"Djerba is more than Mass Tourism!" Ile de Jerba by Kid-A

So it went like this.

It began with the desire to do something fun over the holidays with my girlfriend. Then it morphed into the desire to do something fun over the holidays with my girlfriend in a warmer and hopefully sunnier climate than Germany.

So I started looking online and I started searching through the wonderful and helpful pages of all you fellow VT'ers. And I started to lean towards Egypt. And VT'er rosegirl gave me some helpful info (Thanks, rosegirl).

And then I went on one of those last minute websites and remembered Tunisia. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to get in some sort of 4-wheel drive vehicle and drive across North Africa, and really see the Atlas Mountains and the nomadic cultures and the expanse of nothingness. (This vacation didn't really satisfy that desire, but there's always next time...)

So I checked into Tunisia and found about 10,000 more deals than Egypt. And it was cheap! That's always a good thing!!! :) So I booked a 2-week, half pension thing at a place called the Isis Hotel and Spa.

We left out of Brussels, landed in Djerba, and were bussed off with all the other tourists to the "Zone Touristique." What I mean to say here, I guess, is that Djerba is a lot more than this small strip of beach where all the hotels and tourists can be found. You can sit and relax in mass tourism comforts at your hotel, and that's fine. But we made it our mission to get out and see some of this island, as well as a great deal of southern Tunisia.

So this page is primarily just my notes from our long walks and short bus rides around this small island.

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The small courtyard of our building

My package tour on Djerba provided me with a large and nice hotel room with hot water and power outlets for our water boiler and my laptop, breakfast and dinner, satellite TV, ping pong table, beach access, and that's it.

Everything else cost extra, including access to the fitness room, or a beer with dinner.

But we found that we weren't hanging around the hotel much anyway. There's a lot to see on Djerba.

Djerba is in a building frenzy!

The island is 514 square kilometers, making it the largest island off North Africa.

The climate is mild and the soil well cultivated. Its largest city is Houmt-Souk, with a population of around 60,000.

The population is mostly Islamic, but there is also a small Jewish minority. The El Ghriba synagogue is the oldest and one of the most famous in the world.

Olive trees are found all over. Olives and olive oil are exported from Djerba.

The island has a facinating history, that can be found on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerba

One thing I found very cool is that legend has it Djerba was the island of the Lotus-Eaters where Odysseus was stranded on his voyage through the Mediterranean.

Check my 'general tips' for a good map of the island.

This page is still being built, so check back soon for all the tips and photos! :)