A YEAR IN MY LIFE ( or 3 ): January 2009

I left a very cold Dublin on December 20th for what i hoped to be warm sunny days, lying on the beach in Tunisia. The sky was blue and the sun shone but it never got above 19 degrees! For those of you who don't know where Tunisia is, it is on the northern tip of North Africa. To the west lies Algeria and to the south is Lybia. Until i booked this trip, i had never heard of Tunisia. Tanzania yes but not Tunisia. I had intended to go to Morocco, i'm glad i changed my plans.

Tunisia is a very poor country and extremely dirty but it makes up for it by it's stunning, rugged landscapes, it's beautiful lush oasis, the Mediterranean sea and it's absolutely gorgeous men! Who would have thought i'd be 4 wheel driving in the Atlas mountains and camel trekking in the Sahara Dessert, watching the sun set over the sand dunes and then watching it rise over the salt flats. I also attended a traditional Tunisian dinner and watched Tunisian and Zulu dancers and had my picture taken with a "real Zulu Chief" (maybe not but he was cute!)

Being a Muslim country, i was not expecting anything for Christmas but our hotel put on a Gala dinner on Christmas Eve. The food was good and they put on great entertainment. Yours truly even took the photo that they used for their menu. Christmas day was spent lounging by the pool. Every day we spent an hour walking on the beach after breakfast, the Mediterranean was right outside our door! Then it was relaxing in a sheltered place to catch some rays before heading out for the day. I think this was actually the first holiday i have taken where i actually lost weight by the time i got home.

It was hard to get back on that plane to cold and wet Dublin. I am looking forward to my next warm spot in April to Greece!