As if Carnival in Tozeur had not been enough, we awoke this morning to a fairly overpowering stench of sewer gas in our bathroom. Okay, okay, we're leaving already. There's no need for the walls to start bleeding...much as the red might go nicely with all the pink.
For our last meal in Tozeur, we're alone in the dining room, save for a few birds that have managed to sneak in through one of the windows slightly ajar. They swoop around the room while we quietly eat.
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We're stuck in the front seat of what should be the first of three louage rides today. I'm certainly less ambivalent about leaving that was the case from Sidi Bou Said, Mahdia or Jerba. Now that we're clear of Tozeur and heading south, there's many more camels along the left side of the road. Oh yeah, camels. Whatever.
As we proceed south, the time has come for the collecting of money. This always happens at some point during the ride, aside from those originating from major hubs like Sfax. The change and bills are passed forward, although I wish the driver wouldn't extend his right palm back to get the money just now, as we're climbing a hill and a truck is coming down in the opposite lane.
I was a little nervous about the cash exchange in the midst of traffic and for much of the ride, our driver seemed pretty surly. But maybe he had as much trouble getting sleep last night as Lee and I. Any misgivings I had about him were banished when he made sure that we got to the correct van when we arrived in the louage lot in Gafsa this a bit earlier. We took our place in almost complete gridlock, our van frequently stopped or inching forward, other vehicles sliding by with virtually no clearance. But once we reached a stopping point, he walked us through a maze of vans for the next one bound for Kasserine, the next stop on our three-legged race north.
Having been slowed by construction north of Kasserine and another stop by typically stern members of the Garde Nationale, we're now moving quickly north.
