old tiger's Blog

So..we were gonna drive into Tunisia..
off all the Maghreb countries..I think it's the most liberal..
Algeria was very conservativ..Morocco..well..don't know??
we came upon Nefta after the border crossing into Tunisia..
no hassle at the border..I recall the heat...bwaahah...
it was not easy sometimes..sitting in a car the whole day..
in temperatures which went above 35 degrees Celsius...
Nefta..now..if you wanna see an oasis..go there..
it was a center for Sufism Islam..even in these days..
it holds a mausoleum of a Sufi saint..again in Nefta..
palmtrees..dates..and very colourful little streets..
driving towards Tozeur..now..this is a place to remember..
desertlike...and fantastic fata morgana's..
gave us some look at the Chott el Djerid=salt lake.
very arid area of South Tunisia..they are famous..
yes..the best dates in Tunisia..and also for a mineral..
called *rose of the desert*it looks like an opened rose..
colours go from green towards,blue,grey,brown..
I recall this because we made a stopover for food in Tozeur..
souvenir hustlers are always active,you know..ahahah..
did not buy anything..apart from dates..yes..dates..
the heat around Tozeur was terrible..we drove towards Gafsa..
then Kairouan..place looked wonderful...but..we just drove
through it..pity..lots of mosques..and they told us...
the Kairouan carpet industry was worthwhile..
finally we reached the capital=Tunis..the Italian dude..
dropped me somewhere in the Medina(souk)
after all this fellow..gave me the hitchhiking adventure..
of my life..I really was lucky..to cross from Tam to Tunis..
just sharing maybe 25 dollars of benzine..otherwise..
it would have been bus to El Golea..bus to El Oued etc..
and benzine..luckily..was cheap in Algeria..they had oil..
in Tunis town..after being dropped into the souk...
I went looking for a hotel..and it turned out later on..
a 3 nights stay..I had to wait for the ferry to Marseille(France)
will tell you peeps a bit more about Tunis town later on..
crazy Tiger

Next stop after El Golea was Ghardaia..looked nice..
I don't recall much from the traject towards El Oued..
around Hassi Messaoud..I recall petroleum exploitation..
in central+northern part of Algeria..strict Muslim society...
one saw very rareley a woman in the streets..
and if you saw them..covered from top to bottom..
the Citroen car did well after that tyre change..
we were wondering about the ferry timings towards France..
I thought...and I hoped..I did not have to hang around..
too long in Tunis town..I knew beforehand..
it was gonna be..cold in Europe...it was beginning february..
so..we drove all day..from El Golea towards El Oued..
slept in the car..not very comfortable..
next day..we were gonna cross into Tunisia via Nefta..
I'll tell you all later on about this country..not bad..
i'll see if I can get some link on Algeria..
http://lexicorient.com/algeria/index.htm
click Touggourt or El Oued..
Tiger

so..we set off..into the Sahara desert..
the Italian dude told me..he had some tyre problems..
the car he drove..was not made for a trip through Africa..
the track into the desert direction in Salah..
was no tarmac..just sand..and often..unpredictable..
it was at least 35 degrees Celsius..and sometimes..
if one looks ahead..one sees a fata morgana..
it's like a piece of water..a shimmering in the sun..
funny..as expected..the Italian dude drove himself stuck..
into a piece of loose sand..wheels very deep into the sand..
means shoveling out..in that heat..wooooh..
he had something to put under the wheels...
gave gas...but no use..we got stuck in the Sahara sand..
we got lucky...a Landrover(4 wheel drive)came by..
and they were Italians...they just pulled us out in 10 minutes..
so..we set off again...about 50kms further on..flat back tyre..
means putting on spare wheel..in that heat..
we reached In Salah very run down..we just slept outside..
in the middle of nowhere between In salah-El Golea..
Next day we reached El Golea..bit of civilisation again??
bought some food stuff..dates are very cheap in Algeria..
will tell more about the trip El Golea-Tunis..
from Bamako(Mali)already..I had written a letter to my Dad..
to send money to Marseille(France)poste restante..
I hoped he got that letter..I just had money enough..
for the ferry crossing Tunis-Marseille..
money..is necessary in life..the worst drug ever invented..
crazy Tiger

Crossing the desert in Niger..was no bullshit..
got myself a truck transport towards the border...
long and adventurous haul..can you imagine yourself??
sitting with a bunch of locals on top of a truck..
in extreme heat and dust conditions??
we made a stopover to spend the night in the open..
it gets cold at night..and even little desert mice appeared..
that day..we came upon an *harmattan*that's a fierce wind..
one cannot see anything..it's all dust and sand..not pleasant..
harmattans usually blow in january+februari...
above Agadez there a place called Arlit..
they discovered uranium there..exploitation of it..
made this desert town..a boomtown..
I did not cross Arlit..our truck drove another route..
Assamaka-towards in Guezzam..is the middle of nowhere..
nomansland..with no rules..in these days..safe..to cross..
I heard stories nowadays...of folks getting killed..
for their cars??money??or for just being tourists??
it's NOT safe to cross there nowadays...
funny world we have to live in today..
anyway..Tamanrasset..was a bit of civilisation..
after that desert stretch...but still..it was Algeria..
I recall the place I stayed..everybody stayed there..
all travellers came together to meet..to exchange ideas..
I recall Tam as a hot place..Sahara adventurers..
told their story there...I talked to an Italian..
he came from a trip towards Togo..and was driving to Tunis..
I made a deal with this dude..to share benzine expenses..
if he took me up to Tunis all the way..he was a police officer
from Genua..in a Citroen car..which turned out later..
to give lots of trouble..I'll tell you in next posting..
P.S..Algeria got nice dates..I mean the fruits..
it was even in these days.. a funny Muslim mentality..
but finally after all..Algeria...was not so bad..
the desert mountains around Tam=the Hoggar..
really worthwhile..fantastic scenery..
http://lexicorient.com/algeria/tamanra.htm
Tiger

Now..reaching Agadez after a very rough trip..
was a release..Agadez is a desert place..
very liveley old quarter centered around the Grande Mosquee
strange architecture indeed..very ancient..
one sees camels walking around in this place..funny sight..
the Grande March? is very colourful..lots of artifacts..
Tuareg art is quite refined..specially silver or leatherwork..
I stayed in a cheap hotel..don't remember the name...
there were some French travellers going down south..
I went to the tourist information to find out about travelling
northbound direction Algeria..not a very easy thing..
I needed to contact a truck driver going that way..
border checkpoint between Niger-Algeria was Assamakka..
then In Guezzam..and bit higher up..Tamanrasset..
from that point..a trip north crossing the Sahara..
I was bit worried about crossing Algeria Sahara traject..
later on..it turned out..I was very lucky in a way..
will tell you peeps later on...I'll find a link about Agadez..
http://www.galenfrysinger.com/agadez,_niger,_africa.htm
Tiger