TravelEatShopSleep.com: Fall Break, Exploring Southern Tunisia, Tozeur & Lizard Rouge

Fall Break, Exploring Southern Tunisia, Tozeur and the Lizard Rouge

We left Kairouan in the late afternoon after doing a bit of sightseeing and having lunch. It was not supposed to be that much farther to Tozeur, but like all road trips in Tunisia, it takes longer than expected. First of all the roads tend to be in good shape, but they can be crowded and they are usually just two lanes. You need to watch out for people passing when they should not be, and people walking in the road instead of alongside of it. You need to be wary of animals and carts and dogs and children in the road. And then there is the beautiful scenery, which God knows, I have to stop and check out and photograph! We are on the edge of the Sahara desert! What a beautiful country! One must stop and experience along the way!

Bright red chili peppers hanging everywhere.

Wild camels!!!

We saw our first camels. Not our first camels ever, but our first wild camels that are not for show or in a zoo. This country is very scenic as you are driving. Different towns specialize in different things. We saw a town that sold bamboo sticks for fencing and patios. Another that sold chili peppers. There were a few that sold gaudy sparkly pottery. Nothing like a huge pot for the front porch that is purple and covered in sparkles! There is always a lot to see.

We arrived in Tozeur much later than anticipated. It was dark, we were worried about being able to find this place and we were hungry and grubby. Luckily my dear husband had installed Maps Me onto his iphone. It does not need internet service since it guides you via the phone's GPS. It guided us down the narrow and windy streets and we were able to find the hotel immediately. The best $3.99 ever spent!

Our hotel was Dar Saida Beya and was situated in the midst of town. No pool, but a wonderful rooftop deck. Very clean and comfortable with air conditioning that worked well! Lovely breakfast in the AM, but we had to ask for eggs, they are not used to feeding hungry Americans. The owner was friendly and very accommodating!

The next morning we drove to a nearby town to catch a train called the Lizard Rouge. The red lizard? We started on our train trip by going through the town and I noticed a fellow driving alongside of us on his motorbike. He was wearing a uniform and had a gun. Hmmm. Nice to know we had protection?

Mark coming out of the train station. All aboard!

There are various stories of the train history but the one that I like is that this train was used by some local wealthy guy to take his friends up to his weekend estate in the early 1900's. The railway was also built for a phosphate mining and the water around this area proves it. There is very little wildlife to be found and an odd lack of birds. The mining still exists. The train ride was very picturesque and the old train is lovely. On the way back, a group of local gals that were obviously having a blast sang for the enjoyment of all. It was a fun afternoon!