Writer: Helena Bergström
That the five of us would gather for a joint photo in the Tunisian city of Douz, the gateway to the Sahara, was more than unlikely. And yet that is exactly what happened. Sometimes you wonder how chance works… or whether fate might be involved somehow?
On a press trip to Tunisia
We are currently on a press trip in Tunisia. In this case it means that we are driven around in a minivan together with a driver, a guide and four other travel writers from Sweden, Norway and Finland. We follow a specific program, which focuses mainly on southern Tunisia and a hot air balloon festival that takes place on the island of Djerba and in the cities of Douz and Tozeur.
An interview, a trip to Douz and an adventure in the Philippines…
The first time we heard about Douz was when we interviewed “The Swedish Camel Rider” Micke, for a report for a print magazine that we published and distributed to Swedish campsites in the summer of 2022.
Why a report on the Sahara in a camping magazine, you may wonder? Well, because Micke and Julia took their camper Snigel to Douz in Tunisia, where Micke trained for several months to participate in the camel races, making a name for himself as “The Swedish Camel Rider”. A fascinating story! You can read the entire report here in the e-magazine.
We ended up in Douz on a press trip to South Tunisia in 2021, shortly after we met Micke and Julia through social media. Micke and Julia were not there at the time, but because they told us about the coach Ahmed, we took the opportunity to visit him in his shop. It was a very nice meeting!
A little later, in 2023 to be precise, we decided to take an adventurous trip to the Philippines together with Micke and Julia. It was a very exciting and memorable trip on a local family boat in the archipelago of the Philippines.
After about a month and a half on a joint adventure, we decided to split up and travel in different directions. We haven’t seen each other since then, but have only had sporadic contact via social media…
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Back in Douz – an unlikely meeting in Ahmed’s shop
Suddenly, at the beginning of this press trip, I saw on Instagram that Micke and Julia had just taken the ferry from Italy to Tunisia. It wasn’t something they had planned in advance, but a sudden whim… and now they were in Douz, in the south of Tunisia… where we were going! How unlikely was this? Of course we wanted to see each other!
The natural meeting place for us in Douz is Ahmed’s shop in the souk, or local market. Ahmed welcomed us cheerfully when we arrived and offered tea to both us and our tour group, i.e. the other travel writers. He also pulled out his copy of our 2022 magazine that he still had in the store. Cool! And especially nice to see you again!
After a while Micke and Julia also appeared. So nice, and almost surreal, to see each other again! And so unbelievable that it would happen here, in Douz, in Ahmed’s shop. It didn’t just feel like a coincidence, it felt like fate had a hand in it…!
Camping Desert Club i Douz
When the other travel writers went back to the hotel, we went with Micke and Julia to the Desert Club campsite, where they currently live with their mobile home Snigel.
Here we drank a few beers and talked about everything between heaven and earth. What an incredible coincidence that we happen to meet each other, especially in Douz!
Camping Desert Club has an excellent location, just a two-minute walk from the central souk of Douz. The campsite is also very beautiful with palm trees and airy service houses.
It’s no wonder camping is popular here, and during the short time we hung out here, one camper after another rolled in – many “adventure vehicles”, but also some regular classic campers. Because yes, it is perfectly possible to travel to and around Tunisia with a camper. There are campsites as well as the option of free camping.
Have you experienced an unexpected encounter during a trip?
Wow, how surprised you can sometimes be by chance or fate! Have you experienced an unexpected encounter during a trip? Please tell me!
#encounter #gates #Sahara