TUNISIA Part 2

Dear WACCO Fans

Carthage was founded by Queen Dido of Phoenicia whose empire was known as the Punic Empire. It was extremely prosperous in trading given its prime position on the Mediterranean coast and it was not long until Ancirent Rome got its sites on it and conquered it in 146BC. The Romans held on until the Arabs took over in 697 and as a result built an incredible city whose ruins form the main things to see in today’s Carthage. The best of them is the Roman Baths of Antoninus, the Emperor at the time and they are very well preserved. The amazing thing about them was the construction of a 130km aqueduct to bring the waters for the baths from the interior mountains - a spectacular feat of engineering and construction. Other ruins include the amphitheatre and roman villas (houses) as well as a number of museums.

Sidi Bou Said is a small town peached on the end of the peninsular comprising cute little house s painted many white and blue with cobbled stone alleys winding their way through. It looks exactly like a Greek Island village and has the same atmosphere and outlook onto the shimmering Mediterranean - another must-do…

The surprise of my Tunisia visit was my 2hr drive 110km north to a place called “Cape Angela” or in local speak “Ras Engela” - this a stunning peninsula that is the TOP OF AFRICA - the north-most point of the African mainland. The region around here is very hilly and green. Veggies and sheep everywhere. The Mediterranean at the Cape is blue-green and crystal clear. In fact the top of Africa looks like the bottom of Africa only the south has very rough ocean since it is where the Atlantic meets the Pacific. I have been to both and the two are 8,060km apart - this gives you an idea about the VAST size of the African Continent. I have also been to the east-most point of Africa in Dakar and now only have the east left but that is in Somalia !!!

With this email I complete the incredible WACCO journey along the coast of West Africa with a small side-step to the north-most Africa…

John WACCO Golfin signing off…

 

 

 

TUNISIA Part 1

Dear WACCO Fans

TUNISIA is my 100th country and 95th to run in and I could not have picked a better country for this milestone !

Tunisia is terrific. It is modern, progressive and feels very much European but with a strong Arab influence and much like what Morocco would have been many years ago. Tunisia has 12 million people who are 98% Arab Muslim. Tunisia is rich in history and dates back to 1200BC when the Phoenicians came here and founded Carthage. The Roman Empire took over in 146BC after winning the very famous “Battle of Carthage” and it took the Muslim Ottomans many centuries to defeat Rome in 697. The French had their say from 1881 until Independence in 1956 which is why most people speak French and Arabic and the coffees and baguettes abound. Tunisia has the dubious honour of being the only truly democratic Arab sovereign nation and as a result is very safe and very stable. Petroleum, Agriculture and Tourism dominate Tunisia’s exports and the 1,300km of coastline along the Mediterranean is very fertile and very green, growing almost everything.

The Capital, Tunis is spread out with wide roads and the centre is clean. Like most Arab countries it suffers from traffic but has a great freeway system that helps. Tunis is famous for its Medina, Carthage and Sidi Bou Said. The panoramas below in this Part 1 showcase the Medina which contains a number of Mosques and Palaces belonging to a long line of Ottoman origin Kings. There are also a number of “souks” or bazaars or market selling everything. Nowhere near the size of Medinas or Souks in Moroccan cities but much easier to navigate and nowhere near as tiring to walk. I spent all morning in the Medina and then the modern city centre and produce markets. In the afternoon I headed to the Bardo National Museum which is breathtakingly large and modern. The exhibits are a bit repetitive and it is very hard to get around - there is no logical path through but the place is a must-do.

In the next email “WACCO 8 - TUNISIA - Part 2 of 2” you will see panoramas of Carthage and Sidi Bou Said.

See you in Part 2 (too many photos for one email…)

John WACCO Gofin

CAPE VERDE

Dear WACCO Fans

What a surprise CAPE VERDE was to us… in two ways…

This email comes to you from Praia, the Capital of the country of CAPE VERDE on our last day here before we all sadly split up !!!

The first surprise was that it is not what its name suggests “GREEN” since VERDE is Portuguese for GREEN - it is quite barren and looks orange brown from the plane and roads with pockets of it green, especially in valleys and near the coast. It actually reminded of some Greek islands that are brown and do not have many trees. The reason is that CAPE VERDE is in its third year of drought - the worst since 1971.

The second surprise is that it is a collision of cultures and architecture and food: Portuguese and West Africans - this fusion i known as CREOLE and lends itself to some interesting looks around town and in the faces of people. People of CAPE VERDE are either 4th or more generation Portuguese or descendants of the slave trade from West Black Africans. People are dark but not quite African black and many resemble the Arabs of Morocco. The food is terrific - famous for Yellow Fin Tuna - there is so much of this here that is costs $5/kg to buy in the markets !!! CAPE VERDE also grows almost every vegetable imaginable except for citrus which is imported from Spain and Portugal and Morocco. CAPE VERDE is also the most western part of Africa with Dakar taking the honours for the mainland.

CAPE VERDE consists of 10 volcanic islands with only one that erupted in 2014 and is now silent. The islands are 570km off the West Coast of Africa and in line with Daka in SENEGAL where we came from. The total population in all islands is approaching 600,000 with some 500,000 living on the largest island of Santiago which houses the capital Praia (Pop 350,000) where we stayed. Praia is very sophisticated and is very easy going and feels like Europe more than it does Africa. As you will see from the colourful panoramas there is a strong Portuguese influence but like in the rest of Africa, many homes are complete in the inside but look incomplete on the outside and because of the boxy shapes resemble homes in Morocco or the Middle East. CAPE VERDE Is also super cheap. We stayed with a family in an adjacent self-contained unit opposite the ocean for $30AUD each per night. A typical main meal is $6-10AUD and even a bottle of wine is only $10-15AUD. No wonder this island is swarmed by the English, Germans, Dutch and of course Portuguese. Even cruise ships come here. There are also many retirees living here for many years from the countries I just mentioned. CAPE VERDE was liberated from the Portuguese in 1975. Tourism is the only real export here alongside Bananas and of course Tuna.

We visited the old capital of Cidade Velha established in 1456 which has a huge ruined Cathedral and a huge fortress on a hill overlooking the town. This town is now UNESCO listed since it is one of the bets preserved early Portuguese settlements in Africa. We also hired a car and driver for a whole day to drive us around the island, 75km through the middle and another 80km back via the east coast. The centre is an incredible surprise as you can see below - full of volcanic plugs and peaks, jagged and reaching 1,400m - looks more like Andies in Peru than it does Africa. Praia is the southernmost city whilst Tarrafal is the most northern where we ended up swimming. Tarrafal is also the location of a concentration camp that was used to house political prisoners from Portugal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissal and Senegal during and after WWII which you will see below. 

CAPE VERDE was easily the most comfortable and modern place of our journey and that is why we chose to end up here so we could rest and shake off all that West African dust.

Riza leaves us for London today and Roberto and I fly to Casablanca tomorrow where Roberto connects back to San Paolo BRASIL and I fly direct to Tunis in TUNISIA to finish up with WACCO 8… see you there!

Enjoy the best of our panoramas…

John WACCO Golfin