We settled for a few days at Camping El Hassan in Gafsa where we were able to carry out some overdue household chores, laundry, cleaning and so on. As resources were scarce we allowed ourselves a clean duvet cover and pillow cases once a fortnight and clean bottom sheet once every four weeks – fresh bedding was a real treat for me but I don’t think Tony even noticed!
Later on that day, a group of 25 mainly Germans and a few Swiss arrived at the camp site in brand new BiMobiles (a German manufactured expedition truck costing upwards from £250,000; the total value of convoy would have been far in excess of £3 million). They left early the following morning for driver training in the desert.
The site was run by a friendly family who were happy to provide us with an evening meal delivered to the truck (we could have eaten in the restaurant). The first evening’s meal was a crispy pancake with a savoury filling which included a soft egg, served with a very spicy salad and a stuffed grilled pepper. 
This was followed a delicious soupy stew with beans, pasta, vegetables, chicken and beef. Fresh oranges completed the meal. Another night we had similar starters followed by barbecued lamb chops with chips and salad. They were huge portions, we couldn’t possibly have eaten it all.
We were looked after by a nephew of the family, a young man called Mehdi who was passionate about travelling and enthusiastically promoted Tunisian tourism. His English was excellent and he sat down with us one afternoon with a map and showed us which places we should visit. He illustrated his chat with photos he had taken from the top of high mountains, overlooking magnificent canyons and waterfalls. We weren’t so sure he had taken into account our age and agility!
Mehdi showed us an old door with two knockers. The higher door knocker made a loud noise as it struck against a metal pin. There was a smaller knocker below that struck the wooden door, making a softer noise. A male visitor would use the upper knocker – so informing those inside the house that it was a man at the door. Women would use the quieter knocker below and would be greeted by the womenfolk of the house – who needs modern technology?
The cost of our stay for three nights was €120 which included two nights’ dinners. We were quite touched when Mehdi told us before we left to contact him any time of the day or night if we needed his help.
