We don't really like anything about our all-inclusive campsite. The laundry is ready, we've had a fresh shower and Felix has had a good sweep. We leave the campsite tomorrow morning.
We spend the early evening strolling along the beach and talk to Ali, who was responsible for quality control of the Vectra for 12 years at Opel in Germany. He reports this not without pride, we notice.
Yes, he was married to a German woman, but he must have missed the homesickness for sunshine and a life without assembly lines and time clocks, that's all he wants to say.
So at some point he went back home and lives on Djerba again. With his severance pay from Opel, he was able to build a few houses here and rent them out. He is doing well, it seems.
We hear a lot about politics here, about the presidential elections in December and also about the rubbish problem here. There would be no organised disposal, many illegal dumps and unfortunately no awareness of the kind of cleanliness we know. He is aware of all this, he spent 12 years at the Opel factory looking for dust particles on windscreens with a magnifying glass. He too is saddened by the filth here.
We ask a lot of questions, he is very happy to give us information. We learn a lot about the work situation here, we learn that many Libyans spend their holidays here or come to the doctor and also that it is much too dry and much too hot this winter.
Nature and farmers need rain for their fields, absolutely. Fruit? Yes, soon there will only be oranges. The mandarin season will soon be over, the pomegranates will probably only be available for another week, then they will all be harvested. Bananas and apples, melons and other fruits are imported and almost unaffordable for Tunisians.
Vegetables have become three times more expensive in recent years, here too: Inflation is immense, wages, if there is any work at all, are not growing at the same rate.
Meeting Ali at this wintery lonely beach bar and chatting with him delighted us. To thank us for the interesting conversation, he wants to give us some fruit. (Somehow I had more of a feeling, we would be him indebted!)
He noticed how much I lit up at the word "pomegranate". Then the next morning, just before we leave, he seriously brings us a bag full of tangerines and pomegranates. Can you believe it?
It is these encounters that play an important role in our lives and help us feel safe, connected and supported. No matter where in the world.
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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