message from Mo ; he is already waiting for us at the other side of the border . We can see him waving at us in the distance . After an hour , when all the paperwork is done , we leave Tunisia and enter Libya . The adventure begins !
The sun is shining as we ride off from our hotel in Djerba . There is a lot of wind and despite the sun , it is quite chilly . The intercom is open , but neither of us says a word . My thoughts are with the decision that has to be taken . I think about the list of pros and cons that we had made the night before and hope to find the solution . Around noon , we arrive in Ben Guardane , a rather big and busy town . We stop to fuel up and start looking for an ATM and a hotel . If we decide to go to Libya , we will leave for the border tomorrow .
I am lost in thoughts and searching for my wallet when Peter says : “ Look next to you ”. When I look up there are two fully packed BMW motorbikes parked next to us with UK number plates . The guys take off their helmets and introduce themselves as Billy and Ross . They turn out to be the riders that Mo had told us about . On their way from London to Cape Town they will enter Libya today .
It is always nice to meet other motorcycle travellers , but this time my heart jumped a little . The idea that we could ride through Libya together is strangely reassuring . We tell them about my concerns and ask whether they would mind if we were to ride with them to the border and into Libya , at least for the first part . They take a minute to discuss , but then let us know that we can join them . And just like that , after all the days we could not decide what to do , a decision is made : we are going to Libya … today ! What a coincidence we met here , at exactly this moment !
I send Mo a text message and inform him we will cross the border today , together with Billy and Ross . With new energy , the four of us leave Ben Guardane . We arrive at the Tunisian-Libyan border half an hour later . It is not busy and before we know it , we have an exit-stamp in our passports . While we are waiting for the bikes ’ paperwork to be ready , we receive a text
On the Libyan side of the border , we are warmly welcomed by Mo . Instead of showing us to the right office , he takes our passports and goes in himself to have them stamped . While we are waiting outside , a car stops next to us . An elderly man winds down his window . He asks where we are from . Peter has barely answered his question , when he laughs and then yells : “ Holland ? Welcome to my country ! Welcome to Libyaaaa !” From the next car that passes , we hear voices shouting “ Welcome ”, “ Welcome to Libya , thank you for visiting .” What a warm welcome !
After a while , Mo comes back with our stamped passports . Now we need to import the motorbikes . While Peter and Ross stay with the bikes , Billy and I get into Mo ’ s car . He takes us to the bank , but it ’ s closed and the ATM is not working . Instead , Mo lends us the money we need . He then takes us to the insurance office . It is no more than a room with an old desk , some chairs and one computer . The man behind the desk asks information about the motorbikes and translates our western names to phonetic Arabic . After an hour , we are given our insurance paperwork with the beautiful Arabic writing . We will have to take the man ’ s word for it that everything is in order as we do not even recognise our own names .
With the insurance complete , we drive back to Peter and Ross . While they were waiting , they made quite a few new friends . They are surrounded by customs officials teaching them Arabic and asking a million questions about the bikes . Although we were told not to take any pictures at the border , the men want to take pictures themselves . They take out mobile phones , and take turns to sit on the bikes or pose in group pictures . Meanwhile , Mo is in yet another office to finish the paperwork . An hour later he comes out with special Libyan number plates , which we will have to put over our original plates . The formalities are completed ; we can enter Libya with the motorbikes .