Today was such an early day. We woke up before 7 so we could get ready before meeting with our group. By the time 8 came around we were meeting in the 5th deck to get our bus number for our tour. When we disembarked, there was a group of players right outside where we came on land as well as a bunch of camels that were being offered for rides along the beach. We bypassed everything and went right through customs. It was crazy, we had an immigration card that would give us permission to be in the country as well as our passports, but when we wet trough customs, they didn't even look at the passport and just stamped the immigration card. When we came out of the customs check, there were some people trying to sell us flowers, but we walked right passed them and made a beeline to the buses.
Aren't they cool?
Our tour was a joint language tour, so in addition to a bung of English speaking tourists, there were a lot of German speaking ones as well. It was alright though because our tour guide did a good job of switching between the two languages and was really nice. First, we stopped at an ancient aqueduct that was one of the oldest in the world. It was pretty cool to see the ancient architecture that was used and preserved forever in stone. Next we stopped at a cool cemetery an our guide showed us fig trees and rosemary as well as this huge grave house that held royalty when they died. We didn't stay there very long, just long enough to learn the history of the place, take a few pictures, then leave.
This is the ancient aqueduct. Pretty cool huh?
The burial place of royalty
The next place we went to was Sidi Bou Said, a city that was made entirely out of white brick with blue accents. It was absolutely gorgeous to look at, and our tour guide led us through the bazaar that cropped up around the tourist stop to a place that let us up on the roof to take better pictures. Then we had an hour to wander around and barter for the various things being sold before we had to head back to the bus. I got a souvenir for my family while Aaron got some wooden camels and Kelsey got a pretty cool bag. At one point, we were waylaid by a guy with a hawk tethered to his wrist and we all got sorta involuntary pictures with the hawk. It was pretty cool, and I guess we got a fairly decent price considering the amount of pictures that we took. After that we learned our lesson and just walked right passed people trying to give us stuff so we wouldn't have to pay for it later.
Our first look at Sidi Bou Said
A view from the top of a house at the rest of Tunis
Kelsey with the awesome hawk
We walked back to the bus point and still had a while before our bus came, so we checked out the view of the ocean. Right by us was a door leading to a garden walkway area. Kelsey wandered in there, and the guy said that she would have to pay to go in. Se of course turned away because t wasn't anything truly special, and he came back with half the price. When she said she was leaving soon anyway, he lowered the price to free. Aaron, Austin and I stayed outside, but became a little concerned when the bus was almost due to come back and she hasn't returned. When we tried to go in after her, the guy said our friend was for free, but we had to pay. When we told him that we were going after her so she wouldn't be late for the bus, he let me in and the boys stayed outside. I ran down the path and saw her just walking and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery, but because the bus was coming soon I grabbed her after taking a few pictures myself and we went back to the bus.
Our tour guide then took us to the huge amphitheater of Carthage and showed us the two seats for royalty that were placed so that the sun would never be in their eyes. He also showed us the place where the gladiators and the animals were held, then let us walk a round for a while until we had to go back to the bus. The walls were so high, but from the top of them we could see the entire amphitheater. The view was so great, we could even see that there was a church in the distance that we could only barely see through the trees. Inside the amphitheater we could walk to the place where the slaves were held by going through a small tunnel. It was just big enough to let us through and the room it opened up to was spacious enough for a few people, but I can't imagine it was comfortable for the people who would have been held there, and not just because of the fate they would have to face in the arena.
Carthage's Amphitheater
Soon we had to leave to visit the larger ruins of Carthage so we got in the bus and rode there. The ruins stretched for a long while, by after a few minutes we wandered over to the museum that they had just next to the ruins. Inside was a lot of pottery and mosaic prices as well as quite a few magnificent statues that had heads almost as tall as a person. Soon after we left to go back to the ship and it on the bus back to the harbor. Before getting on the ship we needed to go through a small village like place and I searched desperately for a pin because I couldn't find any in all the other places I went to. Unfortunately I didn't find one, but I did discover a key chain that could be converted into one, so now I have a new project when I get back to Bonn or America depending on the tools available.
At Carthage Museum right next to the museum
A huge head in the museum
The ruins of Carthage
When we got back on the ship, I went out on deck to enjoy the sunshine and sea. Apparently, the day before we arrived Tunisia had had a huge rainstorm and it was raining, windy and cold the entire day, but on the day we arrived it was dry and warm. I guess we really do take the nice weather everywhere we go. After a few hours, I went back to the cabin and discovered that everyone was sleeping, so I joined them for a nap. Of course, the nap lasted for 3 hours and we woke up just in time for dinner, but this is a time to relax and catch up on the sleep that we've been skipping on in favor of school. During dinner, our waiters all got together and did a dance for us. We just so happened to get the best seat in the house as we were in the center and when the waiters came down and danced right in front of our table. After dinner, Kelsey and I went to the Costa Serena crew show. It was a little cheesy and at some points ran like an advertisement to work at Costa Cruises, but overall the show was pretty nice. After the show, four of our friends came up to our cabin and we ordered room service and watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. At about midnight, we all stopped the movie and went out on deck to see if we could see the island of Taurus. We didn't, but there was a party on the floor below us and we awkwardly danced to the music in the balcony above the party. Eventually we left and went back to our cabin to finish the movie, but at about half passed one, everyone but 3 people had fallen asleep so the other group left and we slept, happy that there was no time we had to wake up the next morning.
Erin Z
Erin Z
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