Day 39: Monday 27 September 2010 – Algeria: Tamanrasset
Another very warm day at our beautiful desert Gite. When we headed for bed last night, it was 30 degrees! Sleeping outside on a colourful hand-made Niger stretcher under a mosie net proved too hot for comfort, but the heat of the day soon initiated the welcome zzz’d.
10am this morning saw us back at the Niger Consulate with Claudia – we were ushered straight into the Vice Consulate whom we’d seen yesterday. A gentle man, genuinely sorry about our situation - he advised that the consulate would issue our visas on the proviso that we had police security to drive from the Algerian border to Arliet - 230km from the border (where the kidnappings took place). Of course we have no choice but to agree to this, for our safety. He also informed us that the big heads of the various armies (Chef d’etat Major) from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger had had their meeting extended – they have so far agreed that individually and collectively they need to be proactive about protecting their citizens and tourists. A no brainer we say!
In the interim, our visa applications have been handed in, and the enquiry is under way to ascertain whether the consulate can ensure a police escort once in Niger. We’ll use this afternoon and tomorrow then to catch up on back-logged chores (like the website), and to get ready for a 2 day camel train into the Sahara dunes with a Bedouin guide, whilst waiting to hear about the possibility of a police escort in Niger.
A note to our family, friends, new friends and donors to the SOS Village:
In the heat of the afternoon Richard and Martin are working in the shade of the carport on the vehicles, will go to town to get a shock absorber welded and a puncture fixed, whilst I, Bronnie, work feverishly on the website which I am desperately lagging behind on, due to the pas
Another very warm day at our beautiful desert Gite. When we headed for bed last night, it was 30 degrees! Sleeping outside on a colourful hand-made Niger stretcher under a mosie net proved too hot for comfort, but the heat of the day soon initiated the welcome zzz’d.
10am this morning saw us back at the Niger Consulate with Claudia – we were ushered straight into the Vice Consulate whom we’d seen yesterday. A gentle man, genuinely sorry about our situation - he advised that the consulate would issue our visas on the proviso that we had police security to drive from the Algerian border to Arliet - 230km from the border (where the kidnappings took place). Of course we have no choice but to agree to this, for our safety. He also informed us that the big heads of the various armies (Chef d’etat Major) from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger had had their meeting extended – they have so far agreed that individually and collectively they need to be proactive about protecting their citizens and tourists. A no brainer we say!
In the interim, our visa applications have been handed in, and the enquiry is under way to ascertain whether the consulate can ensure a police escort once in Niger. We’ll use this afternoon and tomorrow then to catch up on back-logged chores (like the website), and to get ready for a 2 day camel train into the Sahara dunes with a Bedouin guide, whilst waiting to hear about the possibility of a police escort in Niger.
A note to our family, friends, new friends and donors to the SOS Village:
In the heat of the afternoon Richard and Martin are working in the shade of the carport on the vehicles, will go to town to get a shock absorber welded and a puncture fixed, whilst I, Bronnie, work feverishly on the website which I am desperately lagging behind on, due to the pas
t couple of days being focused on police, gendarmerie, visa demands and changing guides. Not forgetting that whilst travelling through the desert, writing up the website and editing photos is impossible.... so we apologise for the erratic updates. And of course, when all the writing and photos are ready for despatching to Rene and Steve, often we can’t find an internet cafe! Rene and Steve – again, thanks for your patience, and your fast action once you receive updates. We really value what you are doing for our trip by updating our website and Bron’s blog.
Day 38: Sunday 26 September 2010 – Algeria: Tamanrasset – Gite Saharien
Once again, the streets of Tamanrasset are deserted whilst being tightly monitored by the military and local police. The reason being that a vital meeting had been called in Tamanrasset today between the heads of the various armies (Chef d’etat Major) from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The meeting is being held and headed up in Algeria, which precludes the French being present.
The gathering has been called to discuss the volatile situation of the recent 7 engineers kidnapped in Niger, and how to form a unified approach against terrorism in general (bandits as well as Al Qaida).
As a result of the high powered military meeting, we weren’t sure if we’d get near the consulate. But, with our newly acquired translator (Claudia) in tow, we arrived at the Niger Consulate just before 10h00, to join the chaotic queue of people trying to acquire visas, or get their passports back. Mohammed arrived with a ‘translator’ to assist us – turned out he couldn’t speak a word of English!!! We were more perplexed than ever.
Fortunately Claudia has had loads of experience in her years of living in Tam as a tour operator. And luckily for us, she speaks French, English and Arabic fluently. We were sitting in the dirt in the shade with Claudia and Mohammed waiting to be called by one of Claudia’s contacts. She commands huge respect here in spite of the fact that she is a lone white woman in a Muslim dominated town. Suddenly Claudia bolted from her sandy, shady position, when she saw the previous applicant come out of the buildi
ng. It wasn’t long before she got her foot (literally) in the one and only door at the consulate – which by the way, is a shabby, small building on sandy grounds, with a tiny window where people crowd to get their applications in, and passports out.
We watched in amusement and awe, as next thing Claudia was almost fully in the doorway and then the door clanged shut – she had managed to get inside the consulate. No mean feat indeed! Next thing Claudia was at the door beckoning us to hurry in – she had secured an unscheduled appointment with the Vice-Consulate.
We were ushered into a tiny office to talk with a very kind man from Niger, who explained to Claudia that he was very sorry about our situation, and the political instability in Niger. Much discussion was held back and forth between the man and Claudia, with intermittent translations. He agreed to find out if it would be feasible for us to apply for visas for Niger, and asked us to return the next day at 10h00 directly to him. Whilst he didn’t offer a light for us, he didn’t put any negative thoughts into the equation either.
15h30 saw us heading back into Tam with Claudia to meet Mohamed at the gendarmerie (regional security police). Security protocol demands an official hand over of tourists from one guide to another – this little procedure took another 2 hours out of our day.
In a wrap of our time spent so far in Tamanrasset: we arrived Thursday afternoon – checked in at the gendarmerie, then the camp site. Friday hung around whilst Mohamed did the Sabbath. Saturday through various contacts we met up with Claudine (high light of our time here). Packed up at our dust bowl camp site and moved to her Gite taking her on as our new guide.
Sunday morning we spent 2 hours at the Niger Consul, and 2 hours at the gendarmerie in the afternoon. Lots of hanging around waiting to see what could happen.
Our day ended by sharing a traditional Tuareg dinner – Taguelle. A hot coal fire (made from wood) is made in the sand. The sand has to be very hot to hold and bake a large and substantial Taguelle (a dense bread made from fine Semolina). The raw Taguelle is placed in a shallow hollow, and covered with sand and coals where it is left to bake. To test the readiness of the Taguelle, a stick is used to tap the sand – the sound yields the readiness of the bread, which is then removed from the fire and earth and washed in a bowl of water till all the sand is removed. The bread is then broken into small pieces and placed at the bottom of a large traditional (communal) wooden bowl. On top of the Taguelle pieces of succulent roasted lamb are layered, followed by a fresh marrow and tomato vegetable sauce which the lamb was cooked in. YUMMY!!
30degrees at 23h00 – it’s a pretty warm place Tamanrasset.
Day 38: Sunday 26 September 2010 – Algeria: Tamanrasset – Gite Saharien
Once again, the streets of Tamanrasset are deserted whilst being tightly monitored by the military and local police. The reason being that a vital meeting had been called in Tamanrasset today between the heads of the various armies (Chef d’etat Major) from Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger. The meeting is being held and headed up in Algeria, which precludes the French being present.
The gathering has been called to discuss the volatile situation of the recent 7 engineers kidnapped in Niger, and how to form a unified approach against terrorism in general (bandits as well as Al Qaida).
As a result of the high powered military meeting, we weren’t sure if we’d get near the consulate. But, with our newly acquired translator (Claudia) in tow, we arrived at the Niger Consulate just before 10h00, to join the chaotic queue of people trying to acquire visas, or get their passports back. Mohammed arrived with a ‘translator’ to assist us – turned out he couldn’t speak a word of English!!! We were more perplexed than ever.
Fortunately Claudia has had loads of experience in her years of living in Tam as a tour operator. And luckily for us, she speaks French, English and Arabic fluently. We were sitting in the dirt in the shade with Claudia and Mohammed waiting to be called by one of Claudia’s contacts. She commands huge respect here in spite of the fact that she is a lone white woman in a Muslim dominated town. Suddenly Claudia bolted from her sandy, shady position, when she saw the previous applicant come out of the buildi
ng. It wasn’t long before she got her foot (literally) in the one and only door at the consulate – which by the way, is a shabby, small building on sandy grounds, with a tiny window where people crowd to get their applications in, and passports out.We watched in amusement and awe, as next thing Claudia was almost fully in the doorway and then the door clanged shut – she had managed to get inside the consulate. No mean feat indeed! Next thing Claudia was at the door beckoning us to hurry in – she had secured an unscheduled appointment with the Vice-Consulate.
We were ushered into a tiny office to talk with a very kind man from Niger, who explained to Claudia that he was very sorry about our situation, and the political instability in Niger. Much discussion was held back and forth between the man and Claudia, with intermittent translations. He agreed to find out if it would be feasible for us to apply for visas for Niger, and asked us to return the next day at 10h00 directly to him. Whilst he didn’t offer a light for us, he didn’t put any negative thoughts into the equation either.
15h30 saw us heading back into Tam with Claudia to meet Mohamed at the gendarmerie (regional security police). Security protocol demands an official hand over of tourists from one guide to another – this little procedure took another 2 hours out of our day.
In a wrap of our time spent so far in Tamanrasset: we arrived Thursday afternoon – checked in at the gendarmerie, then the camp site. Friday hung around whilst Mohamed did the Sabbath. Saturday through various contacts we met up with Claudine (high light of our time here). Packed up at our dust bowl camp site and moved to her Gite taking her on as our new guide.
Sunday morning we spent 2 hours at the Niger Consul, and 2 hours at the gendarmerie in the afternoon. Lots of hanging around waiting to see what could happen.
Our day ended by sharing a traditional Tuareg dinner – Taguelle. A hot coal fire (made from wood) is made in the sand. The sand has to be very hot to hold and bake a large and substantial Taguelle (a dense bread made from fine Semolina). The raw Taguelle is placed in a shallow hollow, and covered with sand and coals where it is left to bake. To test the readiness of the Taguelle, a stick is used to tap the sand – the sound yields the readiness of the bread, which is then removed from the fire and earth and washed in a bowl of water till all the sand is removed. The bread is then broken into small pieces and placed at the bottom of a large traditional (communal) wooden bowl. On top of the Taguelle pieces of succulent roasted lamb are layered, followed by a fresh marrow and tomato vegetable sauce which the lamb was cooked in. YUMMY!!
30degrees at 23h00 – it’s a pretty warm place Tamanrasset.
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