Regatta

Regatta is just its nickname, it’s really called the Something Residential Village, and many expats and a few Libyans live here. It’s got this gated, guarded entrance, which you can see in the distance in the photo, plus security guards patrolling, which doesn’t stop young men gathering there on summer nights to take drugs, get drunk, and hassle the young expat women walking around. Supposedly nothing can be done about them, because they’re rich and well-connected, the brats.

Here’s the nicer end of Regatta, with the broad street (this is the street the Club 8 gym and pool is on – called Club 8 because 8 companies got together and organised it) and the view of the ocean at the end. You can see it's kind of like a planned retirement village or something. Not a place that appeals to me to live in, but safe for children and a good place for things like walking, jogging, roller-blading, cycling etc, away from all the traffic.

The beach is okay, though I’m Australian so a beach has to be pretty spectacular to impress me. This one would be nicer if it wasn’t so rocky and also without the lingering smell of sewerage in summer. Up the other end of Regatta, the flats are multi-story and older and not as nice in general; apparently it used to be army barracks or something along those lines. Regatta has a little pharmacy, corner store, internet café, barber, tennis courts, manicured fountain area, and this weird sculptural art thing.

I come here once a week to use the gym in Club 8 or to walk the beach with Dog (not in summer, when it’s very crowded, hot and smelly, and they charge you to get into the beach parking lot, even when you just want to go to the restaurant down that way rather than actually use the beach – and they charge per occupant, too, not per car, so it gets expensive for families).

Quite a few locals come to the beach; particularly young men who like to trail around after the bikini-wearing expat women, way to make the expat beach yet another place it’s uncomfortable to be, guys (along with First September Street district, an area with Italian clothing stores and English-language bookstores, and an inordinate amount of young men wanting to tell you they love you and you're sexy).

However, very many locals go the newly opened beach near Tripoli centre, which is a nice stretch of white sand with tables and chairs set up (well, it was; taking your rubbish away with you is a concept apparently foreign to many people). Mainly men, and the few women who do sit out there are still wearing the full outfit. I sometimes wonder what those women think when Libyan men stroll by wearing just a pair of boardshorts. Where do they go to swim, or is swimming just not an attractive prospect even if they had somewhere private to do it?

In general news: our gate is finally fixed (inshallah, they didn't seem do anything but flip the trip switch back up; for us, it just kept flipping back down again, for them it stayed up, go figure). I found fresh mushroom and bought half the supply - this place does promote a tendency to horde food. I learnt my lesson when I only bought one bottle of Italian olive oil and can now only find low-quality olive oil. Now when I see there's only 2 tins of coconut milk left, I buy them both in case it never comes back. I've also been buying coriander every single week from the vegie stall, just to show my approval of them having it available...