The Emphatic Return…
Well, hardly, but it certainly came as a surprise to me, and I’m writing this. It was October 2009 when I last decided to post an entry to this blog and that is, frankly, unacceptable. I have so much I could have shared over the last 15 months and it is nothing more than a lack of motivation and an ability to endlessly procrastinate that has sought to ruin any potential ‘blogging’.
So, where to begin? A re-cap of my life in the last 15 months would be both boring to you and me so that is most defiantly out of the window. Perhaps, the story of how I and my better half de-stabilized an entire country, in just one week.
I am exaggerating, of course, as our presence in Tunisia was not enough to send the populace into anarchy and overthrow President Ben Ali of more than 23 years, in just one week. The truth is we got extremely lucky as had we been in the country for one more week then our holiday would have taken an entirely different direction, with rioting, deaths and the aforementioned removal of the President, it is safe to say that my perspective of Tunisia would have dramatically changed.
The most unusual aspect of our holiday, in hindsight, is that there was no obvious suggestion of unrest, certainly not offered to travellers, which was not too difficult to maintain as not only were all news and media outlets state controlled, but they were also in either Arabic or French. I speak neither. The one thing I cannot get away from is how peaceful everything appeared when we were there and we travelled to various parts of the country, including Tunis, and witnessed not one protest, riot or ill-word said against the government.
To side-step away from the current Tunisia which is one of martial law and night-time curfews, the one me and Rachel experienced was far removed and remarkable country to explore and appreciate. For the most part, the country is still developing and for all its charm there are dilapidated buildings or deprived districts seemingly around every corner. There are places of immense beauty, culture and history; the trick is to find them. Yet once you have found them, they are fully worth the journey and, once the current animosity has subsided, I would certainly be open to a repeat visit.
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