Chapter 5 – A “Top 5” Travel Day

 

Moving on from Tozeur was a day’s drive and touring our way to Matmata.  Let’s chalk this day up to one of the top 5 I’ve ever experienced.  Let’s emphasize my top 5 and not Rachel’s.  It was right up there with the saga that took us from St. Louis to Palmarin ,Senegal (see past travelogue).  The route was to go from Tozeur, across the biggest Chott, through Douz and out into the top of the Sahara’s and then back across the desert to Matmata.  It was a full day’s trip and meant to be a way to see the country. All told, probably about 180 miles driving on a single road of pavement with one lane in each direction (basically the standard here).

So let’s start off at the beginning.  We left Tozeur with our first stop the “star wars canyon” where several shots were filmed.  Most notably was the ambush seen from Episode IV where the sandpeople take out Luke and the droids and Obi Wan rescues them (“Yup, those are sandpeople alright, but I’ve never seen them out this far.”)  We thought we had missed the turn so we went back to look for it and stopped at the Garde National to ask directions.  The scene was actually filmed in a gorge marked by two marabouts (burial places for holy men). 

I think the guards were surprised that two westerners wanted to go out there (small town and I don’t think many tourists stop to speak with them – tour groups usually go with guides).  They gave us directions, we walked out, and then we went back in to see if we could use the restroom (no McDonald’s here for free bathroom usage).  They showed us to the toilet (which of course needed to be flushed with a bucket of water) and on our way out started asking questions. Of course, they were asking in French.  Now mind you I’ve taken 5 years of French in middle school, high school and college.  According to the University of Pennsylvania, I’m proficient.  I had no idea what they were saying (true of much of what most people are saying here). Now I could try to pass this off on the accent (which is hard), but the reality is that my French just sucks.  Rachel’s is far better, but she was thrown by the fact that the national guard was asking us questions.  In the end, we told them we were only going for 15 minutes to look around, they took down our passport numbers and sent us on our way.  At least that’s what I think I told them.  Don’t let US News know about how poorly Penn’s definition of proficient is for its grads!

So off to the gorge.  It was a beautiful setting in the foothills right before the Chott El Jerid began (salt lake).  I climbed up to one of the marabouts and had a looksie and low and behold there it was.  How many times have I seen Star Wars Episode IV?  I’ve never counted, but I dare say its about 50 (maybe more).  Anyway, the location was a dead giveaway for those of us who grew up on the film.  The only thing missing was Luke’s landspeeder and the droids.  I then walked down and into the gorge.  It was relatively easy going, although I don’t know how they lugged all of that film gear in there let alone a landspeeder.  It was very cool to end up standing there and be part of your boyhood fantasies (I even spied the little grotto where R2D2 was hiding when Obi Wan found him). 

The only problem with this nostalgia tour was the darkening skies.  It had been very windy all morning but I had noticed that more and more clouds were coming in and they were looking more and more menacing.  Now I am the son of an Eagle Scout and while I can’t tie knots except a shoelace, I did learn some things. In the desert, the ground can’t absorb the water so it just washes off.  Now, if you are on high ground, not such a big problem. If you’re standing in a gorge with 200 foot high walls, it could be a big problem.  The water has to go somewhere and gravity helps funnel it through the path of least resistance.  Through something like a big canyon or gorge maybe.  So I didn’t linger too long as I had this vision of me being washed away and worse yet the car, with Rachel in it, was sitting at the mouth of the gorge so she would be washed away too (she can’t drive stick shift).  I kept reminding myself that it was May and it was highly unlikely it would rain . Nevertheless, I was jogging a bit back.  As I got to the entrance, I met a local who had wandered by and asked him if he thought it would rain.  “Inshala,” he said – God willing – and then he laughed like it was a ridiculous prospect.  Five minutes later we’re on the road and it’s raining. Whew!

Not only is it raining but because of the immense flatness of the Chott we can see that it is pouring in some other places south and east of us.  This led to another great experience which is water rushing through the Chott in gullies on the side of the road (remember the flash flood thing?)  The road through the Chott is elevated about 5-8 feet above the salt lake.  It was truly a unique experience to see a little torrent of water flowing in the middle of such a normally arid locale.  Even more amazing was that the water was reddish/pinkish.  I’m not sure what caused that coloration but it added to the entire surreal nature of the event.

 At the same time that it was raining off and on (it wasn’t pouring, mostly drizzle followed by short bursts of slightly more than drizzle – I never put the windshield washers on anything more than intermittent), we could see the Chott still glimmering it’s mirage of a desert oasis off in the distance (Star Wars note – this is where Luke raced his landspeeder when he realized that Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were done for).  Of course now we could realistically believe that perhaps it wasn’t a mirage – inshala. 

After the chott, we entered our first true desert.  Not just scrub brush, but dunes and sand.  Enter the sandstorm.  Did I mention that as we drove through this inhospitable environment, sandstorm and all, that I passed a guy standing on the side of the road?  He was just standing there casually, in his baseball cap at an intersection in the road. No hand out for hitchhiking. Just standing there as if there wasn’t sand blowing all around him.  That is the picture of calm.

Ok next stop on our top 5 day was the Grand Erg Oriental.  This is the top of the Sahara desert.  Everything that you have pictured about the Sahara – great expanses of enormous dunes 20’ high with rippling sand like its an ocean– this was it.  The real deal – not some cheap naugahide imitation.  It was a humbling and immense experience.  Even driving through it was intimidating.  Sand drifting across the road. No one around except the occasional village or the occasional hitchhiker (see bad karma above).  We even tried to go to one town which required going down a side road or “piste.”  We went about 300 feet, there was sand covering ¾ of the road, I hit reverse and made it back to the main road.

I did walk out about 300 feet into the desert outside of El Faroiua – the last town on the main road.  Stood on top of one of the dunes and looked south into the endless sea of sand.  That was enough for me.  You can overnight in the desert on some treks, but as fun as that sounded, the experience of wind blowing sand in your face makes the reality of if seem far less romantic.  I don’t understand why people live out here.

Lunch brought us our first of two Redrum incidents. For those who have forgotten or don’t know the reference, it is to the movie “The Shining.”  In the movie, Jack Nicholson’s character loses it while caretaking an empty hotel in the mountains over winter.  The little boy becomes possessed and keeps saying “Redrum,” which is murder backwards (it was a mirror thing).

What I realize now as I write this is how sad my cultural expericne is that it all revolves around movies. Alas, I’m a television baby.

Ok – so lunch was at the only restaurant in the only hotel in the last town on the paved road that ends at the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental aka the Sahara desert.  No cars in the parking lot.  No one at reception when we walk in.  finally someone shows and we ask if they’re serving lunch.  A call later and yes they are. We walk through an immense lounge area, easily 80 yards long, and into an equally immense dining hall.  At the very end, the chef and wait staff are eating their lunch of spaghetti (of course, everyone but me likes pasta, it’s a universal thing).   There is no menu.  They are serving what they are serving which is a full three course meal (wiener schnitzel for me and an omelet for the vegetarian).  The waiter didn’t even know what the set courses were they get so few people.  it was all just a bit eerie and fun!

We then drove due east on the main road heading to Matmata.   We left the edge of the Grand Erg and were back to flat scrub brush and very flat. Still desert but more of what you would expect out in the West of the US.  The cool part about this trip was the camels!  Just like in the West, camels are branded and then set out to graze roaming free.   We saw 4 baby camels (calves?) with their mothers. They were horribly cute and their mother so clearly protective of them.  We saw another camel scratching itself on a mille bourne (mile marker on French roads, little stone curved at the top  - like a mini tombstone).  It had an itch, what can I say? I don’t judge.

Coming into the foothills after the plain, we drove on a very windy road. It wasn’t terribly difficult or frightening (this wasn’t like Greece where it was sheer cliffs).  The drop offs were reasonable and there was always good visibility further down the esses in the road to see oncoming traffic.  It was kind of like driving in a BMW commercial. 

The final destination of the day was Matmata home of the troglodyte homes.  I don’t know why they call them troglodytes but the locals use that term too (I would think they would find it offensive).  These homes are like a glimpse into our pre-historic past. Basically the local peoples carved homes into the hills.  .  They have a tunnel into the hill and then they dug a big open pit for a courtyard.  There are caves off the courtyard for sleeping, dining, cooking, etc.  It’s very effective as they are cooler in summer and warmer in winter.  Walking through town is a bit odd as you are often walking over someone’s house. 

Having trouble thinking what these look like.  Ok Star Wars fans, remember Luke’s boyhood home in Episode IV and III – where Aunt Beru and Uncle Own lived?  That’s a troglodyte home.  Now that particular troglodyte home has been converted into a not very comfortable hostel.  But several of the props from the set are still there and it definitely looks like you are on Tatouine at the Skywalker homestead.  “But I was going into Tosche station for some power converters!”

The top 5 travel day ended at our hotel which was a mock troglodyte home.  We could have stayed in a troglodyte room built into the mountain but it’s not for claustrophobics.  This hotel also had an enormous dining hall and while there were a few other guests, it ranked as our second redrum experience.  Especially as you first enter the hotel, there is a lobby that is big enough for the Waldorf but is totally outsized for this hotel.  Fortunately, there was no lipstick on our mirror.