Driving In Tunis

I've made a few references to the driving conditions here ... so I thought I would show a short video on a typical day of driving.  This street is called La Soukra Road, kind of in a popular shopping district.  So this would be like MacLeod Trail in Calgary or Douglas Street in Victoria.  Notice that the drivers typically have their arms out of their windows.  It seems to me that subtle hand and arm gestures are required driving aids (actually used to communicate politely rather than simply gesture).  The cars get jammed up like this on occasion, but somehow it is never for very long and one is not "stuck" in traffic nearly as much as we experience in our Canadian cities.  

It is very common is to see pedestrians walking amongst the vehicles, even when traffic is moving! Even though there are signs, stop-lights and painted lines on the road, all of these are completely ignored.  It is more uncommon to see someone stop at a red light than pass through.  Always check both ways as traffic always goes both ways - even on a one-way.  And if you are walking on the sidewalk, be wary ... still fair game for traffic flow.  A driver may opt to use the additional space of the sidewalk to get past some traffic congestion,  

And I'm not even sure why they bother to paint lines on the roads as absolutely no one sticks to one lane.  Not so much an issue when traffic is congested like in this video.  But can be rather disconcerting when on a roadway where the traffic is moving along.  Kind of looks like everyone is driving while "under the influence".  Except it's just another normal commuting day for the locals.   

An Errand Day in Tunis-Some Grocery Shopping

It's been awhile since my last entry, mainly because our lives have taken on a rather "routine" schedule.  So not much new but here's a few tid-bits ....

Army Tank in Front of Carrefore (The Tunisian "Safeway")

As many of you know, Tunisia being right beside Libya, there are plenty of situations that arise from this Libyan influence.  For example, many Libyans are now in Tunisia and have left behind their friends/relatives.  The living situation in many of the Libyan urban centres are reported to be quite challenging.  One challenge is a shortage of food & water in parts of Libya, in some cases are quite extreme.  One way they are managing this, is that food & water supplies are being bought here in Tunisia, at the same supermarkets (it's called "Carrefore") we are all shopping at, and then taken back to Libya for those "friends/relatives" left behind.  Well last Friday, I found myself in the midst of a bit of a water riot!  I'm not kidding, I've never seen anything like it.  It's not un-nerving enough to go to the supermarket and navigate past machine-gun soldiers and an army tank but to also put up with frenzied crowd with an "every man for himself" attitude ... well it just puts grocery shopping on a whole new level!  Needless to say, being a bit of a fiesty, little thing ... I scored two 6-packs of water.

Libyan Transport Truck heading back to Libya

Here's an earlier photo I took showing one of many trucks heading into Libya from Tunisia, filled with supplies:

Probably the most memorable part of watching this "water riot" unfold, was the human chain of Carrefore employees encircling around the flats of water as they were being wheeled into the customer distribution area.  They literally made a human chain around the flats of water, guarding it until all the flats could be wheeled out.  Well one rather large lady just couldn't contain herself anymore and tackled one of the unfortunate Carrefore employees and then her accomplices started ripping away the plastic shipping wrap to get at the 6-packs.  And then it was like kids scrambling for candy just after a pinata breaks open.  Yes ladies ... even crazier than a Holt Renfrew shoe sale!

Also this Libyan influence is being felt by Roy's work.  Here's an example of an email Roy sent to me last Friday:


"Our military contacts near the camp, informed us that the Libyan forces surrendered to them last night after this intense activity. The number of troops is unknown but they said there were over 2 hundred vehicles seized along with weapons and ammunition.  The military views this as a positive step in the process."


Apparently there has been some Libyan military activity near the Tunisian border and Storm's rig is operating close enough to this activity that this military update was seen to be important enough to circulate.  Puts a whole new dimension to the "See ya hubbie ... have a good day at work".  Especially as Roy was in Tatooine last week around the time of this news! 


On a more boring side, the furniture shopping is pretty much finished now.  Here's a few photos of our place, now furnished.  It's very comfortable and now it's furnished, feels very much like home.  

So there you have it .... my latest update.  Hope all is well with everyone back in beautiful Canada.  I will be leaving for Toronto next week to attend my friend Cecilia's wedding.  And then onto Calgary for the remainder of August to be with mom.  If all goes well, Roy & I are hoping to be back to Sidney for September and spend the month at our cabin on Sidney Island.  A lot depends on the situation here in Tunisia, but one way or another we should be able to get back to Sidney in the fall.