Backpacking in Tunisia: How to get from Sbeitla to El Kef by public transportation
January 31, 2020 | Tagged: Tunisia
Another day on the road:
A cold night but I slept better than all the other nights so far.
I head for the café Requim Bleu. The waiter greets me.
"Bonjour",
"Cava?"
He calls ahead to the guy who makes the coffee and as I get to the counter a coffee with a straw as a spoon and 2 sugars on the side are waiting, ready.
This is what makes me like the place.
The same guys as the other 2 mornings, all smoking their cigarettes like they do every morning.
Back at my lodgings, I pack up.
I say 'au revoir' to the cleaner and go to the bus station.
I queue up. A guy comes up.
"Good morning, police. Where are you going?"
I look him up and down. He didn't look like police. No ID, no uniform. But smarter than everyone else.
WTF. A shakedown?
"Kasserine" (Kass-er-rine) I reply.
"Ok good. Goodbye", and off he goes getting into a waiting 4x4 with police written on it.
The Algerian border is not that far away. On my first day here, I met a French cyclist. Only the 2nd traveller I've met since leaving Tunis.
He couldn't take the smaller road from Tozeur to Kasserine. He had to go via Gafsa. There had been some trouble. And he was forever getting stopped at checkpoints.
The queue at the guichet stops moving. The ticket guy comes out and tells me personally. "Vous devez prendre le bus".
So I head for the bus. The locals all push in and I'm the last one on.
Arrive in Kasserine, without trouble.
So what's it to be El Kef or Makthar.
Makthar is a much smaller town and the only hotel on google maps has info only in Arabic, except for the word LODGING.
Makthar is on the map for the ruins. I wanted to see them, at dusk if possible, as the light here if the sky is clear, is fantastic. It's 130km from Kasserine.
El Kef is 120km due north and has more options. El Kef to Makthar is a 140km return day trip. And of course, the gateway to Dougga and I can also go to Bulla Regia via Jendouba. And onto Tabarka before shooting thru to Tunis.
El Kef is all around the better option as long as I find a cheap hotel (which I did).
Any choice I had was taken out of my hands by there being no direct louage to Makthar. I could have gone halfway and changed I guess but I just thought, 'OK El Kef it is'.
I buy my ticket. I'm sitting on the louage. A policeman comes up.
"El Kef?", "Oui."
"Passport."
He looks at it and asks, "Russe?" WTF. "Non. Anglais."
He gets on his walkie-talkie. Goes to the front of the louage, looks at the number plate and relays the number.
He returns my passport. Then talks with the driver.
Maybe the driver didn't want the responsibility of taking me but why should anyone else know of my whereabouts and which actual louage I was on anyways unless of course, someone is keeping tabs on foreigners.
People here do nothing all day except people watch. It's a popular past-time all over the world. But yeah, maybe I've been watching too many spy movies.
After that we are on the way without incident, bar 1 military checkpoint 6km before El Kef.
I head for La Place d'Independence where there is a cluster of likely looking hotels. I see one HOTEL sign and then another. The 2nd looking slightly more my style.
Up the stairs,
"Bonjour", I call out.
Room 11 shared facilities with breakfast, 8 til 10. 25 Dinar. Rooms have heating-radiators-turned on around 7 pm.
Welcome to Hotel Ramzi.
I paid 2 nights.
A cold night but I slept better than all the other nights so far.
I head for the café Requim Bleu. The waiter greets me.
"Bonjour",
"Cava?"
He calls ahead to the guy who makes the coffee and as I get to the counter a coffee with a straw as a spoon and 2 sugars on the side are waiting, ready.
This is what makes me like the place.
The same guys as the other 2 mornings, all smoking their cigarettes like they do every morning.
Back at my lodgings, I pack up.
I say 'au revoir' to the cleaner and go to the bus station.
I queue up. A guy comes up.
"Good morning, police. Where are you going?"
I look him up and down. He didn't look like police. No ID, no uniform. But smarter than everyone else.
WTF. A shakedown?
"Kasserine" (Kass-er-rine) I reply.
"Ok good. Goodbye", and off he goes getting into a waiting 4x4 with police written on it.
The Algerian border is not that far away. On my first day here, I met a French cyclist. Only the 2nd traveller I've met since leaving Tunis.
He couldn't take the smaller road from Tozeur to Kasserine. He had to go via Gafsa. There had been some trouble. And he was forever getting stopped at checkpoints.
The queue at the guichet stops moving. The ticket guy comes out and tells me personally. "Vous devez prendre le bus".
So I head for the bus. The locals all push in and I'm the last one on.
Arrive in Kasserine, without trouble.
So what's it to be El Kef or Makthar.
Makthar is a much smaller town and the only hotel on google maps has info only in Arabic, except for the word LODGING.
Makthar is on the map for the ruins. I wanted to see them, at dusk if possible, as the light here if the sky is clear, is fantastic. It's 130km from Kasserine.
El Kef is 120km due north and has more options. El Kef to Makthar is a 140km return day trip. And of course, the gateway to Dougga and I can also go to Bulla Regia via Jendouba. And onto Tabarka before shooting thru to Tunis.
El Kef is all around the better option as long as I find a cheap hotel (which I did).
Any choice I had was taken out of my hands by there being no direct louage to Makthar. I could have gone halfway and changed I guess but I just thought, 'OK El Kef it is'.
I buy my ticket. I'm sitting on the louage. A policeman comes up.
"El Kef?", "Oui."
"Passport."
He looks at it and asks, "Russe?" WTF. "Non. Anglais."
He gets on his walkie-talkie. Goes to the front of the louage, looks at the number plate and relays the number.
He returns my passport. Then talks with the driver.
Maybe the driver didn't want the responsibility of taking me but why should anyone else know of my whereabouts and which actual louage I was on anyways unless of course, someone is keeping tabs on foreigners.
People here do nothing all day except people watch. It's a popular past-time all over the world. But yeah, maybe I've been watching too many spy movies.
After that we are on the way without incident, bar 1 military checkpoint 6km before El Kef.
I head for La Place d'Independence where there is a cluster of likely looking hotels. I see one HOTEL sign and then another. The 2nd looking slightly more my style.
Up the stairs,
"Bonjour", I call out.
Room 11 shared facilities with breakfast, 8 til 10. 25 Dinar. Rooms have heating-radiators-turned on around 7 pm.
Welcome to Hotel Ramzi.
I paid 2 nights.
Then, remembering that I'd missed breakfast, I went in search of food.
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