Scooter Dreams (Djerba, Tunisia)

[Author's Note: I arrived in Tunis on September 10^th, 2010 and left two months later. The Arab Spring began in Tunisia on December 18^th, 2010, a day after the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi. I missed the festivities by about a month or so. Some would say I dodged a bullet but I cannot help feeling like I missed the boat. How often do you have the chance to watch history unfold from the front row? It is interesting for me to go back and read about my experiences at the time. Yes, I could almost taste repression in the air but if you told me the powder keg was about to ignite I would have been incredulous in the extreme. Yet, there it was boiling just beneath the surface. Keep this in mind when reading my Tunisia posts. It makes for a fascinating subtext.]

Oct 12^th, 2010 - Sometimes I get the feeling writers for the Lonely Planet don't necessarily visit the places described in their guidebooks. I will admit the island of Djerba has its appeal but it does not measure up to the hype attributed to it in the LP. In all fairness the book does prepare one for the onslaught of mass tourism but it still fosters a glimmer of hope in avoiding the worst of it or fosters the idea that the island will make it up to you. Then again, more bad luck may have tainted my perception. 

Phil and I made the village of Houmt Souq our base of operations from which to explore the island. Although it does possess a certain charm I think referring to it as 'so polished and charming it's like eye candy for those living in concrete jungles' is going a bit far. I usually know better than to put my faith in a guidebook description but for some reason in this instance I felt confident. Damn it.