On my way to Tatooine!

by Bill Cable
on 2022-11-02, 10:09:03

I'll be honest here... this is still sinking in. I'm not even really sure how to process it. But it's happening. I'm going to Tunisia.

Now that image above is what's invoked when someone says "Tunisia." That, and other obvious images fans of this site would envision. And that made me very apprehensive about going there. I used to go camping all the time when I was young, but roughing it in the African desert when I'm approaching 50 is another thing entirely. Despite the fear, I committed anyway. Then I discovered the kinds of hotels where we'd be staying...

Not exactly what I imagined. These are straight up resorts! Full amenities! WiFi and even air conditioning! And what's even crazier... the rooms were all between $40 and $80 per night!

Funny story - when I saw the photos of Sahara Douz I thought the hotel name was added in Photoshop. It was only after seeing a couple other photos that I realized it's a real sign on the top of the building.

I was worrying about stuffing my boots so scorpions don't crawl in, and it turns out I'll be in the lap of luxury. Now, I'm not entirely comfortable yet. We'll be visiting some pretty remote places which I'm not taking lightly. But it eases my mind to know I'll have a familiar hotel experience when I turn in nightly.

It looks like the only nominally austere place we'll be staying is L'Auberge De Tamezret. It's a bed & breakfast set up in buildings that are over 1000 years old.

Aside from the creepy child photos, it looks pretty comfortable. I had to splurge on a junior suite at this place because every other room was sold out, but even with that it's cheaper than one night in London.

I never would have dreamed of making this trip if not for my collecting friends, and the only reason it was feasible in the first place is because I'll be in Europe already for Celebration. Round trip from Paris to Tunisia was $350, whereas flights from Pittsburgh would run $1900. This is a once-in-a-lifetime type thing. And I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around the whole thing. May the Force be with me...