we had to get local currency. Unfortunately the ATM at the border was out of order - which would also be the norm in Libya. So we had to change the last or our cash in euros at the bank about half way down on the right. As we found out they do NOT change Tunisian dinars here. Luckily though we only had a small amount left. [Best to change on the black market in the town(s) before the border if you have Tunisian currency to get rid of where you will see men waving large wads of cash at you from the side of the street.] You need 115 Libyan dinars for the local license plates (15 LD charge and 100 LD refundable deposit which you get back on exit) Went back to the license department, 1st building/office on the right. But were then told that we needed insurance 1st. Unfortunately the insurance office at the border was closed! What to do now? Asked at the bank and luckily someone was there from another insurance company and offered to drive us to his office just outside the compound. But 1st we were invited for coffee, again to become the norm in Libya. Insurance was only 11 LD for about 15 days, more than we needed but quite cheap anyway so no complaints. Also came with free desk and wall advertising calendars in Arabic which we gave away as gifts later to the license office and customs man. While walking back from the insurance office the customs man grabbed us and took us to his office (right down the end off to the right just past the booms) to stamp our carnet in to Libya (no charge) All that was left was the license plates and a few questions from the chief of the tourist police (I think still slightly nervous that we had no guide) and then we were done. All in all took about 3 to 3 and a half hours for both sides of the border crossing and we were away late afternoon heading east. Made it to Sabratha at about 6 pm and went to the entrance to the ruins (N32 48.169 E12 29.087) but it was already closed for the day. Decided to stay here for the night and visit the ruins the next morning. Luckily we had earlier driven past a Youth Hostel by coincidence that we didn't know about and they let us camp in the garden towards the rear overlooking the ruins. Made a fire and braaied some nice little lamb pieces we bought in Tunisia and also finished off the last our "illegal" beer and wine we had smuggled into Libya, in so doing destroying the evidence! 

TUNISIA COST SUMMARY:

• CAMPING: 10-15 TD for 2 people and vehicle
• DIESEL: 0.74 TD/l
• FOOD: everything under the sun available. Supermarkets e.g. Carrefour N36 51.879 E10 17.796 on the scale of Europe. Costs expensive by African standards
• OVERALL: expensive by West and North African standards ? but cheaper than Europe (approx. 60-70% by comparison) Also there is more on offer so we tended to spend more on treats and luxuries after a few leaner months in other countries.

THINGS WE WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT TUNISIA:

• Great coffees and pastries.
• The all in one abattoirs/street side restaurants where live sheep are kept tide up grazing out front on minute then slaughtered, hung up and bled the next. Skinned and cut up in various stages before being barbequed until all that is left is the complete wool skin hanging up also to be sold. There are so many of these places that life expectancy of sheep in Tunisia must be very low indeed!
• Hiding our cameras away to smuggle them into the archeological sites to save 1TD on the entrance price.