Intermission

1 year ago this month I embarked on a trip of gradiose proportion across the U.S.A.

1 year ago this month my life was deeply touched by the sites, sounds, smells, events, and people that I traveled with.

1 year ago this month, I was inspired, impressed, and in awe of a young boy who, if only for an few hours, became a man...right before my very eyes.

....

There were many experiences that we shared, lots of laughs, and some that are funnier now that we're all home.

Yet, probably the most memorable was when we had a craving to "conquer" nature.

The task at hand...climb a huge...some even call it " GREAT ", sand dune.

These dunes were something out of wonder. Completely surrounded by mountains with a stream in front of it, and trees decorated the base....yet these dunes made their presence felt in a huge way.

The tallest dune stood 750 ft tall ( if memory serves me right ), after coming out of the trees, and crossing the stream, it was almost instinctual for us to "get to work" and start climbing. In fact, we were both so excited that we really didn't think to wait for anyone else...which was totally my bad.

Before we knew it, we were trucking along and all was great it was just like a walk on the beach, just steeper.

As soon as we began, we made a "fellowship," a promise to each other that we would make it to the top, and back...no matter what.

As is turns out, we also disregarded the fact that the sand would be hot....really hot! And in my haste I also forgot to inform the younglings to put shoes on....namely my partner in crime.

So to ease the tensions, and keep the group focused, I gave him my sandles...which were a bit large and comical at the time, but they worked. The smaller of the group, I would just through on my shoulders and carry on.

We chanted, sang, and joked as we kept moving along this mountainous mound of sand.

There were about 8 or us at one point, together....and slowly but surely, some people turned away or stayed in their tracks.

Masterfully, the youngest and smallest of the group pressed on. Despite the scroaching heat of the sand beneath our feet.

To be honest, there were a couple times when I really wanted to just turn around and go back myself, but we had made a pact, and it was not to be broken, not now...when we were so close.

Near the top, the same fear of not making it, changed and became our fuel to perserve and, soon we were running to the top.

Soon...we were there.

The highest point in the valley of the mountains.

The world was at our feet and words don't nearly come close to describing the beauty.

We stood silent for awhile, just in awe and respect for nature.

I soon found myself in a conversation, and very intellectual one, about life and doing things that let you know you are alive.

He said to me "Wow, how many people get to do this in their lives? This is amazing. This is what life is about. "

I looked down at this 13 yr old, as realized I was speaking to a man...in a childs body.

The depth and conviction in which he spoke were as true and pure as any words I had ever heard in my life.

And I simply responded..."Yea, it really puts man back in 'his' place, and sets the bar for 'true beauty.' "

We were stuck in this moment, and didn't want it to end...and at the same time we knew it had to.

So we decided to celebrate our accomplishments, in a unique, respectful, and very appropiate manner.

It could be said that our whole trip revolved on one saying / phrase / word.

So this was the word we used to celebrate our accomplishment.

"OHANA ! "

Loud and with conviction.

Nothing felt more right.

Shortly there after, we smiled at each other with the largest smiles we could, and INSTANTLY...we were both kids again.

And he said..."I'll race you back down." : )

The time was perfect, and it was ours.

.......

This past Sunday, May 8th 2005...a new adventure awaited me.

Upon my arrival in Tunis, I was instantly drawn to the highest point in the area, the Bourkornine Mountain ( Bourkornine, means twin peaks).

This mountain would be my mine for the conquering.

After weeks of anticipation, the moment had come, and I would have my day.

...

The day started off at 5:15 am.

I had the honor of seeing the sun rise from the darkness of night, bringing amazing colors of purple, blue, red, yellow, and orange with it.

Before I was completely lost in this reverie, I figured I'd check the clock...which told me that it was now 5:45 am.

Which would've been ok, except for the fact that we were supposed to meet Karim at the train station downtown at 5:45 am....in order to catch the train at 6 am.

After sprinting through streets and jumping in front of cabs, we finally found a taxi, and amazingly arrived at 6:05 am, just in time to learn that the train leaves at 6:25 am and not 6....so happiness was restored.

The rest of the day, went just this way....perfect.

The weather, the atmosphere, and the dealings with the townspeople.

The only concern was just to climb.

All that week, my thoughts had been with my "partner in crime," I felt his presence with me in every step, and I knew that this trip was as much for me as it was for him. This would be my way to pay tribute this young man that reached my heart, and touched my soul. There would be no stopping for me until I stood on the summitt.

The Bourkornine stands approximately 750 meters high, and has two twin peaks, one is taken up by a telecommunications tower for a local television network, the other...the taller one, is barren....and would be the focal point of our climb.

At the base Brian, Karim, and I reviewed the terrain...which consisted of solid towering rocks, covered with trees, bushes, and flowers. Most Tunisians will never actually go to the top of the mountain, and it is not a favorite tourist attraction, so there are no direct paths...except the one you make for yourself. Which is why most locals would seriously question "why would you climb there? " or just flat out warn us not to, due to wild animals, and fear of falling. Despite this, we chose our path along the power lines, leading to the towers, which were accented by 80 degree walls and cliffs, at each pole.

After a couple deep breaths, made a new "fellowship", and were off.

The first few poles were passed with minimal difficulty and effort, but were drastically rising in steepness. Between the 3rd and 4th poles we really hit difficult times. There was about 6 - 7 feet of space between ourselves, the side of the mountain, and a 100-200 foot deep ravine. Those 6-7 feet were also at about a 40 degree angle...so sliding off wasn't techinically impossible. To make matters worse we ran into a wall...literally, where the only the continue was to climb up via tree branches and grooves in the stone.

I would not stop, and could not. I refused to be halted in my mission.

Half way up the wall, Brian yells ahead, and tells me " I...think I'm going to go back now." In all seriousness.

There were only 3 of us, so despite not being able to share the experience, it was mildly dangerous to do the climb with only two people.

Brian, has an abundant fear of heights, and didn't quite realize what climbing the mountain would entail.

So I did my best to encourage him to come just a little bit further, where it was safer, so we could make a decision if we would split up or not.

Karim and I had found an access road after the 4th pole, and with Brian having bouts of dizziness and nausea, he chose to retreat from the mountain and meet us at the bottom.

Despite my attempts, Brian could not come any further...so I hoped he would be safe, and Karim gave him his cell phone, just in case ( as he'd forgotten his).

And like that...our fellowship was down to two and we had only been on the climb for a little more than hour and half, with an easy 2 hours ahead to go.

Alas, C'est la vie. I had to reach the top, out of respect and remembrance for a dear friend...so we picked up our bags and moved on...without looking back.

The next stage was were things got particulary interesting. The path we were following soon diminished to dirt, and we found ourselves, practically crawling in the dirt just to find an appropiate place to keep climbing. After digging, crawling, and climbing our way up the hill we finally made it the 5th pole position and....it was worth it.

At this point we could see absolutely everything. Everything near to Tunis was now visiable and the view was absolutely breathtaking. Since we had stopped for a rest, Karim and I decided to make a pit stop and have an orange or two.

While we had stopped we started talking about sports figures. And what started as a question about a soccer player, led to a comparison to Michael Jordan, which led to North Carolina, which in the end, led Karim to speak about his travels in the South and where North Carolina was. I was only a little bit ironic that Karim's most extensive visit and travels in the US have been in Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC ; with him spending the most time in ATL. For the next 30 minutes we discussed ATL, and all the places he'd forgotten the names to, and that I remembered but had never gone. It was a very random conversation, but nonetheless starting me thinking again about how much I had experienced and how "quirky" life truly is.

After our snack it was full steam ahead, which also meant that we had an easy hour and a half's worth of work ahead of us.

We came to a pivotal point in the road, just as I had on the dune, where we could have taken the access road that led to the telecomm towers or we could taken the "scenic" route. As in life, you always have choices, and there's always an "easy" way out...but at what price do you take it? Will the "easy way" be the most fulfilling way in the end ? Most of the time it isn't and this time was no different.

We stayed our course, and braved the unknown.

The rocks had now come to complete 90 degree angles at this point ( more or less ), and it really forced us to find innovative ways around the large boulders and impasses. Every now and then, we'd look back , only to notice that if we fell, it was a very very long way down. Needless to say, that was motivation to keep moving on.

We kept moving through endless bushes, trees, electrical wires, and animal dwellings. The brush was so thick that we really didn't know how close we were to the summit...until we were standing on it.

We did it.

3 hrs :41 mins :34 secs.

Much quicker than we'd expected, and completly fulfilled.

I struggle to find the words that come close to describing this feeling.

As I looked around at the world below, and seeing how far I'd come.

Tears began to swell in my eyes....and the only word I could muster was....

"OHANA !!!"

[ To my little brother, thank you for lessons. I will keep them, and you, in my heart forever. ]

Story of Tataouine

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

Burnoose does it all

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

A true provider...and there's still room for 2 more !

Weird but cool

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

Trunk Duty

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

Sorry Chris, way to take one for the team

Tataouine Sunrise

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

yea...I stared too

Bienvienue a Tataouine

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Originally uploaded by Gyfrmpu85.

You know it had to happen...

The Main Event - EPISODE II

EPISODE II

So some may say I’m a bit of freak about maps. I love them. I mean for me they’re like an outlet. The help expand the world you live in, and see it in a different light. Sometimes I think we get so used to our routine and going on coming every which way, that never have much of a chance to see “everything “. Maps give us a genuine opportunity to expand our world, and in fact that make those “ far away “ places or foreign areas, not so distant anymore. And sometimes we even found there are new places, or uncharted territories very near to our homes or routine areas, that we just “passed by” everyday. Maps represent adventure, amazement, and wonder of travel. They are truly great things and every true traveler’s prized possession. (hehehe) I remember getting into some “heated” moments with some people about the map, and “the way to go,” and as we were very strong willed people…we didn’t talk for awhile after each “ map contest”. Yet in still, it still brought us together at times, as well…and in turn helped us see some pretty cool places.

So, back in Tunisia, it was OBVIOUSLY imperative for me to secure a good map. Now, being a freak about them I had already acquired a tourist map…but it was very plain, and lacked necessary details. It didn’t help that finding an atlas in Tunisia is like finding a needle in a haystack !

Yet, again….this is where “ Robin “ comes into play.

All the week was working late hours at work, Brian helped me tie up the loose ends of the trip and in turn got us flash lights, and a larger more topographical map. It was perfect.

For his duties he was christened “ official” Navigator, of the trip, and that’s how we began our trip.


JUST ME AND THE ROAD:

Most people tend to enjoy driving during the day, or have issues driving at night.

Such is not the case for me.

I love driving at night.

All the crazies are out of the way. No more rush hour. No more hoops jump through and less crazy people to dodge.

It was, is, and always will be a serene time for me, which ever highlighted by beautiful starlight skies and following the moon as your guiding light.

Plus, you can get away with illegal U – turns and blowing red lights a bit more. ; ) ( It’s ok, because this is normal in Tunisia….I would “never” do this at home )

From my calculations from the maps, I approximated our trip to be about 500 km to Tatatouine, which boils down to about 6-7 hours, if your just cruising.

So at this point all my long road trips in the dark….had come to pass. One in particular, where I drove 11 -12 hours each way for one “October” break in school. I was tired then, and COMPLETELY exhausted on my way back … but I made it. Mostly because I had incentive to get to where I was going…and this trip was not different in that regard.

Leaving Tunis, is truly something to experience.

In fact I think leaving ANY city, on the road, is truly something…once again you get to see the city in a different way, but it’s liberated and exciting. Once again, you find yourself leaving your “ comfort zone “ ( and lights for that matter ), and you drive out into nothingness knowing where you intend to go…but not knowing what lies out beyond that next turn.

When I was younger, my Dad was giving me some road trip tips, as he drives a trucks, and travels a lot, mostly just around Chicago. He told me that a good way to stay alert on the road, especially at night, was to just look around. Notice the signs, the landmarks, count signs, familiarize yourself with the road and stimulate your eyes by changing the view. When my parents were younger they’d road tripped everywhere, just about, so I figured he knew what he was talking about.

And so I do, I soak it all in. And Tunisia has tons of various scenery to stimulate your eyes. Not like driving through corn fields in Indiana, or millions of trees and those vines in Georgia ( I forget the name right now, I think it starts with a “K” and has an “S” in it), or the worst of which is driving through Kansas…with all the absolute nothingness there is to view.

There are mountains surrounding Tunis, beautiful fields, and lakes.

And then there are always the random things you’ll pick up as you drive and take notice of things, most of the times these are the things that will scare the CRAP out of you ! And help you stay awake for a few hours more, just in fear of this happening again.

Just outside of Tunis I had my first “startling moment.” Driving along, I happened to notice something about of the corner of my eye….and it very much resembled a huge bird, but it flew very differently. Anyway one of this things, I’m pretty sure it was a bat…and a HUGE ONE, flew right in front of the windshield, and I almost hit it. I kinda jumped a bit, as did Brian, and we’re like….”What the crap was that !”

I provided an excellent point to start off on, and helped Brian’s navigating abilities for another hour or so.

The next couple hours were spent listening to Arabic music ( as available as country music outside of any major city in America, and particulary in the Midwest and Southern portions of the U.S. ). In fact , at any given time there was only one station playing at one time and it was “ALL ARABIC, ALL THE TIME,” which is to be expected right ?

Some of the songs are very nice, most revolve around some form of unrequited love highlighted with the famous words “ HABEEBEE” or “HABEEPTEE”.

Other songs are just completely ridiculous and totally funny ! Usually these are the ones that last for about 15 -20 minutes and they say the same 5 words, but they keep changing the beat to , je suis pas, “ keep it interesting.”

Nevertheless, our radio was pretty bad so anytime I got to hear something I was pretty excited.

Soon I reached the first check point….KAIOURAN. And also my first real “Mess my pants in disbelief “ Moments.

CHANGING SCENES:

So it’s now about 2 am and I’m fighting that initial boredom , as radio as all but completely gone out , and everyone else in the car was snoring…namely Mariska ( which is pretty normal ), so at least I was vaguely entertained, especially after I took pictures of everyone! ; ) That’s probably the coolest part about being the driver. NO ONE messes with the driver, well…for the most part. You can take pictures of people in their most helpless states, and sabotage them with god know what, and it cool…because you’re virtually untouchable. HAHAHA.

Anyhow, moving on….

As I were exiting Kaiouran, I happened to be “ stimulating my eyes “ and I noticed the lump on the side of the road.

Now…as a side bar, I had just finished talking with Brian about scary “I almost hit this animal “ stories , namely deer and dogs. And we were joking about what would you do if a camel ran across the road or something ?

Well…

That lump, that looked like a rock, definitely was not a rock at all.

It was a camel.

And as I passed I practically looked into it’s eyes as it blinked back at me.

Before I could comprehend what I had just seen, I saw 2 more….just lying on the side of the road !

I had the most natural and logical response.

I screamed.

LOUD.

“OH MY ……CAMELS ! CAMELS ! CAMELS !! CAM…OOH….WHAT…THE…WHOA….OH MY….GOOD…WOW !!! CAMELS !”

Yea, it went something like that.

Thankfully Brian wasn’t totally sleeping so he saw some too.

But the rest of car just knew that I was freaking out about something, and now they were awake.

It was pretty cool.

I suppose the kick out if all, is just that we were still pretty far up north and I wasn’t expecting to really see camels so soon on the journey.

Needless to say, it came a the perfect time, as I was once again WIDE AWAKE thanks to nature and a little divine intervention.

So now that I may eyes were wide open, I really began to take in the scenery all the more. And I instantly started to notice things.

The buildings…architecture was beginning to change. You could see less Roman influence and more Ancient Berber influence. The towns became more rural, and incidently the number of donkeys and sheep and goats rose exponentially.

The land: The trees started to get thinner and darker, and few in between. The beautiful sprawling grassy fields, were now being replaced by more rocky , sandy terrain, and the sky had opened up magnificently.

It was an amazing time, and it came at a time where I could really appreciate it.

PIT STOP:

Me being the avid “road tripper” I am from the school that promotes ( not stopping until we have to….i.e. gas….or possibly blatter explosion, but only on the brink of explosion ). This time, it happened that the gas was perfect 3.5 hours out of Tunis, and only barely past ¼ of a tank….amazing.
So , this pit stop was do to some people who were in “ road trip – soldier “ training. And Chris was illegally and probably a bit uncomfortably stuffed in the trunk.

So I figured, it’d be ok to stop this time.

Well, our first attempt to stop didn’t pan out so well, as it was in a really shady part of town, and there weren’t any inconspicuous places to relieve oneself, BUT just before pulling off I see off in the distance some spray painting on a random wall…and all it says is …

“Chicago”

: )

We were in Gabes at the times, and I couldn’t have been happier at the site. Obvious broken memories and nostalgic feelings returned from my home, and I just took them in and laughed.

After all it’s not everyday that you get to reference your home thousands of miles away from it, do you?

Once again, my psyche was stimulated and I was ready to roll.

We soon found gas station, that was closed, but had a convenient wall, that was high enough to conceal one’s “business.”

So after getting that done….we moved on….full speed ahead to Tataouine.

TATAOUINE:

I wasn’t as aware of this fact before but, Tunisia’s major cities are actually their “country” ( area ) names as well. Which isn’t such a foreign concept, but I got pretty excited when I saw that sign to “Now Entering TATAOUINE”.

Entering TATAOUTINE was truly a sublime experience. It was completely appropriate for the trip and for my pilgrimage. I arrived, in the “county” just as the sun was beginning to rise.

All around me I could see the desert terrain, and mountains surrounding us.

For a time I felt as if I could keep on driving into oblivion and looking out of my window, over my left arm…out into forever.

Being alone at this point was complete serenity and it was a peace of mind that I had been searching for, for weeks prior.

Soon Brian was awake again, and immediately he perked up, and was “ burning megabytes.”

Me and Brian, had come to an understanding that we would take a “no holds barred” approach to the trip and absolutely abuse our cameras’ picture taking abilities. I would say it was a contest, but he smoked me in the end. I ended up with about 700 pics, compared to his ~1500. So yea.

Anyhow, this was a perfect time to take pictures, and I took full advantage of the situation to practice my one-handed driving, and one-handed picture taking abilities.

I think I was swerving a lot, because people started to wake up a little more and wonder what the heck was going on. But it was worth it, I got some good shots.

Yet, I really wanted to get a true picture of the sun rise ( not while driving ), but I had to get to the hotel as well, and keep moving, so I didn’t have time to stop.

Fortunately for me, our first run in with the Tunisian Military Police, allowed me the opportunity.

CHECK IN:

Randomly placed in Tunisia are various outposts for the military…checkpoints if you will. These checkpoints can be pretty stressful at times, just because of the authority granted to people, who arguably fit to have it.

There is a general culture in Tunisian authorities that whatever the officer feels like that day, can determine the outcome of any situation. Whether this be for visas, registration, directions, etc.

This morning…apparently they saw the sign on our car written “ HUGE GROUP OF FOREIGNERS, that want to cause a lot of trouble. “ I told Brian we should’ve left it at home, but he thought it’d be funny, so be brought it along.

J/k’ing of course.

So anyhow, as I pulled up to stop sign I actually didn’t comprehend the situation entirely, and right away. Chalk it up to me being insanely tired I think.

Anyhow, I coolly commented…”Oh look, police checkpoint.”

It was good thing that everyone was awake at this point, because with seconds to arrive to the stop sign, someone remembered that not only were we foreign, we were illegally stacked in the car. One being pretty tolerable, but with Chris in the trunk, it probably wasn’t going to fly.

So Chris ( who I think, just woke up), goes “ what do you want me to do ?” As he looked around in a dase.

And we’re like “ You have to get down. “

Chris: Huh ? As he’s looks out the window in a daze.

All: GET DOWN !

Chris: What’s going on ? Why do I have to get down again ?

ALL: GET DOWN RIGHT NOW!! THE POLICE ARE PULLING US OVER !! COVER YOURSELF !!

This time, Karim managed to give us a hand and pushed his head down into the back, as Lotfi and the girls through things on top of him….to add to the illusion of course.

So about 10 seconds later, we were pulled over and the officer was approaching the car.

At this point, I’m very annoyed, as all I wanted to do was watch the sunrise as well strolled in Tataouine City, and now I get to watch it coming up on the side of the road. WAIT ! That’s what I needed ! I could get a picture of the sunrise while we were stopped ! Of course we could all get arrested or deported or something, but still, it was a great idea.

When the officer arrived at my window, I instantly put on my “ Helpless American, who just likes Star Wars and is here to see Star Wars stuff on vacation and doesn’t want any trouble, especially since I can’t speak French or Arabic” face. : )

He said somethings to me….and I just looked at him and said.

“Yes Sir. How may I help you? “

More Arabic stuff….

“Oh, I’m sorry sir, I don’t speak Arabic. Is there a problem? “

More Arabic stuff…and some hand motions.

I stared at him.

He stared back at me, as if he realized this was not going to be easy.

And then Lotfi, stepped in , or out of the car rather, and began speaking the native language.

After a few moments, Lotfi says….they need to see all of your passports.

Great. Mine was in the trunk…under Chris.

LOL! I had to laugh…this was just too funny.

As I get out of car to go open the trunk, I was just imagining what dude was going to say when Chris rolled out the back as I opened the door.

I thought it was funny, but no one else seem to share my feelings at that point.

So I’m halfway out the door, and Rachel says…”OH, I think I can reach your bag from here, it’s the black one right? “ ( yea, she really was that money. )

Bon idea.

“Oui, madam c’est ca.”

Crisis averted, at least for a couple more minutes.

The officer takes Lotfi and our passports into, the National Guard office, and disappears for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, poor Chris is being smothered in the trunk by blankets, burnooses, and bags. I think he was mildly claustrophobic before this experience…and needless to say this didn’t make it better.

But we were now surrounded by officers with machine guns, so we all kindly asked Chris to “Suck it up” for a few more minutes…of course we all were laughing too, so that didn’t help things…but it was freaking HILARIOUS!

When Lotfi returned, he informed us all that we had all been “checked in” and now the gov knew that 6 foreigners were in Tataouine.

But, Chris was in the back, and we’d definitely rotate people later….so what would happen if we get stopped again, and one person is missing from the tally? And another has been added?

Yes. It was a funny thought, indeed.

So now we’re like “ fugitives “ and that was just the way to kick off our ARRIVAL into the South.

Further up the Road, we stopped and let Chris out for some air, which he took advantage of by lighting a cigarette.

The rest of us sprawled out, took pictures, got blood flowing in our bodies again, and reviewed the events prior.

I kinda wandered off, as I always do, took some pictures, and just soaked it all in.

Dude…I made it.

I was in Tataouine.

It was all so surreal, so amazing.

As the sun continued to rise, I could only contemplate what else could happen on this trip, if this is only the first 10 hours ? !

: )

Regardless, it’d be fun ….it’s be “ Star Wars Amazing ,” and I’d never be forget this trip, and would forever hold it deeply and closely to my heart.