December finds us still stationary in El Kantaoui, Tunisia for the winter months and not sailing the high seas (or even the Med!) until March next year. We're enjoying it here and getting to grips with the very different culture and way of life. The weather is obviously not as hot as it was in September when we were searching for shade - now we search for sunny spots to soak up the heat. The temperature generally gets up to 20C+ between 10am and 3pm. The nights are cooler at around 10C, the coldest night so far was a shivery 7C!!

We get out on our bikes quite a bit, mostly for shopping purposes, but one day we cycled to the picturesque fishing village of Hergla, a 34km round trip (ouch!!). Luckily the terrain is mostly flat here, or I wouldn't have made it back!!!

Away from the holiday areas we see how poor many people really are; despite that there is very little begging. It seems that everyone tries to earn a living somehow - this makes us a bit more forgiving when we get hassled by taxi drivers to take a cab, or outside shops and restaurants to go in (many shop assistants only earn a little commission on what they sell - and it's mostly tat in the tourist shops!). Food (locally produced) is whatever is in season and generally very cheap. There are few imported goods available (always at extortionate prices) so choice is limited - when we went shopping in Coventry recently the range of goods was really noticeable after the shops here!

We made a two-week unscheduled trip to England in early November as my mother was quite unwell. Happily with the proper treatment (a longer story!) she soon began to recover and is now much better. It was lovely to see my family, although the freezing weather was a bit of a shock after the heat of Africa! The trip gave us the opportunity to shop so Kit brought back another assortment of bits for the boat and is already halfway through the winter maintenance.

My son Glyn and his girlfriend Heather have just been out for a week's holiday and we had a good time with them. After letting them relax on the boat for a couple of days we hired a car and went south to El Jem, a large Roman amphitheatre said to be better preserved than the coliseum in Rome! I wouldn't know as I've not been to Rome yet - but El Jem is really impressive; complete with underground cells where both animals and gladiators were kept before their ordeal in the arena!! Glyn and Heather played gladiators in the arena and Kit stood on the terraces in judgement giving the 'thumbs down' sign - good fun!

We drove further south to the edge of the desert where there are several pit-dwelling villages. Dug out of the sandstone, these dwellings are not visible above ground apart from the deep circular pits which serve as courtyards. The rooms are tunnelled off the 'courtyards' and allegedly stay cool in the excesses of summer daytime heat, and warm at night. To test this theory we stayed underground in a (clean but basic) hotel at Matmata (a strange experience!) and found exactly that!!! We also saw where a part of Star Wars was made; Luke Skywalker's home - the set is a bit jaded now but still interesting. The whole trip was about 500 miles; a lot of travelling but worth it, except that the standard of driving here is appalling! There seem to be no rules except to get in front of everyone else by whatever means, and use your horn as much as possible!!! Pedestrians are another hazard - they just stroll out without looking, as if cars weren't invented!! There are hardly any cars without dents, and many are rustbuckets on wheels! Kit did well I thought; after two days driving he was really into the swing of it - sounding the horn at any car that came near and aiming at dawdling pedestrians! I just closed my eyes and prayed!!!

In the south we saw many roadside stalls selling diesel in 5L plastic containers. We were puzzled by this, wondering if they'd tapped into an oil pipeline! Later we learned that they cross the border into Libya to buy the diesel as it's even cheaper there! (...and it's only ~42p per litre here!!) Then they re-sell it at a profit. This practice is strictly against the law but apparently the border customs and Tunisian police turn a blind eye as it at least keeps some Tunisians in a type of work!!

Public transport here is plentiful and cheap so we use it quite a lot. After Glyn and Heather flew home to freezing England and their Christmas preparations, we visited Monastir just down the coast. The Ribat in Monastir is quite amazing - an imposing Monastic fortress, it towers over the marina and offers great views all along the coast and over the town. Parts of it date back to 769!! We threaded our way through the maze-like passageways and climbed up onto the battlements to take in the view and snap pics. Later we headed for the old town, which was busy and vibrant. Wandering through the narrow streets we bought dried fruits and spices (the ingredients to make mincemeat for Xmas mince pies!) from the colourful and fragrant heaps on display.

Back in El Kantaoui we have been visiting local hotels, along with another English couple (Dave & Sue on 'Fiona' along the pontoon), looking for one that will let us (non-residents) use their indoor pool and facilities. Most make a charge but one very smart hotel allows us to participate in their 'aquagym' class for free -meaning that we can also fit in a swim before and after class!! It feels very luxurious there with marble floors, underfloor heating and lovely clean showers!! We also tried out a hammam (steam rooms, with or without a skin scrape/scrub) and pool session in another hotel. We came out glowing and feeling great, but as it's not cheap we'll probably save it for occasional use only!!!

Time is passing quickly now and Christmas is almost upon us - although there is little evidence of it here. Muslims don't celebrate Christmas so it will be a bit quiet!! Archie & Linda, our American neighbours have gone home for three months, so that leaves us and Dave & Sue. Still, we'll do our best to be festive - we brought stuffing and a Christmas pud back from the UK with us and I've just made the mincemeat for mince pies!

What we're really missing now is a pint and a natter in a good old English pub!!! Also, though I hate to admit it, I even miss the pre-Christmas build-up, frenetic shopping trips and all the clichéd Christmas songs!!!

So we'll be thinking of you all at Christmas - even if we are sitting on a yacht in sunshine!!! Have a good one!!!