Day trip to Mahdia

The ladies from the British and American boats decided to go on a girls day out. Four of us set off early for the train station and parted with less than a euro for an hours journey south along the coast. Our destination was Mahdia, a well known centre for silk weaving and fishing. It lies midway between Sousse and Sfax and is one of Tunisia's loveliest port towns remaining largely unspoilt. The historic walled medina, originally founded in the tenth century and formerly the capital of Tunisia, spreads out across a small peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean.

Skifa el Kahla, Mahdia

Mahdia

We chose a Friday to coincide with the lively weekly market and we ambled past the many stalls to the infamous Skifa el Kahla, a dark narrow vaulted passageway, through which we entered the old town. This was once the only entrance to the city and on Fridays it turns into an informal souk though it was very difficult to see what they were peddling! We passed the souvenir shops and sat down for a coffee in the Place du Caire, a perfect little square, and watched the world go by. Refreshed, we continued exploring the medina and the various weaving workshops whose friendly workers were happy for us to watch them working the looms. This appeared to be a very energetic art. We admired their craftwork and all came away with some beautiful examples. 

                                                                 Mahdia

We found a great place for lunch, frequented by locals, and sat down to try one of Tunisia's great culinary curiosities - Brik a l'oeuf. It is an egg fried inside a pastry envelope. You can either have it plain or with tuna or vegetables added. Just watch out you don't get runny egg all over your face when you eat it! Replete, we wandered back to the train station via the huge fishing harbour brimming with trawlers.

Cap Monastir Marina

We are now safely tied up for the winter in Cap Monastir marina, Tunisia. We had a breezy night crossing  over from Pantelleria and made good time dodging numerous fishing boats and nets on the way. On arrival we waited on a holding berth for the winds to decrease for a couple of days and were then shown our winter berth down an extremely tight channel between moored boats and the pontoons. Not sure how we'll ever get out! The majority of boats here are French but thankfully there are also a couple of British and American boats too so we don't have to attempt to speak French all the time. The restaurants around the marina are excellent, serve alcohol and are extremely reasonable price wise. The weather here is still glorious so we have also been swimming in the shallow turquoise waters off the sandy beach behind the marina. All good so far!

Ride of a Lifetime in her winter berth

Monastir beach

It was great having visited Monastir earlier in the year so we already knew the lay of the land and where most things we needed were located. We hadn't visited the Port de Peche so we took a 30 minute stroll along the sea front to check out the fishing harbour for a possible future haul out and the various chandleries and workshops. A little further south on a Friday and Saturday there is a huge souk so we were also able to have a good "rummage" there. As well as the fabulous fruit and veg stalls there was clothing of all shapes and sizes, shoes new and old, belts and bags and plastic galore.

                                                              The Friday market

As well as the Ribat, Monastir is also well known as the birth place of Habib Bourguiba, the first president of independent Tunisia. We wandered over to have a look at his mausoleum which was constructed in 1963 and is distinguished by its huge ribbed golden dome and the twin minarets of magnificent Italian limestone. Public transport by both train and bus is cheap and cheerful so we are now looking forward to exploring further afield.

Mausoleum of Habib Bourguiba

Cap Monastir marina