TUNISIA – Journey Era

Djerbahood Street Art Museum in Djerba, Tunisia

Jackson — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 18:36:13 +0000

Djerbahood is a neighborhood on Djerba Island in Tunisia. Created by 150 artists from 30 countries, 250+ murals were painted to create a street art museum. This hub of street art suggests there is more to Djerba than sandy beaches and fancy resorts.

WHERE IS DJERBAHOOD AND HOW TO GET THERE

Djerbahood is in central Djerba, which is a popular beach destination on the east coast of Tunisia. There is an airport on Djerba or you can access via car (ferry to Djerba). Once you are on Djerba you can simply drive your car or take a taxi to Djerbahood, which I’ve pinned the location for on the map below.

ABOUT DJERBAHOOD STREET ART MUSEUM

The Djerbahood street art event kicked off in the year 2014 when 150 artists from 30 different countries came to the small village of Erriadh in central Djerba. They created more than 250 mural paintings using over 4500 cans of spray paint. The paintings were found on doors, arches, walls, and roofs.

The project was initially established by Mehdi Ben Cheikh, who is the director of the ‘Itinerrance de Paris’ Gallery in 2014 and continued on for a number of years. The name of the project, ‘Djerbahood’ came about after Rodolphe Cintorino installed giant letters ‘THE HOOD’ at the entrance of Erriadh.

The village has beautiful, traditional architecture, which compliments the art that is scattered throughout its narrow streets. Thanks to the project in 2014, Erriadh became a popular tourist destination.

MY EXPERIENCE AT DJERBAHOOD STREET ART MUSEUM

Djerbahood had its peak moment in 2014/2015 when the project was in full swing. With 250 murals painted in the first year, the neighborhood was a buzz. 70 different magazines and news outlets covered the open-air street museum and hundreds of Tripadvisor reviews rave about the murals. However, I think the buzz may have died off a little.

A number of the murals are dilapidated as you will see below and on a hot afternoon on a weekday, we couldn’t find a single cafe or restaurant for any type of meal after the sun had set. Having said all of that it is still 100% a place you need to visit when on Djerba Island and there are even many murals, which are dated 2018 or 2019.

We took a taxi to Djerbahood and it seems all of the taxi drivers know the spot. They’ve dropped a few tourists there over the years. It’s a small island after all. When we arrived, I was not sure if the murals would follow a path/route or they were just spread out at random. We quickly found out it was the latter. However, there were so many and the streets were easy to navigate so finding them all wasn’t as hard as I had expected.

What Photography Gear do I use?

Do you want to know about the cameras, lenses, and different gear I use to capture my adventures? I’ve listed my four different cameras below but you can check out all my lenses, accessories, and favorite camera backpack in my article: MY PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR: WHAT’S IN MY BACKPACK

My Main Camera: Sony A7riii
My Drone: DJI Mavic Air2S
My 360 Camera: Insta360 X3
Action Camera: GoPro Hero 12

We set off in a random direction and slowly mazed our way throughout the entire village. We wandered through the beautiful architecture of the village, spotting new murals around every corner and discussing the controversial or political posters while admiring the more artistic designs.

Many of the murals are indeed just nice designs. However, a number of murals clearly carry a political message or are a depiction of life on Djerba or life in Tunisia. It’s pretty raw and it feels very authentic. There were only a few other onlookers on the afternoon we arrived.

I advise going about an hour before sunset so you aren’t walking around under the full force of the sun all day. It’s also when the shadows and golden lighting seeps through the vines and arches of the narrow alleyways.

We were hoping to have dinner at a cafe after viewing the murals as we assumed it would be a bit of a tourist spot. However, there was literally only tea on offer in the village so we had to get a taxi to Houmt Souk for dinner. It’s not an issue but prepare for only a small kiosk with water and chocolate bars if you visit on a weekday.

I took all of the photos on my iPhone as I casually wandered through the streets. Here is a selection of my favorite murals from our visit.

Zriba Olia: An Abandoned Berber Village In Tunisia

Jackson — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 17:32:48 +0000

Discover the ruins of Zriba Olia, an abandoned Berber village just half an hour from Zaghouan in Tunisia. The ancient village was built in the seventeenth century but deserted in the 1960s leaving behind ruins, which can be explored.

DISCOVERING ZRIBA OLIA VILLAGE

WHERE IS ZRIBA OLIA VILLAGE AND HOW TO GET THERE

The ancient village of Zriba Olia, is found in the Zaghouan region, just over three kilometers south of Hammam Zriba. The town was built between two rocky peaks in the seventeenth century but was deserted in the 1960s. Most of the population relocated to the ‘new’ town of Hammam Zriba.

Most visitors are either coming directly from Tunis or are staying nearby in Zaghouan like I was. To reach Zriba Olia from Zaghouan you can hire a taxi but you should book them to pick you up also as there are definitely no chances to find a random taxi out at Zriba Olia.

The pin on the map below marks Zriba Olia village and is accurate. Once you are there, you can explore the ruins and climb the peaks but there are no further directions required.

MY ZRIBA OLIA DRONE VIDEO

I filmed this drone video during the golden hour at Zriba Olia in some amazing conditions. I hope you enjoy this dramatic scenery as much as I did.

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MY EXPERIENCE AT ZRIBA OLIA VILLAGE

I’d heard about an abandoned Berber village nearby Zaghouan so the day after I hiked Mount Zaghouan, we headed off to explore the ancient ruins of Zriba Olia. From Zaghouan, we hired a taxi driver for the journey there and to pick us up and take us home also. We kept his phone number to arrange the return journey when we were ready. This cost us 60 dinars or $20 USD, which isn’t cheap but there are few options for transport in Zaghouan. The drive from Zaghouan to Zriba Olia village took just under 30-minutes.

When we arrived at Zriba Olia, there were not a single other people there. I think on weekends, a lot of local tourists from Tunis venture down for a day-trip. That means you should visit on a weekday if possible. We visited on a Monday and throughout the three hours, we were there, only one other couple stopped by. It’s the kind of place that is so much more fun to explore when it is empty rather than crowded with other tourists. It truly felt abandoned and like we were discovering an ancient village while we explored.

What are my favorite pieces of hiking gear?

There are four pieces of gear that I simply never forget when I go on a hike. These are four items that I using right now and this list gets updated every year! Here are my hiking essentials.

Arcteryx BETA AR Rain Jacket: This is my go-to rain jacket. It’s super light, folds down into a tiny ball, and protects brilliantly in a storm. This one never leaves my backpack.
Salomon X Ultra 3 Mid GTX Hiking Boots: For the best ankle support, waterproofing, and durable exterior I’m a fan of tough but light hiking boots like these Salomons for my adventures.
Black Diamond Head Torch: I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve arrived back from a hike unexpectedly late. I always keep this lightweight but strong headtorch in my bag for the unexpected.
Darn Tough Socks: These are the most comfortable hiking socks I’ve ever worn and last for years. They also have a lifetime warranty and you just send them in with a hole and they replace it no questions asked.

The town itself seemed to have been quite well built with pathways, arches, and a tiled mosque. It wasn’t just a makeshift desert village, it was planned out well and would have been magnificent in its prime. We were a bit nervous walking into many of the rooms and buildings as there are lots of collapsed walls and roofs so it’s just a matter of time before more collapse. Definitely be careful if you are beneath any of the structures as they are definitely not solid.

We loved looking through the small windows with views out to Djebel Zaghouan and the mountain range. The valley is incredible during the golden hour and sunset and got better and better as the sun lowered.

There are multiple peaks surrounding the village and we climbed three of them to get a new vantage point. Each peak gives you a slightly different perspective of the abandoned Berber village and it was fun scrambling our way up the rocks to reach the top of each peak.

I highly recommend going during golden hour or sunset because the sun filters through the windows, cracks, and archways in unique ways and moments so that no matter what route you take through the village you will witness great colors, shapes, and shadows.

I really can’t recommend this spot enough and our sunset here was amazing, peaceful and shared with just a couple of other people.

WHERE TO STAY NEAR ZRIBA OLIA VILLAGE

When you start to look at staying in Zaghouan for some adventures or hiking, you will find that there aren’t hundreds of options to book online. A local guide recommended for me to stay at Dar Zaghouan, which costs $100 USD per night for two people including breakfast and dinner.

Dar Zaghouan wasn’t cheap but the meals were quite good and it was always a three-course serving and unlimited food and coffee at breakfast. If you are looking for a comfortable base during your time in Zaghouan, I’d suggest Dar Zaghouan as you have all your meals taken care of and there aren’t too many options for restaurants in Zaghouan.

I’d suggest booking in advance especially on weekends as a lot of local tourists from Tunis make the 1-hour journey down for a countryside escape from the busy Tunis. Dar Zaghouan fills up on the weekend but also has some great live entertainment in the form of traditional music and performances during dinner.

To book a room or to check the availability you can click here: Dar Zaghouan Hotel

Mount Zaghouan Hike In Zaghouan, Tunisia: Hiker’s Guide

Jackson — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 10:49:10 +0000

One of the best adventures you can have in Tunisia is found on top of Zaghouan after completing the 10km hike to Djebel Zaghouan in central Tunisia. The 20km round-trip is sure to test your stamina although the views of the mountainous region are worth all of the effort. Rocky terrain clambering and some bouldering is the skill-level required to make it to the top although there are a number of great rock-climbing sites in the area as a separate activity.

MOUNT ZAGHOUAN HIKE

HOW TO GET TO MOUNT ZAGHOUAN (DJEBEL ZAGHOUAN)

Before you can even start to think about tying up the laces on your hiking boots, you first need to make your way to Zaghouan. If you are in Tunis, you can take a taxi or a louage (shared car). I found the public transport a bit unreliable and often hard to figure out when and what will be coming. If you are a local, this may be easier to organize.

I was coming from the south and my louage dropped me at Enfidah, I then caught a local bus to Zaghouan and then finally a taxi to Dar Zaghouan, my hotel.

Once you are in Zaghouan, you will then need to head to the trailhead, which among many spots is generally known as the Water Temple. It really depends if you have a car or not but I have included my GPS map below and included the link for download here.

As you can see on the map below ‘Parc Temple Des Eaux’ is about where we started but the road does continue all the way to the ‘Temple’, which is a secondary, unofficial temple. You can drive here, park, and cut your hike in half but let’s just see it’s not the ‘real’ hike if you do that. The bottom line is you can start the journey from the ‘Parc Temple Des Eaux’ or the ‘Water Temple’.

HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR PERMIT AND GUIDE FOR MOUNT ZAGHOUAN

Djebel Zaghouan is actually in a National Park. There are quite a few rules that surround this region because, during the Arab Spring Uprising, the mountains were seen as a dangerous place for certain organization to hide and get up to no good. Now it is very safe but a lot of rules still apply. The two that will impact you the most is the need to obtain a permit for your hike.

To obtain your permit, you can do this by emailing the Zaghouan Mountain Association: Speleo.club.zaghouan@gmail.com The permit doesn’t cost anything but it is required and although I find it unlikley you would be checked or find any trouble without it, it’s always good to follow the local rules.
The National Park closes at 4pm, which rules you out of being at the summit for sunset. It is very possible to get down after sunset safely so it would definitely be good to try and organize to stay later to witness the sunset at the top but if you can’t find a way around that rule, be aware that after 4 pm you are actually not allowed in the National Park. Again, I’m not sure how heavily that is enforced and what penalties are imposed.

To organize a guide for the trek, you can also email the Zaghouan Mountain Association and they will set you up with a guide. They provide this service for free at this point in time and are an incredible bunch of people who love the mountains and are truly proud to show you their local landscapes.

MOUNT ZAGHOUAN DRONE VIDEO

MY EXPERIENCE HIKING MOUNT ZAGHOUAN

It was a big journey to get to Zaghouan from the south with numerous taxi’s buses and an overpriced louage, but I think I knew the whole time we were heading somewhere worth the effort. The mountains are always worth the effort. I imagine if you are making the short 1-hour journey down from Tunis, your drive may be a little less eventful, which is a good thing!

I had been in touch with the ASEZ, which is essentially the Zaghouan Mountain/Climbing Association when translated. Basically, they are a group of legends who love the mountains and volunteer their time to show tourists like me the beauty of the mountains in Zaghouan. They organized my permit and three of the members of ASEZ came all the way from Tunis to guide us up Djebel Zaghouan, the mightiest peak in the region.

What are my favorite pieces of hiking gear?

There are four pieces of gear that I simply never forget when I go on a hike. These are four items that I using right now and this list gets updated every year! Here are my hiking essentials.

Arcteryx BETA AR Rain Jacket: This is my go-to rain jacket. It’s super light, folds down into a tiny ball, and protects brilliantly in a storm. This one never leaves my backpack.
Salomon X Ultra 3 Mid GTX Hiking Boots: For the best ankle support, waterproofing, and durable exterior I’m a fan of tough but light hiking boots like these Salomons for my adventures.
Black Diamond Head Torch: I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve arrived back from a hike unexpectedly late. I always keep this lightweight but strong headtorch in my bag for the unexpected.
Darn Tough Socks: These are the most comfortable hiking socks I’ve ever worn and last for years. They also have a lifetime warranty and you just send them in with a hole and they replace it no questions asked.

They briefed us that it would be about 10 hours in total and possibly 25-29km in length depending on the route we took. In the end, it was 6 hours and 20kms. Had we known it was not quite 10 hours, we might have tried to be at the summit for sunset and broke the rules a little bit but nevertheless, it was great during the day.

We set off at 830 am from Dar Zaghouan, our hotel, and made it to a parking lot near the ‘Parc Temple Des Eaux’. Like I mentioned in the directions above, you can really start wherever you please as you will see the road continues. However, it does dart off up the hill on a dirt trail before reaching the Temple at the midway point. The map above will show that clearly.

The trail begins on the road and cars were passing us. It’s always an interesting way to start a hike but we were happy to be out exploring Tunisia and turning the legs over. During this part of the trail, there was a lot of trash dumped on the side of the road, which was disappointing.

After a couple of kilometers on the road, we turned off to the left, through a gate that led us up into the wilderness. This is when the hike began and we would only see a small snippet of asphalt throughout the remainder of the journey.

The gates to start the ‘real’ trail.

The trail was a steady climb, averaging 100m of incline for the first four kilometers. It was a rocky trail with lots of switchbacks as we rounded our way up the side of the mountain, grabbing slight views every few hundred meters. On our ascent, fog filled the sky giving a sense of mystery as the hike slowly unfolded and we began to see more and more of the Zaghouan landscapes.

The halfway point of the trail is marked by a temple. While not belonging to a specific religion, families meet here on weekends for traditional ceremonies. We seemed to be walking straight through one although they didn’t mind too much. It is to be noted that you can get fresh clean water here that I drank. I didn’t take any photos here except one quick one as we were leaving as we were intruding a little bit but it is an interesting stop on the trek.

The trail now joins back to the road for a few hundred meters as the mountains begin to loom over you. We looked up at the peaks wondering which route, which peak and what the view would be like from the top. The sun was shining now and the fog was beginning to disperse.

We again departed from the road and this time headed up a serires of steep, narrow switchbacks on the rocky terrain. We could now look back down on the road we had just crossed and see all the way back to the temple we had passed at the midway point. Our guides and new local friends were busy picking the local fruits as their snacks along the way.

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From years before, many small ruins remain in these hills. Homes to miners from ther egion, all that is left today is a few walls amidst the rubble, but it just make you stop and think about life in the mountains. Still a number of shepherds could be heard throughout the trail herding their goats but it seemed all life had moved further down into the valley rather than in the hills.

The trail now winds you up through the trees and over a dry river to the second checkpoint of the hike. The first viewpoint of the day gives a wide-open view over Zaghouan and beyond. We began looking at the other peaks and ridges planning our next Tunisia hiking adventures.

Most people will be feeling quite good at this point. There ha been 700m of incline ticked off but it has been quite gradual throughout the journey. The climb now becomes quite steep and you really do head straight up the summit, bouldering your way to the top with whatever path you choose. There is no set path for this section of the hike although you can make some good guesses as to where others have chosen to ascend the final peak.

Throughout this climb, you will likely be breathing quite heavy as there are no plateaus, just straight up. However, there are a few reasons to stop and catch your breath. One is to turn around and take in the view that will only get better and better as you climb higher. The second reason is to explore some of the caves you will pass on the way. Hideouts for many over the years, the details of which we may never know.

Once you get close to the summit you can either veer to the right and miss the first ‘false summit’ or you can scale up it , down and then up the actual summit. Both have great views and it doesn’t take much extra time to summit both. I headed to the actual summit and took some photos of the others over on the first summit.

We then all headed over to the actual summit where we hung out for over an hour eating lunch, flying the drone, enjoying the sun and of course, taking in the 360-degree views of the Zaghouan region. It took us about four hours to reach the top at a pretty leisurely pace. It could be done in under three hours quite easily by someone a bit more focused on their pace rather than taking photos, chatting and exploring but that will be up to you.

After our hang out at the top, we began the hike back down, which would eventually take us about 2.5 hours rounding out the total time of our hike to just over 6 hours. The conditions on the way down were perfectly clear and later that night the sunset was incredible, which left me wondering what if we were at the summit but you can’t always make the logistics work.

ZAGHOUAN ADVENTURE BAG

This is an adventure bag. It is full of trash. Every time I go on an adventure I collect one adventure bag full of trash. It’s my small way of saying thanks to mother nature for allowing me to enjoy her beautiful creations. If we have time to go on an adventure we have time to collect an adventure bag on the way back out of the trail once we have enjoyed the waterfall, the hike or the beach. Adventure hard!

Tag your @adventurebagcrew on Instagram and mention @adventurebagcrew in your Instagram stories to be featured and inspire your friends, family, and followers to join the movement!

WHERE TO STAY NEAR MOUNT ZAGHOUAN

To book a room or to check the availability you can click here: Dar Zaghouan Hotel

THE WEEKLY #169: A GLIMPSE OF TUNISIA TRAVEL

Jackson — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 19:48:38 +0000

Each country has its own spirit that shines through. It hits you at a certain moment throughout your trip and you can really feel the essence of a country. It can be hard to recognize at times and often it may be missing altogether in some situations. However, it’s important to remember that every country has its own version of ‘Aloha’ and you can never count it out even in situations where you are sure it may not exist.

This past ten days in Tunisia has been an adventure of up and downs. Tunisia is a country re-building from the 2011 Arab Spring in more ways than just infrastructure. It’s tourism industry took a big hit during the Arab Spring but also took even bigger hits to It’s western market when mass shootings happened to foreign tourists only four years ago. Nothing bad at all happened on my trip, it’s just an important precursor to help you understand the current state of travel in Tunisia. You need to know where they have come from and what they have been through to understand where they are today.

I’ll start with the bottom line rather than finish with it. Tunisia is not travel ready for regular tourists. Group tours, guided tours and bus ventures may work out but self-guided tours around the country are met by a continuous string of unexpected obstacles.

I’m going to lay out the reasons why Tunisia still has a long way to go but also the reasons why it has a lot to offer. If you want to skip straight to the good stuff – the photos and adventures – it’s all at the bottom of this blog post!

The observations for me that suggest Tunisia isn’t yet ready for (more) tourism:

Trash in Tunisia is everywhere and in huge amounts. It completely covers tourist attractions, outside the airport, beaches, hikes, parking lots, highways. It’s one of the most polluted countries I’ve ever been to.
Transport in Tunisia is makeshift and even the locals are unsure of how to get from A to B when it comes from one town to the next or a cross-country trip. On countless occasions we were given suggestions by a local of a bus or a shared van or a taxi to find out they simply didn’t exist, it left five hours prior or was sold out the day before despite being told there was one every hour. Of course, we figured our way around it most of the time but there was no online or physical schedule or booking service of any kind and locals could only suggest to arrive to a certain parking lot the next day to hope to find a ‘louage’, which is a shared van that was almost always sold out, unavailable or crammed to the max if you were lucky. Basically it was a wild goose chase on multiple occasions even with the locals leading the way to find out where a van may be leaving from and if there even was one.
Tricks and scams in Tunisia were rife. On multiple occasions taxi drivers, lounge drivers and local ‘helpers’ tried to have us pay 5x the amount of a taxi, van or transport. I felt constantly on edge waiting for the next man to ‘look me up and down’ and decide that I looked as if I would fancy paying double. With limited or often no other options, the reality is that you will likely pay double. These are the moments you question the spirit and I did directly ask a few people why they thought it was okay to try and rip me off and it was laughter and a total lack of care I heard in response. It took me back to some darker moments in India.
Because of the downturn in Tourism, lots of accommodations and infrastructure is run-down, slow or not working. That means the photos you see of your hotel beforehand when you booked are likely quite old and show a better time. Showers not working, doors not working, paint stripped off and lots of other small issues slowly add up to cause a general frustration for travelers.
One of our flights from Tunis Air was canceled the night before we were due to fly off the island of Djerba. There was no reason given just an email that said sorry your flight is canceled. We received it at 10pm the night before our flight, which was at 8am the next morning. There were no other flights available so we had to drive 10 hours, all the way from the south to the north the next day (which was an adventure in itself). Tunis Air still hasn’t sent an email suggesting it will be refunded or any follow-up. I’ve called several times and can’t get through to customer service. Apparently they have cancelled hundreds of flights in the last couple of months. They book the flights and if they don’t fill enough seats they just cancel it the night before leaving everyone stranded. Not okay for travelers on a schedule and a quick way to gain a bad reputation.

There were lots of other hiccups on top of those in just ten days but having said all that it was still of course a fun trip!

The spirit of Tunisia is there for all to bear witness

A group of Tunis locals traveled all the way to Zaghouan to guide us up Djebel Zaghouan, a beautiful mountain peak an hour from Tunis. Their association guides anyone who emails them up the mountain for free. They enjoy the hike and see it as a way to show their beloved landscapes to others. One of the members told me they hoped if they traveled to another country someone would do the same for them. I told her it was admirable and I hoped that they would, although it is not the norm at all and usually even a friendly local will request payment for a full day of guiding a foreigner.
At one of the moments in a small town of Enfidah, local van drivers were in the process of trying to rip us off. We didn’t know the prices but were being charged the equivalent of $20 for a 45 minute journey. They told us there was no van scheduled and it was a take it or leave it fee. With no choices we were almost about to just take the offer having already traveled 8 hours from the south that day already. What else can you do when you are 45km away from the destination with supposedly no buses or other means of transport. In the end the group of guys seemed shady, were behaving weird and even disrespectfully and seemed to be mocking us for accepting the offer of $20 (despite having no other choice apparently). We decided to screw that group of guys and walked off. We asked a young group of girls who hadn’t seen what happened how to get to Zaghouan and they said for 2 dinar ($80 cents we could catch a bus). The men rushed over and told them off for telling us. I guess this story goes in the non-spirited and good-spirited column. The girls then stayed with us for half an hour chatting and then the bus came and off we went.
Lots of locals had great chats with us and were very nice and went above and beyond to show hospitality at their hotel or tourist attraction/restaurant.

I don’t normally go through negatives like that of a country but there were a lot of moments in Tunisia where it was quite frustrating even for someone with a number of years of travel under their belt. There were just too many moments that left me puzzled as to what on earth was going on so I thought I’d give a little candid insight into the week. When I look at the photos it looks like an epic 10 days and there were great moments but overall there are equally as many ‘What the!’ moments as there were beautiful landscapes.

With those negative and positive observations addressed, I’ll share the three highlights of the trip with you.

DJERBAHOOD

The first was Djerbahood, a neighborhood on the island of Djerba that has had over 150 artists come and paint murals on its walls. It’s incredible to walk through and see different styles of artwork in a village where people are living as per normal. Some of the artworks are just beautiful designs or animals while others have a political message or a deeper meaning.

DJEBEL ZAGHOUAN HIKE

The highlight of the trip was hiking to the top of Djebel Zaghouan, a summit in the town of Zaghouan, which is about one hour from Tunis. It was a 20km round-trip hike with over 1200m of incline throughout the day. The Zaghouan Mountain Association sent a few members from Tunis to guide us for free and share their local knowledge with us.

ZRIBA OLIYA

The unexpected highlight of the trip was visiting Zriba Oliya, which is an abandoned village in the mountains. The residents left it to start a new town in a lower area in the 1960’s and now it is in ruins. You can explore through the rooms, arches, buildings and even climb on the peaks that sit either side of the village. It was a magical spot to watch our last sunset in Tunisia.