Flying Dinars

An amazing thing happens when you go to Tunisia. The currency starts flying! No, it doesn't sprout literal wings...but it does manage to escape your pockets at an incredible rate.

How do we know? This past week we enjoyed a sort of second honeymoon in Mahdia, a beach resort town on the coast of Tunisia. The "all-inclusive"--more on those quotation marks later--trip was organized by the tourism agency on base. (While I normally like to plan my own travels, I jumped on this opportunity: it was something brand-new for both of us, the price was right, and it was just in time for an anniversary vacation).

We ended up discovering a huge portion of the country. Despite being one of the more economically and socially advanced countries on the African continent, most of Tunisia is decidedly still developing. I was struck by the poverty which manifested itself in many ways:

-Trash everywhere (like Naples, you may say...except this place has very few trash cans)
-Few cars in the villages, most of them decades old; instead you will see many donkey-drawn carts
-Piles and piles of rubble; run-down buildings
-Lack of industry/shops/banks; few advertisements
-Eerily empty streets in some of the villages; when you do see people, many are sitting idly in what little shade they can find

One of the most apparent signs of need is the presence everywhere of peddlers of low-quality or counterfeit goods. You also see many people insisting on a tip for little to no service rendered. Hence my reference earlier to flying dinars--you can expect to shell out a coin or two for any of the following: using the restroom (this happens in Europe, too, but normally only when the WC has been cleaned/supplied with toilet paper and soap), taking pictures at any monument (or typically Tunisian sight in the street), getting a (non-alcoholic) drink at an "all-inclusive" buffet...

You've heard of street vendors...have you heard of beach vendors? This is what we heard again and again as we lounged on the beach: "'charpe, 'charpe" (I think he was referring to écharpe, the French word for "scarf"); "banana uva banana uva"; "nice nice" (referring to necklaces); and the almost ubiquitous "English?"



Nevertheless, we did cave to one of said vendors, who was smart enough to offer hats.





There was even a guy selling baby camel rides!



Overall, we were pleased with the hotel. The rooms were very basic and outdated, and the bathroom did not have the hair dryer I was expecting. But they were reasonably sized and equipped with air conditioning (something we have been living without here in Naples...boohoo!).

The food in the restaurant was buffet-style. Every morning we had access to breads, pastries, eggs, meats and cheeses, omelets and crêpes. Lunch and dinner were international, offering daily pizza and pasta (Italians made up a big percentage of the guests) and other Western European selections. We preferred to stick with the Tunisian dish of the day, as we wanted to explore local cuisine. We ended up eating a whole lot of couscous, chickpeas, cooked bell peppers and carrots, and beet or lentil salads. Meat was mostly chicken but I think at some point they slipped in some camel! (It is more economical than beef, which tastes similar but is too expensive for most). My personal favorite was a mutton stew called Mermez.

There was also a large selection of appetizers and cold salads (I avoided many of those; they hadn't been "cooked, peeled, or boiled" and frankly I didn't want to use the Pepto-Bismol we brought along). The staff put a lot of effort into presentation:



But this is what really got me in trouble. Each day I would have a double dose of fruit pie AND chocolate mousse. What is vacation for, if not that?



We also enjoyed the lounging areas outside. The pool was very popular, despite (or because of) the loud music and activities (water aerobics, etc) going on almost nonstop. I especially enjoyed African night, during which I (tried to) learn a dance routine led by a guy in a funny cutoff giraffe costume. I wish I had pictures of THAT!



Speaking of beachfront activities, that was something I really enjoyed during our stay. There was an entire crew of animateurs working 'round the clock (entertainers: during my resume-correcting days at HEC I had to laugh when I'd see "animator" listed in French students' experience section...I always had to work at convincing them that "animator" conjured "Disney" more than "camp counselor"!). This enthusiastic team led games of beach volleyball, Bocce ball, archery, soccer, and more. We tried to take advantage of these free activities as much as possible--it was difficult to get bored. Even my weak attempts at tanning were really pleasant, as there was a constant breeze moving at all times.

That's it for now. In my next post I'll discuss the excursions we took outside of the resort. Yes, it was a busy trip--it's been tough getting back into chore mode!