2 weeks road trip in Sahara desert and South Tunisia

We embarked all together, friends and 4 or 2 wheels vehicles on the port of Genoa by boat for a night of crossing to arrive then at the early morning in Tunis. From the port of Tunis, we drove for several hours to stop next to a city called Sfax, without much interest but important to allow us a well deserved rest after so much travel, before being able to take the road again.

A Tunisian friend of one of our travel companions lent us a giant hangar so that we could park our vehicles in complete safety. Surrounded that night by concrete and sheet metal I ask myself, but then, where is the desert? Patience, for the moment it is only visible on these large maps that we contemplate with so much envy.

In the morning, all up early, we leave in the direction of Douz, gateway to these fabulous excursions in the heart of the desert.
On the way, we take advantage of it to make a small pause in Matmata, Berber village suspended at 600 meters of altitude and made famous for its atypical troglodyte houses and having been used as decoration in the movie "Star Wars"!

We then go down this small mountain and very quickly the stretches of sand on both sides of the road appear. Already, the emotion is felt, we are very close. The sand is more and more present, and we observe the first herds of dromedaries.
One hour later, we enter the city of Douz. A cultural meeting, a bath of crowd before the big nothing, or the big everything rather.

Arrived at the beginning of the afternoon in the city of Douz, we are going to park at the campsite, to spend one night there and finalize the last preparations before the big adventure.

But before all, it is market day in Douz. Everything is filled with spices, fruits and clothes. We fill our bags with all these good flavors. It is already quite hot here, at least 25 degrees, it is pleasant.

Back to the campsite, we take the opportunity to take down the motorcycles and buggies from the trucks to go and fill up with gas. What a mess we put in the gas station! But nobody loses patience. Here, it seems that they always have the smile.
The last preparations finally finished, we meet in the evening around a good meal with the owner of the campsite, Momo and our guide for the desert, Elie. Reunion for some of us, laughs, smiles, and above all, all those eyes shining with impatience.

This night, we sleep in a tent and are awakened in the early morning by the singing of the Muezzin, a member of the mosque who launches the call to prayer 5 times a day but which for us sounds more like a call to adventure.

It is finally the big departure for the desert. Elie, our guide, meets us with his big bag at the exit of the campsite. Elie knows this part of the Sahara like the back of his hand. His dunes, his oasis, all the Berbers of the area. He gives off this incredible serenity. We can trust him with our eyes closed, he knows his home perfectly. We start to drive and leave the noisy city of Douz. Little by little, the asphalt road starts to disappear, covered more and more by the grains of sand.

That's it! We enter the desert. We cross some camel drivers, some horses and then... nothing more! Here we are, in the middle of the desert! At the beginning quite flat, small dunes begin to be drawn. We have to zigzag but soon we will have to cross them.
After 2 good hours of sand, we stop for the lunch break. Everybody is active, we prepare the meal, we take out the small tables and chairs of camping. It is our first meal in the heart of the Sahara. It is so peaceful. We are all so cheerful. Elie laughs at everything, he has a big smile and a look that shines like the sun.

Here we go again. First 4x4 that gets stuck in the sand. We hook it to one of the trucks and take it out in no time. The desert has its whims. The hours pass without us realizing it, as if the time belonged to us. At the beginning of the evening, we arrive in the oasis of Ksar Ghilane, a nice place where we can bath in a hot spring but most of all, a ''tourists'' area... so we prefer to spend our first night in the desert a little further away.

The following days and nights, we will spend them in the heart of the desert, without anyone around. Only surrounded by huge dunes to climb and descend. Every day it is the same routine. Pack up the tents, prepare breakfast all together, set off and drive and drive in the middle of the dunes. In the evening, find a flat enough area to park, admire in silence the sun disappearing behind the dunes, accompanied by its purple, red and orange colors, an amazing firework! Prepare the aperitif, marvel at the baking of bread in the sand by our guide Elie, share a good meal together while checking the ''roadmaps'' for the next day and then... when the night starts to come, fall asleep while counting the dozens of shooting stars.

We also regularly cross the emblematic animal of the Sahara, the dromedary, left in herd in an almost wild state. Sometimes we can also observe snakes going down the dunes or at night small scorpions approaching the campfire to find warmth. Sometimes we also meet one or two Berbers, these nomads of the desert, who seem to have come out of nowhere and with whom we gladly share these delicious mint teas and a piece of bread baked in the sand.

One could believe that the desert always offers the same landscapes. But it is not true. Here, no day is the same. Sometimes large flat and rather rocky areas, sometimes huge dunes to cross, mountains that rise like the Tembaine mountain, oases surrounded by greenery where it is possible to take a hot bath like in the lake of Houidhat Ereched... Here, time stands still.

After this wonderful escapade, time catches up us and we have to leave this so peaceful place.
So here we are back at the door of the desert, Douz, for a night in the same campsite as at the beginning before leaving in the morning in direction of Chenini, located at about twenty kilometers from Tataouine.

If you decide one day to travel in the South of Tunisia, Chenini is certainly a place not to be missed! Abandoned troglodyte village located at 500 meters of altitude and dating from the XIIth century, it allowed the storage of food reserves and was formerly used as place of refuge in case of attack. Place rich in history, it is also considered as one of the heritage treasures of Tunisia. Do not miss to photograph the famous white mosque of the 7 sleepers, striking contrast with the other troglodyte houses of rock color.

After this marvelous discovery we go to put our things in a hotel on the outskirts of the city Tataouine, then we leave to discover the city. What is interesting here is its giant souk, lined with large open galleries, where we stop at almost every store, to test the flavors, try the traditional clothes, to buy lots of tea! And above all we practice the national sport, haggling!

After a good dose of laughter, it is time to go to rest to continue the road of the return the next day.

For our last night in Tunisia, we arrive in the city of Djerba located next to the Mediterranean and with a lot of tourists all year round. It gathers pretty beaches with fine sand and all kinds of activities, camel or horse riding, biking, visit of mosques... A very relaxing break after so many miles traveled!

We offer ourselves a last long walk on the beach of Aghir and go to have dinner in a restaurant facing the sea offering seafood dishes. A delightful way to end this wonderful trip that we have shared together!
This night, we sleep in the trucks on a beach outside the rush of the city.

The day of the return arrived, I have to come back earlier than planned in France by plane, while my companions will continue a few days more until arriving in Tunis, to take the boat again.
This road trip in the Tunisian south and the Sahara was an extraordinary experience, which makes us want to leave everything there and stay forever out of time.

Sahara, I will come back.