Briefly

Hey folks,

Back in action. I'll be writing a bundle tonight and formatting pictures to make things interesting and pretty. If you have time to kill I posted some philosophical ramblings below. Warning: they are long and I don't know if they're worth reading. But if you're interested, see below.

More to the point, my travels.

I left Sousse, after Aid el Kebir, which basically shut down the whole country, and headed south to Gabes. Then, by louage, to Kebili, then another louage to Douz. One night at the exotic Hotel Touareg, then a half day putzing about Douz. Then, a four hour drive (turned into a five hour drive by a little accident which is a story I'll save for tomorrow), and arrival in Ksar Ghilane, a desert oasis on the northern end of the Grand Erg Oriental, a significant chunk of the Sahara desert.

The following day, we drove on to Matmata (turning northward mind you) where I dutifully made my pilgrimage to the Lars Homestead of Star Wars fame. Then, back to Gabes by hitching a ride (that's another story that will get the full treatment shortly) and north on an impossibly packed train to Tunis. I got into Tunis around midnight, crashed at the Maison Doree and recovered. The next was spent in Tunis (amazing) and Carthage (tragically incredible). Then, flight back to Athens and since then it's been CYA fun nonstop.

That's the broad sketch. I have a list of 140 discrete events, people, thoughts, that will eventually turn into blog posts...not as 140 discrete posts, I imagine, but you get the general idea. I'll be clumping pictures and stories together and try to craft a wonderful achronological narrative from post to post and limit myself to what someone besides myself will actually read.

That's the idea and it'll probably occupy the next week or two. I'll also be punctuating that with the latest from Athens (when the pell mell activity of registration and initiation and all wears off and I get more sleep) and imminent travels. This weekend I'm heading to Meteora to scale some mountain monasteries and do my best not to fall off any cliffs.

That's the deal, in case it gets confusing. These have been some of the three best weeks of my life, and the stories are far beyond my capacity to tell them. But I'll give it a shot.

All the best,

The Navigator

P.S. Okay, okay, I won't really sign off so pretentiously.

Billy