In the end we spent 9 nights in Cagliari, initially due to the wind and then to allow time to repair the boat as unfortunately we hit the pontoon during the gales, resulting in damage to the fibreglass which allowed water into the boat. This was due to our initial berth being exposed to the wind and waves travelling across the harbour and the marina's mooring lines were inadequate. This marina was described in the pilot book (the 'Lonely Planet' for boats) as a friendly family-run marina but the marina we found ourselves in was anything but. The marina seems to be on a steady decline with no investment, mooring lines snapped, the rubbish disposal facility was a shopping trolley, and a general air of indifference to any visiting boats. The best aspect of our time here was meeting a liveaboard community who had overwintered here and due to the poor sailing conditions had not yet begun their summer cruising. Not only did they provide a friendly welcome, but they passed on useful information for Tunisia, our next destination, and helped out with the repairs we needed to make. Les on Celtic, another catamaran, more or less repaired the damage to the fibreglass for us and did a fantastic job.
Meanwhile we gradually explored Cagliari ice cream shop by ice cream shop. We found the Botanic Gardens were a lovely welcome relief to the noise of the streets. The beach was closeby, a short bus journey away. And on our last day we realised that there was another family in the marina, with two sons aged 8 and 3, who the girls really enjoyed playing with. It was a shame we didn't meet on day one, however the gales were so ferocious that it wasn't possible to walk around the pontoons. In fact, at their worst, it was almost impossible to step off the boat onto the pontoon.

When the weather had finally settled we set off for Tunisia. We left mid-afternoon and travelled south again to a beautiful beach where the girls played for a couple of hours, and then it was an overnight passage to Ille de la Galite, 108 Nm from Cagliari, 13 hours later. Lonely Galite rises out of the sea to provide fishing and shelter for local fishermen, but after being visited by the Guarde National and the Tunisian navy we weren't allowed ashore as we hadn't cleared customs (not usually supposed to be a problem). A shame, but after the girls admired the beach for a couple of hours, we did some stitching of the torn bimini and had some food, we set off for Tabarka, a further 5 hours away.

Tabarka is a small north coast town close to the Algerian border which gave us a very warm welcome. The officials that we met were friendly, helpful, and distant memories of GCSE/O Grade French came flooding back as there is very little English spoken here. As we were tied alongside the harbour wall, in the heart of the marina, surrounded by restaurants, this is a busy little spot for passersby stopping and chatting to us.

We spent 2 nights in Tabarka, and felt really pleased that we had come here as it was a diversion from our intended plan of meeting friends near Tunis, further east. We wandered the busy shops, picking up wonderful fruit, baguettes and cake, all delicious and so cheap after European prices. We then semi-spontaneously hired a car to explore the Roman city of Bulla Regia, as we knew nothing about it other than it would be interesting to see. Any trip away from the coast provides us with a change of scene, and this was particularly enjoyable. The landscape was heavily forested, the roads lined with eucalypts, making it feel more Australian than African.
Bulla Regia is a Roman city around an hour south of Tabarka which is famous for its well preserved underground villas. The Romans built these to escape the summer heat which we could well understand as when we were there it was hot hot hot. There was almost nobody else there, and we had so much freedom to wander through the ruins, which still have many mosaics intact.

The following morning we walked up to the old Genoese Fort (from the 16th Century) which overlooks Tabarka. It's not possible to visit inside the fort, however the guard on duty allowed us in for a quick 'cinque minutes, vitesse!', which was very kind as he kept worrying that his boss was coming.

On from Tabarka we reached Sidi Mechrig, motoring in blazing sunshine across a glassy smooth sea. The bimini repairs were urgently finished off to give much needed shade to the cockpit (but subsequently it has been shady ever since). We anchored off the beach just outside the fishing harbour to allow some beach time for the girls. The beach is overlooked by the remains of Roman baths, with three arches still standing. Amazingly the site is littered with broken pieces of Roman pottery (of course we didn't collect any at all!)

As we came into Sidi Mechrig harbour it seemed like the whole male population had come to see us arrive, so the pressure was on to dock neatly! Of course Colin's driving skills rose to the occasion. This small fishing harbour does see cruising boats each summer and we were the first this year. (Anchoring in Tunisian waters is generally not possible overnight, unless it's outside a harbour that doesn't have space inside). The local boys were really keen to get a closer look at the boat, and the girls, and after lots of 'bonjours' they were shooed away by the Guarde Nationale. This was a good spot for us to spend the night, again everyone was friendly and we could watch the boats come and go, selling their catches directly from the boat.

Next morning we set off east, and after being turned away from Bizerte (which is closed while they build a new marina) we travelled to another small fishing port called Ghar El Melh. We didn't get to see much though as we were met by the Guarde Nationale boat informing us the harbour was full but we could anchor closeby. Fortunately it was a calm night as the coastline is more or less straight with no shelter for us, and any little bay was blocked by fishing nets. We travelled on from here to Sidi Bou Said, close to Tunis, early the next morning and the small and less friendly marina where we have now been for 6 days.

The day that we arrived here our friends on another catamaran also arrived. Scott, Tammy and the crew of Oflo are on the last leg of their circumnavigation, and it was very exciting when we realised that our paths would cross. It has been fantastic for us all to have some company and the girls love having new friends to play with. Tammy, Scott, Meg and co have been very patient with them!

Sidi Bou Said is only a short distance from the capital, Tunis, and even closer is Carthage, the ancient Phoenician city which became part of the Roman Empire. We spent a day in Tunis visiting the amazing Roman mosaics at the Bardo Museum and then the Medina which had closed for the day so while we didn't shop we could explore around the streets and take in the architecture. The museum was being renovated and so many of the most famous and impressive mosaics were off limits, however one of the staff would take you to see them for a couple of dinar. Another day we spent the afternoon wandering Carthage, first to the slightly disappointing museum, and then to the thermal baths which were the largest in the Roman Empire. These were well worth the visit, to wander around and imagine the scale of the building from the height of the remaining columns.

Roman ruins aside we have had a great week catching up with friends and both boats will leave tomorrow, Oflo to head west towards Gibraltar and us south to see some more of Tunisia.