a perfect angel

The most spectacular place I have ever seen in Egypt, is located at the bottom of the sea and more precisely in Dahab , a seaside resort of about one thousand three hundred inhabitants, one hundred kilometers north of Sharm el Sheikh. It overlooks theGulf of Aqaba and is not easily accessible because there is no airport so it can only be reached by car or, if there are any, by bus. We knew the Blue Hole and the coral reef, but we did not know we had them at all … jeep.

So we take the opportunity and we aggregate to a group to go see a natural wonder second to beauty only at the Australian Great Reef.

Blue Hole

Generated as a result of a rocky collapse, the Blue Hole is nothing but a hole in the sea about a hundred meters deep and fifty meters to a few meters from the shore, populated by the most beautiful fish on earth . After a camel excursion, we leave our belongings in a Bedouin tent set up for the occasion. We use fins, snorkel and mask and dive into the hole. The color goes from cobalt blue to black in a few meters and you will literally seem to fly over this chasm. To fully enjoy the corals and fish that populate the hole, follow the perimeter of the circle. You will be able to admire a fauna and a marine flora with colors so bright and gaudy that they seem unnatural. Among the sea anemones, with a little ‘patience and luck, you can see the clownfish hiding , very famous for being the protagonist of the cartoon Finding Nemo.

The coral reef

Complete the round of the Blue Hole and go out into the open sea trying to be careful do not cut yourself on the rocks and corals. The show continues here. The coral reef goes down deep with a visibility of about twenty meters . If you want to see even deeper, get yourself a diving license with related equipment, but I think this is enough. Other corals, other fish and starfish await you. They are so used to human presence to swim around. Do not touch or take the corals that surround you so as not to ruin the fauna. And if you’re lucky, you can also see some sea turtle from half a meter

The Blue Hole is also sadly known as the graveyard of divers, following the large number of sub-dead due to lack of knowledge of the place. It is highly recommended to dive into groups of more people, especially with someone who knows the place well . Many of them tried to reach the arch , a submarine tunnel located at the bottom of the hole and allowed to go out into the sea to see the barrier. Unfortunately, the Arcoyou can not see it because it has a hidden perspective to the sight of the divers and those who enter there encounters a strong contrary current, making it difficult to get out at sea. For snorkelers it is recommended the use of fins, mask and snorkel to see everything and resist the sea current. The bathroom is always recommended in groups of three or more people, the current in the barrier is very strong . For those who dive into the hole from the shore, even if the fear can be so much, fight it and do not be impressed, now that you are there, do not give up these wonders.

After having been in the Tunisian Sahara desert, I thought I had seen the best of the North African country, better known for the coastal resorts on the Mediterranean, from Hammamet to Djerba. Instead I had to change my mind, because a few kilometers from Douz, the “door of the desert” , you can admire an infinite multiplicity of extraordinary landscapes, all different from each other.

One of these is undoubtedly the one that opens to the east, towards Matmata, where the most famous Berber troglodyte villages of Tunisia are located , since, in 1977, George Lukas set one of the episodes of the Star Wars saga there. The reason is soon said: the landscape, lunar, apocalyptic, in all shades of brown, especially the lighter ones, lends itself well to the backdrop of sci-fi events, between layers of sand and clay, and steppe vegetation. Then you can see deep gorges in the ground : they are small Berber villages, some of them still inhabited, which took refuge here in the Middle Ages to escape the Arab colonization, giving rise to the notes and temperate cave dwellings.

During my trip organized by Italy from Horizon Travel , I was able to explore one of these craters. I went under the ground through a small door carved along the side of a hill and I walked in dim light a long low corridor downhill until you come out in a circular courtyard open, dug into the soft rock and blinding because of the lime with which the walls were covered. There are a dozen doors, which I have freely crossed (obvious, in exchange for a final offer): they are the only openings of as many rooms dug into the terra, simple and tidy. Gentiles, the women in typical clothes invited me to sit on the carpets of a large room, where they served me a snack with surprising goodness: warm mint tea accompanied by pieces of bread to dip in a dish that mixes oil and honey together .

On the same day I was also in  Zeraoua (a 4 × 4 required), an amazing medieval Berber village, in stone, camouflaged and abandoned on top of a sandstone hill , in a position as wonderful as hidden: in fact nothing but half between the desert, the fertile land and the sea that can be seen on the horizon, towards the east. After having lunch under the portico of a building of the foreign legion, built in a strategic position facing the village, I went among the buildings in stones and palm lintels of Zeraoua, which, if not damaged on the ground, are precariously balanced.

If it had not been for a harmless half-sized dog that kept barking along a slope at the entrance and for the many hens that were stirring among the ruined buildings, it would have been said that Zeraoua was completely uninhabited. Instead, as I walked away, I saw an old woman sitting in the dim light of a small lobby.

However, the effects of depopulation are evident also in the Berber village of  Tamezret, perched on top of a hill overlooking the Dahar plateau , at 460 meters above sea level. The picturesque stone village , at whose feet passes the road to Matmata, is gradually crumbling, while the inhabitants move into new concrete houses, down into the plains.

On the other side of Douz, to the west, the scenery is pre-Grand Erg, the sea of ​​sand that stretches from Algeria to the south of Tunisia . Shortly after leaving the beaten track, you reach, among low, blinding dunes of champagne-colored sand, an area in which traces of a dead city emerge. They are the ruins of abandoned Berber houses left at the mercy of time and desert, so much so that it is said that under each dune, between one palm and another, there is at least a submerged dwelling.

Our trip to Africa last summer brought us to the discovery of two magnificent and exciting realities: Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula in South Africa, and the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. 
We flew from Rome to Cape Town with South African Airways making a technical and customs stopover in Johannesburg. The absence of time zone and the choice of the month of September to make the tour have facilitated our adaptation in this area of ​​the southern hemisphere.

In Cape Town we have chosen to stay in a hotel located at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, the recently renovated marina, which hosts numerous clubs, shops, and above all the Victoria & Alfred Mall, where you can really find everything, from the local craft creations, to the retailers of the tasty South African wines, to the usual shops in the world of clothing and various items.

The atmosphere that you breathe in this port is always festive , it is a purely tourist place where, however, on certain occasions, the local population is also concentrated to celebrate special events. We happened to be in Cape Town on 24/9, a festive day for South Africans celebrating the legacy of the legacy with the famous BRAI, the typically American-style outdoor barbecue.

We start our tour in Cape Town at the Cape Peninsula, first meeting Clifton and then Camps Bay . These are residential areas facing the ocean from which you can see long beaches, all free and unequipped, which, during the summer, are populated by many people. These are beaches frequented out of season by priceless surfers, who challenge the gigantic waves and the presence of sharks of considerable size.

Our first stop is Hout Bay , a small bay from which, weather permitting, a boat leaves to lead in about half an hour to a series of rocks that give rise to a thick colony of Otarie del Capo . On the pier you can admire small stands of street vendors selling local handicrafts with extremely low prices compared to what can be found in the shops in the center.

Moving further away from the west of Cape Town, you can take one of the few existing paid roads in the area, because it requires major maintenance. It is a long way comparable to beauty and fact to our Amalfi Coast, the Chapman’s Peak Drive , in fact you park the cars at street level, but all the structures, residential and hotel, are developed below the road surface and sea front . Pietro Ferrero, the son of the famous Italian chocolate producer at the age of 48 for a heart attack while on a bicycle, is a long way along this marvelous route, in fact a part of this road was dedicated to him.

At the end of this route we reach the Capo di Buona Speranza Nature Reserve which leads us to the most extreme point of the peninsula which coincides with the Cape Point Lighthouse reached by funicular. In the Nature Reserve it is possible to admire ostriches, turtles and numerous baboons . The presence of the latter is so important that at times you can see on the side of the road several men ready to shoot rubber bullets to make these animals unaccustomed to the presence of men as they are lovers of our food and, not infrequently, people if he finds them in his own gardens, he sneaks what is available to eat.

Speaking of the Cape Point lighthouse, it is worth pointing out that two of the two lighthouses have actually reached the end of the lighthouse peninsula . The first, which can not be reached on foot, is the oldest and was abandoned in 1919 because it was built in such a position as not to make its light visible to those coming from the sea, it was positioned too high, so in 1920 it was another one has been built at an altitude of 87 meters that can be admired up close.

The meeting between the two oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian one does not occur off Cape Point, but on Cape Alghuas, a point that can only be seen from Cape Point in the distance.

African, Mediterranean and European, Tunis is a cosmopolitan and multicultural city, but also provincial and intimate. It is a spectacular reality where time seems to have stopped and as many cities of North Africa has two hearts, two opposing souls integrated and integrated with each other.

On one side there is the Arab Medina with its sprawling streets, the souks, the houses with the wide doors with particular decorations and on the other the new city with its neat grid, the wrought iron balconies, the cafes, the traffic and palm trees.

And then it becomes beautiful to get lost through the maze of narrow, winding streets that, at first sight, may seem confusing, but in a short time they are fun, as they allow you to discover hidden corners, ancient palaces with marvelous enrichments or minarets of mosques that are scattered around the city.

And when all this has enchanted you can go to the big avenues or go into the Bardo district. Where once there was the countryside and the noble residences now a sort of suburb has been created. On the way you will observe the real life of the Tunisians: the bars full of men sipping tea, the butchers with the meat hanging on display and the small shops in the neighborhood full of merchandise of all kinds.

The idea that we have is that the situation is apparently calm. People talk willingly, children cackle in the streets, women – with veil and without – walk together, the boys continue their lives. But then you get to the Bardo Museum where to welcome you there are sentinels armed and that tombstone with 22 names written above. 
The Museum was the site of an attack that shook Tunis and the whole world a month ago. If you enter the structure, with magnificent architecture, in these days you are struck by the silence of the rooms and the quiet steps of the few visitors.

I left for Tunisia with great enthusiasm, imagining to visit a place with scenarios already seen and loved in Morocco. Instead, although there are naturally many similarities, each nation has its own “spirit” that characterizes it, making it unique and, therefore, fascinating .

In the case of Tunis, the true spirit of the city is perceived not only in the center of the city, but also in its suburbs and its surroundings. So when you have visited the Medina, the Ville Nouvelle, the Bardo museum or you have been lost in the ruins of Carthage you can go to Sidi Bou Said, a delightful town overlooking the sea. 
With its waterfalls of Buganville and the bright red geraniums on the blinding white walls in which windows are protected by blue grilles, and with its steep cobblestone alleys and extraordinary glimpses of blue sea, Sidi Bou Said appears as one of the most beautiful of the Tunisian coast .

It is a pleasure to simply walk, on the main road and in the alleys, until you get to some points with beautiful views of the sea, with the marina at the foot of the slope. 
The village is full of craft shops, some for tourists, others for really local products: you can find colorful ceramics, the classic stoles of Tunisia and mirrors that recall the decorated doors.  Then for those who can look for there are some little secrets that sell special perfumes and real crafts.

In the Arab culture, bargaining is compulsory. But you are invited to proceed only if interested in buying because almost always sellers accept the counterproposal to the downside.

Halfway down the main street there is a small open space, down there on the left side, right at the beginning of a side street there is a two-storey shop that sells pottery and fabrics. The sellers are friendly, the goods are well taken care of and it’s fun to even negotiate to bring home a piece of Tunisia.

You can not miss, also, a stop in one of the famous terraces where you can quietly order and drink the famous mint tea with pine nuts . And if you walk a pecker while you walk you can stop at one of the cloisters selling the bambalouni , big and sugary donuts that seem to be a specialty of Sidi Bou Said. If you do not want to sleep in the center of Tunis or want to combine a little ‘relaxation on the beach to the knowledge of the city you can stay in La Marsa . In La Marsa there are luxury hotels, basic hotels and apartments to rent all overlooking the sea. The crystalline water and the golden sand welcome tourists and Tunisians .

In the morning just at dawn, which explodes in its orange colors, you can see young fishermen getting ready to take a ride with their boats, collect the catch from the net and return a few hours later.