Euro Journals - 7

We are docked at the edge of the African continent, in the port city of Tunis, Tunisia. I have learned that the modern day city of Tunis was originally the ancient city of Carthidge. That’s the Carthidge that you read about in history books wherein the Carthigenians and the Romans were frequently at war over something or other. Rome is on one side of this large body of water and Tunis is on the other.

The city of Tunis has been overrun and conquered and ruled by many. The Romans, the Phoenicians, the Berbers, the Arabs, the Turks and the French, dating all the way back to the 2nd century. It is full of mosques, palaces, mausoleums and fountains. It is a culturally rich, modern day, Muslim city, complete with Roman ruins, charming colonial-era architecture and a boisterous central bazaar. It appears to be a fascinating place.

From our balcony we could see the spires of the mosques, we could hear the sing song, high pitched chanting call to worship as the city kneeled and prayed several times today and we watched the sun glinting off the buildings. As we pulled into port, there was a small three man band and several belly dancers on the pier welcoming us to their city. The sound of the drums, the castanets and the very loud, hypnotic, snake charming, style horn pulled us out of bed at 8 AM and over to the balcony to find out what the noise was. With binoculars we saw the city streets, the cars, the people and it all looked so normal.

And yet, we opted to stay on board ship. We didn’t get off here and stroll the streets and bazaars, browse in the many small shops, and soak in the culture of another world. My feelings are very mixed about our decision.

Am I wise and intelligent or am I a coward? Did I do the smart thing or did I behave stupidly because of fear? I don’t know the answer to that question. I only know that our bartender, our table waiter, our sweet and friendly young assistant waiter, our room steward, our blackjack dealer and numerous other passengers that we have chatted with all warned us to be extra careful at this port of call.

Why? Because we are American woman traveling without a man in a Muslim country. We are targets. Prime targets. As American women, we are extremely desirable as objects of potential kidnapping and we are considered rich because we are cruise ship passengers. We were warned to hang on to our valuables because of thieves and pickpockets and we were told to expect men to try to rub up against us. We are scandalous because of our long pants and lack of face covering and yet we are extremely desirable. Go figure.

I cannot imagine that any man would find these two chubby, gray, middle-aged lesbians all that desirable, but who knows? Kidnapping is not about sex and desire, it is about power. Since I can hardly imagine a worse fate, The Spouse and I jointly decided to “stay home” today.

We’ve actually had a lovely day. Lounging and lazy in our cabin, we slept late, ordered room service, watched numerous episodes of Nip/Tuck and took naps. We also took long luxurious baths and are now preparing to go out for the evening. We plan to play “wipe-out Bingo” where the winner gets their Sea Pass account wiped out, then have a lovely dinner in the main dining room and then hit the blackjack tables. We’ll probably close up the casino in the wee hours and then hit Ben & Jerry’s ice cream parlor for a good night snack before heading for home and a good nights sleep.

We have another sea day tomorrow as we head for Spain and more adventures. Over the weekend, we’ll be in Malaga, Spain on Saturday and Seville on Sunday. Seville will be our “big” day as we have a full day of touring planned and we’ll be out and about with a group for the whole day. We expect to see lots of the Spanish countryside, numerous small villages and many tourist attractions. We plan to shop in both Spanish cities and I will be especially looking for my brother’s Christmas gift. I have no trouble with the ladies as they are easy to buy for, but men are a bit more difficult. The Spouse says we will find lots of “man things” in Spain so that’s where we’ll plan to get his gift. I hope I can find something to please him. He’s a sweet and loving brother and he deserves the best.

As I mentioned above, we’ve been watching Nip/Tuck here in our cabin. It’s one of those series we had just never gotten around to watching and yet everyone said it was so good. We bought, and brought with us, the first two seasons, and we are totally hooked. It is a GREAT show with some fine writing and great acting. I can totally recommend it to anyone as an enjoyable evening of television. It should be mentioned that an “R” rating is appropriate for a lot of the content as there is plenty of graphic sex. This one is not for the kiddies.

I haven’t been posting pictures here in the blog because I’m paying for Internet time by the minute and we have a slow connection. Hence, just to check mail and post on the blog really sucks up the money. Uploading and posting pictures would really eat up the time. I’ll post them when I get home, along with a running commentary for your entertainment. I will give you one picture, just for tonight, just to keep you amused. Hope you enjoy this one of The Spouse and I in the streets of Dubrovnik.



To be continued………..