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