Update on where we're going, where we've been

You may notice an increase in blog updates this week. (Okay, basically yesterday and today). It is because we're in Hammamet, a blissful resort town on the eastern coast of Tunisia. Our pace has relaxed somewhat because it is very warm here, and this nice, air-conditioned internet cafe is right next to our hotel, is very cheap (two dinars for one hour, which is about $1.60) and much faster than the paltry "free internet" computers at many hostels where we've stayed. Lee and I are both uploading lots of photos to make room for more. (I think I've already taken 700 photos and we're not half done yet. God bless the digital camera.) We're also undertaking some major planning for the next few days of our trip.

So far it has been very easy to hop from one train or bus to the next, from one city or country to the next. It is easy to show up, find the tourist info station, find a free map and find a place to stay. But since we've ventured into less touristy places, a bit more planning needs to happen. The tourist centers are often closed or nonexistant. (You'd be surprised how far you can get without a map, though.) Since we are entering a heavier touring season, we are competing with Europeans on vacation, who invariably seem to know what they're doing moreso than I do.

We are going on an excursion tomorrow to south Tunisia. We will step foot into the gateway to the Sahara and possibly ride camels. We will see many sites of Star Wars filming. We are traveling with a tour group, so it should be easier. We will stay one night somewhere along the way and arrive back in Hammamet Sunday evening.

Here is where the planning comes in. All along we had though we'd take the Tuesday ferry from Tunis (the capital) back to Italy, all the way to Genoa, actually. But we found out yesterday there is also a Sunday ferry from Tunis, and it stops in Malta, which we wanted to get to but didn't know how. The tricky part is this: we need to get from Hammamet to Tunis (about an hour) and then to the port (maybe half an hour) and THEN through customs (prior to Italy this took 10-20 minutes, in Italy it took over an hour but luckily their ferries often run one to two hours late) and then on a boat to Genoa at 22:00. (Oh yes, and we're supposed to check in an hour before departure.) Our tour from the Sahara returns to Hammamet at 19:00 at the latest. In THEORY, we should be able to do this. But ports are notoriously difficult to navigate, we've found. Ferry tickets need to be purchased in advance and this particular ferry is quite expensive. (Not that big a deal, as we've been under our budget so far and have plenty of dough to blow on ferries. But not if we miss the ferry.) So, do you think we can do it? We haven't decided yet if we're going to try to go on the Sunday night ferry or stick with the easier, but less fun, Tuesday ferry.

Here is an updated list of our adventures so far, and I list these as much for myself as for you faithful readers, because I often forget where we've been, what we've done, where we are, who I am, etc. (Just kidding.)

Oslo, Norway
Stockholm, Sweden
Vaxholm (part of Sweden's archipelago)
Helsinki, Finland
Tallinn, Estonia
Riga, Latvia
Majori (part of outlying Riga coastal area)
Vilnius, Lithuania
Warsaw, Poland
Krakow, Poland
Auschwitz/ Birkenau, Poland
Budapest, Hungary
Bratislava, Slovakia
Vienna, Austria
Salzburg, Austria
Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zagreb, Croatia
Split, Croatia
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Kotor, Montenegro
Bari, Italy
Napoli, Italy
Palermo, Sicily
Tunis, Tunisia
Carthage, Tunisia
Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
Hammamet, Tunisia

Many of these were little side excursions and did not take a full day. We've already done more at this point in the trip than we had planned, and if you looked at our itinerary before we left, you know it was ambitious. We were even ahead of schedule for awhile, but I'm not sure where we are now since we've slowed down a bit. (Took a long nap yesterday due to a wedding party and hellish heat at the hostel in Tunis the night before, slept in today and will probably go to the beach for some of today.) I think sometime next week marks the half way point, which is CRAZY, because we've already done so much but it also feels like we've barely been gone a week. The rest of our trip is also a bit up in the air because it depends on what we shall do and where we shall go when we meet up with my brother Joe in Germany. Prague? Spain? Portugal? Morrocco? So many possibilities.

Traveling is both very easy and somewhat challenging. I never predicted how easy it would be to just decide to go somewhere, to show up and to find things to do. This is something I want to do more when we come back. It makes no sense that I have been to Africa but not to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota. I ventured into Montenegro, the newest country (besides Kosovo) yet I can't manage the trip into Minnepolis.

The challenges don't seem daunting yet, and I know that is thanks in large part to having such a compatible traveling partner. Being with Lee makes everything seem easy and fun (if you are gagging at my saccharine sentiments, you should not be reading this blog). His French has been invaluable in Tunisia, which was once a French colony. I may have to prove my worth when we get to Spain. But before then, I'd better practice my Spanish.

Buenas tardes, y gracias por leyendo! (Okay, I cheated on that last verb, and I'm still not sure it's correct. But c'mon, it's irregular! I can't be expected to remember all the conjugations!)