• Home
  • About Elaine Kenney
  • Contact

Travel Wise

~ Travel wise, travel safe and enjoy your journeys! I am a woman, senior traveler who loves adventure and organizes my own travel itineraries from planes, trains, ferries, bus and accommodation. If you’re passionate about travel, like me, you’ve come to the spot on travel blog. Every travel entry offers my personal anecdotal story and tips about that particular destination. Cultural richness, history, cuisine, unforgettable landscapes and unforgettable people add up to making travel a truly extraordinary experience. Check out my 38 armchair travel programs at www.communicationmatters.ca.

Travel Wise

Category Archives: Touring Djerba Solo

Touring Djerba Solo

21 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by elainekenney in Touring Djerba Solo

≈ 9 Comments

There are many places, even as a single woman, on Djerba that you can visit on your own from your hotel. I’ve walked from my hotel along the main road, where there is sidewalk in some places, but not everywhere, but it is not a problem. There are always many taxis along there as well as many horse-drawn caleches, so if you tire of walking, a ride is close at hand.

Personally, if I want to go for a nice long walk I prefer the beach, but just to explore the area, I have walked along the main road and that’s how I came upon the Djerba Golf Club. I visited the club house, had a coffee there and saw portions of the golf course. If I had visited it more extensively I would have seen the portion of the course that borders the Mediterranean, which is the most scenic part.

Here are a few photos of the Djerba Golf Course an 18-hole course which is an all-season golf club:

 

IMG_3548
IMG_3550
IMG_3539
IMG_3541
IMG_3537
IMG_3533

Along a good part of the East coast of Djerba is where most of the big hotels are located; it is called the Tourist Zone. From my hotel, I am about a five-minute walk to the Djerba Golf Club.

Where I am staying, at the Mehari Iberostar Hotel, I’m a 10 Dinar (about$4.50 Cdn.) taxi ride to go into Houmet Souk, the capital. I’m a little further away from Houmet Souk than some of the other hotels, but we’re talking a difference of a dollar or so by taxi. I visited Houmet Souk, its Medina and museum on my own and walked around quite extensively without any bother.

Now, because I’m of retirement age, I don’t get bothered by the local men as much as a younger woman would be, but honestly if they are trying to ask you out or go for a coffee, all you have to say, firmly, is that you want to be on your own and you don’t want to be bothered, they will respect that, in my experience anyway. Or just tell them your husband or boyfriend is waiting for you.

From my hotel, a taxi into Midoun, the second largest city on Djerba will set you back, at most, $2.00 Cdn. with tip. I went into Midoun to a Hammam called Bakouche, a very traditional Hammam that the locals use. The hot room and gommage (a rub down with a coarse cloth to exfoliate) cost me 10 Dinars, again about $4.50 Cdn.

It was a very busy place. The hot/steam room was quite small but boy was there a lot of activity! As each woman goes in she gets a pail that she can fill up with either hot or cold water (or a combination of both) to splash on herself as she sits and allows the steam to works its magic. There is a constant lineup to get water, so you have to be on your toes, but there is, I observed, a certain social order, where everyone waits their turn and seems to know whose turn it is to fill up your pail, which is surprising because it’s a really noisy, ruckus place.

Ladies are either steaming, washing their hair, doing their own gommage, or just sitting and relaxing. By the way, this is no place to be shy, everything is off except the lower underwear! When I finally got my gommage, I had requested that she do it gently, as I have sensitive skin and had recently taken some sun. Well, that request was pretty well ignored, and the largish masseuse went at me with a vigour that was both admirable and unnerving.

Here are some photos of the outside of the Hammam, as no photos are allowed inside for obvious reasons. There is a hair stylist on site who will also tint your eyebrows.

 

IMG_4013
IMG_4019
IMG_4016

While in Midoun I was able to find a traditional underground oil press, called a massera, that now functions as a museum. I know that on the mainland of Tunisia, in more remote areas, these traditional oil presses still exist, and still use a camel to pull the heavy press that squeezes the oil out of the olives. Here are some photos of the massera:

 

IMG_4041
IMG_4040
IMG_4032
IMG_4039
IMG_4033
IMG_4035
IMG_4029
IMG_4028

Just yesterday, I visited Djerba Explore which is composed of three distinct sections: the first part was the Lalla Hadria Museum, a museum of pottery, textiles and jewellery and other artefacts, mostly from Tunisia, but there were also items from Morocco and Turkey.

One could easily spend a good part of the day here at Djerba Explore as there are also some shops and a few restaurants.

Photos of the Lalla Hadria Museum:

 

IMG_4097
IMG_4095
IMG_4077
IMG_4122
IMG_4067
IMG_4070

The second section is Djerba Heritage, which is like a folk village and  demonstrates the typical life of Djerbans in a “Al Menzel”, where extended families lived together. Today, there aren’t many of these traditional Menzels still in existence on Djerba.

Within the confines of the Menzel, each family had its own living quarters and cooking area, but there were other areas to crush grain, weave, make pottery, store olive oil, etc. There would be many small courtyards outside the living quarters which I found particularly enchanting. These would be the equivalent of our summer decks or patios.

Photos of Djerba Heritage, or the Al Menzel:

 

IMG_4171
IMG_4172
IMG_4173
IMG_4161
IMG_4170
IMG_4140
IMG_4144
IMG_4148
IMG_4152
IMG_4130
IMG_4131
IMG_4139
IMG_4127
IMG_4129
IMG_4118
IMG_4121
IMG_4123
IMG_4125
IMG_4112
IMG_4116
IMG_4100
IMG_4103
IMG_4104
IMG_4105
IMG_4107

The third section of this complex was the crocodile park. Quite an interesting combination with this last addition!

I met an employee of the crocodile park, Manwar, who was very informative about the life of the crocodile, so it was actually fascinating to learn a great deal about these reptiles. One thing that is particularly interesting is that they go back to the time of the dinosaurs and have changed very little from that time.

The crocodiles at this time of year are more or less in hibernation because it is winter on Djerba, thus they are very inactive.

I was very happy to see a lot of protective fencing between the crocodiles and visitors, as another thing I learned about the crocodiles is that although they look very inactive, if you were to fall into their space, they are all of a sudden very quick and protective of their territory so you wouldn’t have a hope in hell! Photos of the crocodile park:

 

IMG_4210
IMG_4208
IMG_4207
IMG_4196
IMG_4180
IMG_4176
IMG_4187
IMG_4185
IMG_4192
IMG_4205
IMG_4189
IMG_4194

Categories

  • My Travel Experiences
    • Africa
      • Morocco
        • Casablanca
      • Tunisia
        • Djerba Island
          • About Djerba Island
          • Erriadh Village
          • Medina of Houmet Souk,capital of Djerba
          • Midoun Fruit and Vegetable Market on Friday
          • My Hotel, El Iberostar Mehari Djerba
          • Touring Djerba Island
          • Touring Djerba Island part 2
          • Touring Djerba Solo
        • Tunis, Capital of Tunisia
          • Bardo Museum
          • Carthage
          • Dar Belhadj Restaurant, Tunis Medina
          • Royal Victoria Hotel
          • Sidi Bou Said
          • Tunis Medina
    • Cuba
      • Trinidad
    • India
      • Agra Fort in Agra
      • Amber Fort in Jaipur
      • Barso School, Baaratpu, Rajasthan
      • Delhi
      • Khajuraho
      • On the road in India
      • Orchha Fort in Orchha
      • Royal Ghost Town in Fatehpur Sikri
      • Taj Mahal in Agra
      • Varanasi India
    • Ireland
      • "Introduction to Ireland"
      • Ballybunion
      • Donegal
      • Killarney National Park
      • Letterkenny
      • Listowel
      • Westport
    • Maltese Islands
      • Gone in Gozo
      • Malta Island
      • Passport Blues
    • South America
      • Chile
      • The Mysterious Easter Island
      • Uruguay
        • A Challenging Day Getting to Piriapolis
        • A Day Trip to Relaxing Colonia de Sacramento
        • A Stay in Punta del Este, Uruguay
        • Colourful Montevideo
        • Montevideo: Alive with Music and Dance
        • More on Montevideo
        • Museums I Visited in Montevideo
        • Some Favourite Cafes and Restaurants of Montevideo
        • The Great Escape in Montevideo
    • Spain
      • Canary Islands
        • Carnival Time in Playa del Ingles
        • Eugenia Victoria Hotel at Playa del Ingles
        • Exploring Aguimes on Gran Canaria
        • Exploring Puerto Mogan, Venice of the Canaries
        • Gran Canaria to Tenerife
        • Las Palmas, Capital of Gran Canaria
        • Out and About in Playa del Ingles
        • Playa del Ingles to Maspalomas
        • Puerto de Mogan, Venice of the Canaries
        • Reflections on Ham and Cheese and Travel…
        • Sioux City in Gran Canaria
        • Spa Day at Eugenia Victoria Hotel
      • Mainland Spain
        • A Tour of Gran Canaria
        • Charming Granada
        • Marvellous Madrid
        • Vibrant Barcelona
  • Published Travel Articles

Pages

  • My Website
    • Armchair Travel
    • Travel Writing
    • About Elaine Kenney
    • Contact
  • Travel Wise Home Page

Archives

  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016

Archive

  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

  • Follow Following
    • Travel Wise
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Travel Wise
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...