The kids eventually wake up, and of course the eldest huntsman is nose-in-book again. I mentioned he's already read this book once, but he's also re-read the entire thing on this trip so far. It's all good, we take a moment to take in the sights around our building
We did not adopt the dog.
Breakfast menu today is eggs, baguettes, croissants, and half an orange. I'm trying to make up for lost calories there after our ferry and dinner disasters. Mrs. Huntswoman also adds Kefir to that menu and the younger huntsmen add yoghurt.
Unfortunately it was shortly after this breakfast that the eldest was busted playing his video games, so those had to be taken away (fast forward to "now" and he just got busted again a day before his restriction would be set to end last weekend). For the trip though, this comes on the heals of him lying about flossing his teeth last night. We thought the two were pretty quick to be done with their bathroom business and knowingly asked if they flossed.
The youngest turned around, but the oldest doubled down. We tried the old "well, go do it again correctly this time please". To which he TRIPLED down. Well, a simple check of the trashcan proved that to be a lie so we decided then we'd to a "no tv and no dirtbike" restriction for that one when we got back (I mean, we're trying to let these guys have a good vacation? I dunno. I mean, why do they have to be exactly like me????)
The youngest doesn't finish his breakfast (this kid hasn't eaten a meal voluntarily in three years) so I finish it for him and then it's time to pack. We swap guards this time and put the youngest down on the street with the truck. The password is "strawberry", don't tell anyone:
Obligatory view of the hallway:
Once packed up we head back down the street. Mrs. Huntswoman wanted to check out a produce shop we found that's like a block away. We end up getting spuds, tomatoes, carrots, and onions (dinner fixin's for the day after tomorrow, we're thinking) for like $3. It's nuts!
The kids are loving the attention they're getting here though. The youngest gets his cheeks pinched in these stores more than once, they both are very aware of how much they're being fawned over by strangers. By now they're both strutting around like they're celebrities.
It took me a few cranks of the engine to remember I disabled the truck, but eventually we're on our way. First stop is a national park nearby (Boukornine?). We want to check it out, as it's only a 5-hour drive or so to our hotel today (less than an hour to the park)
Oh, NOW the kid wants to eat...
The national park is more of a "reserve" I think. It's not manned and there is no visitor center like we would expect stateside. But there is a dirt road, so we do take it. We'll find an abandoned building that we'll explore, we'll take a wrong turn and have to reverse back down a very narrow dirt road for about 500 yards, but all in all, it's nice to be bumping around a new place
The eldest opts to stay in the truck...
The donkeys were on private property, we discovered. We haven't hit our turnaround spot yet but will do here shortly. Those berries on the bushes are being grabbed by the younger huntsmen as we drive by. They end up with one or two each (and Mrs. Huntswoman snags one as well. This will be important later)
About here, the youngest throws one of the berries he grabbed.
Why, you ask? He thinks he can throw it far enough for it to land on the boat we just got off of yesterday. We immediately make plans for Mrs. Huntswoman to keep her berry until we board, and then make him think he was successful.
The views are pretty nice and we all agree that this is a very good intro for Tunisia. it's about now though that I'm happy I have the 4wd. The road starts a VERY steep descend and the traction looks pretty loose. Instead of trying to run it on my brakes alone, I put in the hubs and used 4-lo to traverse the downhill.
The eldest's hormones are getting the best of him at this point. He's still insistent on his activity of re-reading and a bucket bounces out of the back and bonks him on his head.
"ow!" he declares.
More bumping down the road follows, along with another bonk in the head (as he's taken zero corrective action at this point)
"OW!" he again declares (this time in the voice that says both "you didn't hear me last time?" and "I expect you to do something about this").
Buddy, we're all havin' fun in the rest of the truck. Push that crap back where it goes and join in with us or deal with the consequences of intentional separation.
aaaaaaaand, back to pavement! (boo).
Like I said, that was a good intro, I'm happy that there was actually a situation where I got to lock in the hubs, and another plus was that this was very much in the correct direction we needed to travel. Tonight is another hotel, but tomorrow is a camp and we're all kind of looking forward to it.
Big thanks for taking the time to entertain us with your reports!
There's a police checkpoint before we get on the main highway. It's nothing and they wave us right through. We may have looked like we escaped an asylum back in Italy, but here we just look like tourists.
The roads are nice though, even if they are a bit boring. The scenery is nice. Lots of olive farms, wheat farms, and the like. It is hot though. About 35deg c, maybe? Not bad enough to kill ya but enough to make us think we should be carrying more water. Our filter bottles are small enough that we kill them in short order, and the 9 liters we have in bottles in the back are only accessible when we're stopped. Mrs. Huntswoman works her magic on the GPS and finds us a "grocery store" in a small town just off the route
It's off camera and to the right, but it's just a street front operation and we wanted to get more than just water (we do use the ATM here though. We stashed most of what we pulled out yesterday in our secret hiding spot and wanted a refill). On a whim we type "Careforre" into the unit and POOF! there's one 20minutes away
And just like that we're basement parking in some sort of commercial complex
Mrs. Huntswoman there re-applying sunblock. It's a bit of a routine at this point.
Going in, we forget that we're all carrying pocket knives and of course there's a metal detector at the entrance to this place (the undercarriage of the car was checked on the way in as well). Not wanting to turn back we dropped them in Mrs. Huntswoman's backpack and they went unnoticed.
Inside we were shocked to find we had discovered a very western shopping mall and took full advantage of the situation. Grocery shopping, bathroom visits, AND Mrs. Huntswoman had her watch battery replaced at a watch shop!
We now have a bottle of rum to go with the coke. A bottle of gin to to with the tonic. Beers (still tiny sized). Plenty of water for the front of the truck And groceries to make sandwiches and snacks for the road.
Darn good stop, this one.
The boys also discover new flavours of Fanta here (apple and lime) and we get one of each of those as well.
One thing I didn't mention about Tunis but am again noticing it here is the blend of eastern and western cultures. Sarajevo claims to be "east meets west" (and rightfully so) but this place blows its doors off.
By now you know the tune. We're hitting toll booths now, and there was a vendor at one selling popcorn. I picked up a bag for the boys.
I also spotted a building with my highschool nickname on it
We stop for fuel and get half a tank for $30.
The kids fall asleep.
We're fighting one heckuva head-wind though. Eventually I notice something flapping around the front of my truck. When I get out, I discover that the glue was melting and letting go of my corner marker lense!
And back in action, Mrs. Huntswoman decides to flirt with death (explore her pocket knife). Eldest Huntsman follows her lead
Lunch happens and there is a grain in our bread that has a unique flavour. No idea what it is, but the youngest declares that "this tastes like something the devil would eat!!!"
It's just a long boring road at this point...
Eventually the toll road ends, and we're directed on to the B-roads.
ooooh, I love that picture. Good countryside there.
We're headed for a town called "Matmatta".
What's a "Matmatta"? I dunno, what's a matmatta with you?
(Zing!)
we end up arriving at about 16:45
It's a cute little town to drive through and I wish I had gotten pictures of it. But either way, here's our hotel for the night! It served as the interior of the Lars Homestead in "A New Hope" but operates as a hotel. Staying in a cave-type hotel in Spain has been on Mrs. Hungary's bucket list for a while now and I'm hoping this will hold her over until we can do so. 100% of this place is underground.
As we pull up to park, a man on a motorcycle pulls up and starts talking. I guide him to english and he asks if we want to stay at his place. It's a hole in the ground too, but isn't very far away. We explain that we already have a reservation here and he follows us to the parking lot. He asks about a guided tour or perhaps we want to see a museum, and I tell him we've just come from Tunis and are in need of a cold beer. He laughs and we all go inside (already he's asking about tomorrow, but we'll talk about that later)
This place is nice. like REAL NICE. Like the type of nice that you start looking around at all the men who seem to be running the place and you start thinking "there's a woman around here who set all this up, I can feel it".
Before beers though, we gotta get unpacked. We'll be eating dinner here as well and want to get unloaded before that starts. When we were checking in, the motorcycle man was talking to another man and wanted to check to see if "cous cous" was ok for dinner.
It absolutely was, but could Mrs. Huntswoman get one without meat?
She absolutely could! Three chicken+veg cous cous, one no meat.
^Look at all that stuff! Are we moving in????
Nope, it's the royal highnesses matched luggage. And she wouldn't leave without it!
Back to the story: Here comes the important stuff.
Beers are $3 for the pair, each round. I'm sure we're overpaying, but who's going to complain? this is awesome!
The boys are getting a bit bored with all this waiting for dinner, so I teach them a game where they put a coin on their elbow and try to snatch it out of the air.
All the men we've seen so far (there's a "mini Careforre" out front with a shop-keeper as well) are in this area with us. The non-hotel employees (Hotel Sidi Idriss, by the way) are having beers as well. They get a big kick out of this game I have the kids playing.
Eventually though, the cards come out
Dinner is at 7 and we're joined by another english speaking couple (who we heard speaking a different language earlier, so our interest is piqued)
First course is bread, eggs, and a salad
Second course is the cous cous!
This! this right here? This makes up for the pizza we had to eat yesterday. My goodness it was delicious!!
The kids, naturally, ate almost none of this.
And finally, watermellon:
The other couple are polish but came from Scotland. We introduce ourselves and I quickly forget both of their names. Luckily Mrs. Huntswoman remembered because we'll be seeing them tomorrow.
Well, after the drive, dinner, and beers, it was time to head back to the room.
and it finally looks like i might be having some luck with my Bingo card.
We read "The Little Prince" for a night-time story and then it's lights out.
Gzwg said:Big thanks for taking the time to entertain us with your reports!
Man, thanks for letting me ramble on endlessly!
I tried sharing some of these stories with my officemates, but they're not "family" so it's not the same.
In reply to Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) :
Wow, that is a fantastic trip.
That hotel is awesome!
Moar!
Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:
I'm not gonna lie, this is the spot I've been waiting for. (I warned SWMBO when we went to Galaxy's Edge in 2022 there might be tears when I see the Falcon.)
Hungary Bill (Forum Supporter) said:And back in action, Mrs. Huntswoman decides to flirt with death (explore her pocket knife). Eldest Huntsman follows her lead
Hey, wait a minute! Four layers, corkscrew, inline Phillips screwdriver? That's no Huntsman. That's an Explorer!
We could have been calling you The Four Explorers this whole entire time!
I've been such a fool, such a careless, silly fool...
Antihero said:That hotel is awesome!
You know, even without the "Star Wars" aspect of it, it really is. The food was darn good, the beer was cheal and cold, and it wasn't an expensive stay at all (under $100 for the 4 of us, as the youngest got a discount).
wvumtnbkr said:Moar!
As you wish 
In reply to Jerry :
For me, this was a big one. The other will come in a couple days. But seeing the Falcon? That would be huge!
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