Day Three in Algeria

“From the abyss to the Ibis” was one of my Constantine guide’s favorite phrases. Ibis, the central hotel I was staying at, is said as “ee-bis” in this part of the world, and Constantine is built on a massive canyon, with parts of the city at lower altitudes and others up on the cliff. There’s a public elevator between the two, but it costs 5 dinars to ride it, so some people take the steps. Not me, I’d had plenty of walking since getting to Algeria four days ago.

Badr the guide and Nibaj the driver put me into the abyss more than a few times as we traversed seven bridges, the canyon itself, two museums, and various sights I would never have looked at on my own. But “on my own” wasn’t really on the table in Algeria. I could have used hotels to get my visa support letters, and used a taxi on arrival, but this was one of those situations where to get the visa, the budget hotels, and the guide when I needed one, it was just easier to go with Fancyellow, the most appealing of the options I found online.

Much like in Bhutan, after several hours yesterday with these fellows and several today, I as desperate for some down time, but I reminded myself it was just a few hours to go, and calmed myself down. But every time I thought “Ah, now it’s over,” there was another museum, another bridge to see.

I like to see a few highlights, but my preference is to just walk around a marketplace and absorb the feel of a place. But it’s okay, this way I see all the monuments in a short time. Do I want to see monuments? Not really, but I’m a tourist, and that is my role on a guided tour.

But man oh man, the scenery in Constantine! That made the driver and guide worth it.

And at the end of the day, I got to the airport early and found myself eating Laughing Cow on a pressed baguette, satisfied but happy to be heading out of Algeria. Next stop: Marseille. Why? Because why fly back to Algiers for a night and connect through to Europe when I could just fly straight to...well, anywhere. But the only options this Monday night out of Constantine were Istanbul and Marseille, and one was a long flight, an expensive visa, and too much effort. The other was an hour away with free admission, and probably wouldn't serve me Laughing Cow. 

Marseille it was.