Tunisia Welcome to Africa!

Our first new continent. We explore Tunisia and immerse ourselves in a new culture.

Salam aleikum!

Greetings from Monastir. Yes, we have sailed to Africa. What a great feeling ❤ It wasn't our longest crossing so far, but it was still something special. Just under 180 nautical miles, i.e. two days and one night, lie between us and our last anchorage in Gozo. The crossing was definitely one of the more challenging ones so far 😵 We had perfect winds, more on the upper limit of the cool wind force (sometimes over 30 knots), everything nice from behind. Lots of wind also means lots of waves, which Laura in particular couldn't cope with and so gracefully won the CERVINO crew's pukal 🏆🤮. We have a turbulent start: first the furler line from the genoa gets jammed on the forestay and Thierry & Sven hang upside down in the anchor locker for 2 hours. Then we almost drown our Oxley after a failed sail-setting operation and, last but not least, the bolt on our autopilot snaps 🤦‍♀️ After that, things finally seem to be going well, hoist the genoa with the second boom and fly over the waves. We don't have a single engine hour to report, and it's the first time we've done that.

We experience Monastir in two ways: On the one hand, there is the modern, western-orientated side within the marina. Here, people, especially the women, are dressed in modern clothes, sometimes in shorts and without headscarves. You can buy alcohol in the bars and beer in the shops. But as soon as you leave the marina, the atmosphere changes. The clothing is a mixture of traditional and modern, you don't see many women on the street. People are generally friendly and interested, but I still feel more comfortable covering my legs and shoulders.

Carpets, camels and chapatis

After 4 customs officers came on board and inspected everything thoroughly, we spend two days sleeping, working and doing yoga & accro sessions with a sea view. We visit the local market and buy fresh fruit and vegetables. The colourful hustle and bustle here is definitely a spectacle. We then decide to hire a car and take a trip to Kairouan, one of the four holy cities of Islam. There are 137 mosques in the medina (Arabic for old town) alone! 🕌 Accompanied by a local guide, we stroll through the streets and see old weaving mills for headscarves and carpets. We learn more about the history of Arab cultures in Tunisia, accompanied by chapati (a type of flatbread sandwich). Finally, we visit the large carpet factory, where we choose a carpet for our saloon.

After Sven & Laura leave us, we spend a few more days in the harbour and, as always, wait for the good wind to sail to Sardinia. We take the shared taxi to Sousse for another day, visit the market and Thierry gets his facial hair trimmed at the barber 😉 So we get everything ready for our three-day crossing: shopping, washing, filling diesel canisters, pre-cooking.

Our summary of Tunisia

We liked the market, the food and the history of the country. These cultures are so old, and somehow it's nice to immerse yourself in them and imagine how the Bedouin people travelled through the desert on camels 🐫 What we found less pleasant, or me in particular, was being constantly scrutinised. Sure, we are different and stand out, but I feel uncomfortable when so many eyes lie on me. I also don't like the constant feeling of being ripped off and having to haggle over everything.

Also, refugee policy is a topic that has touched and preoccupied us both. Ever since Malta, where we became friends with the crew of a sea rescue boat, we have been looking more closely at what is happening in the Mediterranean. We sailed the route from Malta via Linosa to Tunisia. We have seen this sea. And I would NEVER wish ANYONE to be in distress at sea there. And the only human thing to do in the event of a sighting of people in distress at sea is to help. Of course, the situation is difficult and cannot be discussed in three sentences. Nevertheless, I would like to make a distinction between political debates and human lives. Because that's what it's all about out here.

Now it's time for us to head back to Italy. We head for Cagliari and start our second longest crossing so far.

Italy, here we come!