URL: https://www.instagram.com/p/BSE2gRihfLf/?taken-by=danahfreeman
Destination: Peak of Madonna Mountain, Smugglers' Notch, Vermont
Context: Take the Cat Trax Express for a thrilling ride up Madonna Mountain. At the summit, you will be able to get out and admire the magnificent 360-degree view. On a clear day, you can see as far as Mount Washington, Mont Royal, Jay Peak, Burke and more. You will feel like you are on top of the world!
Anyone reading this knows that good current information about Algeria is hard to find. There are no recent guidebooks though i did find an electronic copy of the last LP Algeria guide which is from 2007 and does have good history , culture and all that stuff. For all else i went through several blogs i found online but mostly i used thisTrip report which has lots of good info. I chose to spend my 9 days in the north so as not to dilute the visit.
Visa.
Applied to Consul in London and used express trackable post. Just fill out all the forms they ask and provide whatthey want. No biggie. I am self employed and wrote myself an employers letter. Make bookings on booking.com. Make sure you only pick hotels that have free cancellations and no payment.(you have to enter credit crd details but not an issue). Give embassy these reservations with hotel names, addresses and booking confirmation number. Once you have your visa, cancel bookings. Do note, it took me almost 5 weeks from posting to receiving passport back.
Algiers.
Arrived late on Lufthansa (£204 rt from Manchester). Immigration easy, inspector showed me the highlights of the Liverpool/Roma game on his phone as my passport shows birth in Liverpool. Football is huge here and any reference is a great icebreaker. Changed 60 euros with a security guy for bank rate of 155Dinar. Everywhere else i got 200 consistently. Taxi from the airport after midnight was 2000 dinar. My airbnb host said this seemed fair. I thought a bit pricey. I chose airbnb both first and last nights in Algiers. Enjoyed, as on both occasions i found authentic apartments with shutters and balconies on Rue Didouche Mourad. Both ran me around 40-50 pounds sterling a night. Both were large and both hosts proved very helpful. The first changed my money for me and lent me a spare sim card for data. Sim cards are easy to get in many phone shops(passport and form filling but nothing onerous) and i used around 6 euros of data on mine, depending heavily on google maps. Apartment location gave me less than 15-20 mins walk to either the Casbah or The Bardo as well as the train station. Enjoyed the Casbah, walking among market stalls and exploring winding streets. Figured out the train station and tickets. Found a restaurant via trip advisor, upmarket, a couple of beers and a mediocre meal for 12 euros. Food was not to be a highlight of this trip!!
Constantine.
Took the 7.25am to Constantine from Algiers main station, by the port. 12 euros first class had USB charging points. No assigned seating. Bought on the day, at the station, though it was hardly very busy so no problem. Was adopted by a young conductor with great English. The route passes some lovely scenery including passing south of the snowcapped Djurdjura National Park. I was surprised at the rolling green hills that i saw on most of the 9hr train ride. The train was slow but i was glad to do this once, as i would not do it again as the shared taxi is cheaper and faster. Arrived to Constantine and checked into the Protea (ask taxi driver for the Panoramic as it is widely known) £60 a night though if i had reserved and paid cash it would have been about £45. Excellent deal with balcony overlooking the city and some bridges. Has a bar. Constantine, city of bridges was great. Wandered till dark, the medina is lovely and the suspension bridges fantastic against the sheer drop. Passing back through the middle of town i ran into an intimate crowd of 10-12000 football supporters celebrating the CS Constantine's victory in the league. An alcohol free crowd of Algerian football supporters is an unbridled joy and mostly harmless sight to behold. Spent time in the middle of the crowd photographing and being pulled into everyone else's photographs. As it got dark, a policeman grabbed me out of the melee telling me to watch my stuff. To be honest, i don't feel there was an issue, merely he was being over cautious to an out of place foreigner. Still, seemed like a good time to go chill as the crowds got bigger and happier. Spent the next day exploring the Medina and market. The Medina is quite old and winding. Do try and visit the remnants of the Aquaduct which sit incongruously next to the ring road uncared for and mostly forgotten. All but one of the seven bridges connecting old Constantine to new Constantine are worth seeking out and walking across.
Setif/Djemila
Shared taxi from Constantine to Setif, 350 dinar for 1.5 hrs. All shared taxis in Algeria are found at the bus station where there is a separate area for them. They leave when full and are generally with 6 passengers in each. Checked into Setif IBIS hotel, opposite the museum and close to the Park Mall for 35 eur a night. Had them organise a taxi for Djemila for 4 pm as i wanted to catch the light. 4000 dinar (20 euro) for a nice car and driver (no English) for 4-5 hours which i thought fair. You could get to Djemila by public transport though it would take longer getting there and back including your time on site. It cost 100 dinar to get in and the policeman asked for my ID though i was able to give my passport number which i memorized. Might be good to take passport. I am not big into ruins in general but i was impressed by the site especially it's setting in green rolling hills. Saw two other threesomes of French tourists and twenty or thirty locals so i was able to wander freely and peacefully. There was also a group of Archeology students from Setif University i spent time shooting talking with. Visited the museum in Setif the following morning before leaving. Mostly in French and Arabic but i did really like the Mosaics. I am sure Setif has more to offer but i chose only one night
Bejaia.
Shared taxi from Setif to Bejaia for 850 dinar- 4 hours. The route into the Kabiyle region is very picturesque and was enjoyable by itself including a long and dusty tunnel with minimal lighting that passed under a large mountain. Once we hit the coast after three hours, we saw towns with lots of holiday complexes/villages which were quiet due to low season. The beach we passed is beautiful in places and a rubbish dump in others. I imagine the whole coast has much to offer if you had time. Stayed in Hotel du Nord, 7200 for two nights. Ok restaurant. There is also a shop around the corner that sells beer and wine. Big room, good deal. Spent next day walking up the hill to the remains of the fort at the top. I went through the medina and into the park, probably 5.5 kms, some quite a hilly. Once you get into the park, there is a paved path you can walk up or get a taxi to the carpark below the last hill and walk the last bit. i walked up and down the whole shebang. Barbary apes by the cafe on the way down. Several hundred years ago, the hillside was fortified with several fortresses, so what you see is remains of some of these fortresses and some remains of the wall in random places. The view at the top is spectacular except i went on a cloudy day! I found the medina interesting and the people very friendly. There is also a very good restaurant in town in the little square. The lady who runs it used to work in a Michelin starred place so the standard is pretty good for Algeria. Had a lovely whole fish of some description for 8-10 euro with water and salad and starter. Spent the rest of my time wandering the Medina which is quite nice including a nice overlook towards the harbour and all the unemployed hang out watching the ships load and unload.
Algiers
Shared taxi back to Algiers, 750 dinar-3.5hours, for my last two nights, another airbnb further up Rue Didouche Mourad and close to the Bardo Museum, awesome balcony. The Bardo was not that interesting to me, except the musical instruments from all over Africa, but the building it is housed in is fantastic and you get to see the courtyard and some rooms at the end of going through the exhibits. There is another museum further up the hill of Islamic Culture which i would like to have seen and there is a lovely park just below it. I took a taxi back to the airport in the late morning which my host found on Yassir for me which was only 650 Dinar.
If you want to buy duty free cigarettes, i found them in local shops for 350 dinar and i think they were more in the airport plus you had too pay in Euros
After that ramble, a few points.
I felt totally safe all over northern Algeria. From being in the middle a celebrating football crowd to wandering the back streets of random Medinas and getting shared taxis. No threat of crime or violence or even particularly bad manners.
Get a sim card if only for data and google maps/translate. If you cannot get one at the airport, there are a gazillion little phone shops. You will also need a local number to use yassir(local uber type app) for cheap taxis.
The food is not good.
Beer and alcohol are available but not widely. Depends on the area. Kabiyle has shops, Algiers i found a bar but they are few and difficult to get into as they have a closed door policy after early evening.
Shared taxis are the way to travel, planes only good for a big jump south. Trains too slow though comfortable.
I budgeted 30-50 euro a night for hotels. Easy enough to book as you are going. Best is too book a day or two ahead, reserve and pay cash with your dinars. I do not think it would have mattered if i had no reservations but on a short trip like this, i do not want to waste time finding accom once in town. I think you could go cheaper but not much.
Other costs were minimal. Plenty of eats for 2-5 euro though mostly fried and not tasty. Good restaurants on trip advisor generally 8-14 euros but still good decent for what you get and often wine available. Taxis in town varied from 150 to 650 dinar.
Everyone drinks little shots of coffee all day which cost 30 dinars everywhere. It is interesting to sit in these coffee shops for a bit.
I speak very little French and a similar amount of Arabic though i had no significant issues. I once read that communication is not all about language and that is my approach. however, i do realise i missed plenty because of this.
The country has clearly come through a lot and the economy is awful with high unemployment so there are a lot of people hanging out all day. The litter is also pretty bad in most places.
I very much enjoyed Algeria. It was very different from anywhere i have been in a while, the people are very pleasant without being too much. There is loads to see on established routes but clearly, if you speak French you could go find a lot more, especially in the mountains.
The schedule I'm looking at for this week has the Chengdu Shuangliu Airport bus to Xichang at 09:00, but that could get adjusted. It's listed as a 6 hour journey and RMB 276 (more expensive than from the main station, but you'd eat up additional RMB getting a taxi from airport to station). My advice is to get into Chengdu and then make a real-time inquiry. With an arrival that early (I'll assume it's an international flight), you should still have time to get through the Entry process and to the long distance bus desk and whether it's 9 or 10 a.m., be able to get a ticket and still grab some breakfast before you depart. Taking the bus from the airport would save you some time and effort vs going into Chengdu to the bus station, but going to the bus station can be a backup plan if for some reason the airport bus to Xichang isn't running that day, or you can't make it, etc. This would also give you plenty of time in the afternoon to check out Xichang and buy a ticket for next morning's bus of your choice to Lugu Lake.
Given the current political situation rife with extra illegality it may not be the best time to consider residency in Nicaragua. There are many reliable reports of migration officials not following the rule of law, using arbitrary criteria in allowing/denying migratory status. In addition citizens of nations deemed to have been critical of the governments' repressive measures have been denied entry or expelled from the country. Nicaragua is part of the C4 common Central American region which normalizes customs and migratory matters. There are many cases of the statutes not being followed as a direct result of the present situation.
In regards to a short visit for tourism. I would say that most transportation links have been restored, some tourist infrastructure has reopened and is ready to receive visitors. I recently visited Pacaya Lodge near Catarina with wonderful views of Laguna de Apoyo, last week, it was closed down since the crisis started in April and reopened at the end of November. I suspect that occupancy rates are still way down here and in other areas.
The situation is what I would I would describe as a slow burn, it is not an active crisis but could descend into the abyss at any moment. Once the Nica Act combined with the Magnitsky Act becomes functional this may be the tipping point. I have observed that reports of police corruption and abuse are vastly under reported. I have personally witnessed at the regional police headquarters the arbitrary, condescending and brutal treatment citizens have received only for asking for their rights.
Our area Carazo has not recovered from the crisis, our town is the location of an US based university. Foreign students have not returned, wreaking havoc in the local economy which relied on renting rooms to these students. It remains to be seen if the university will remain open as it is unlikely they can rely only on the English Language courses for locals.
Despondency and pessimism are the rule of the day. I personally know of many expats and Nicaraguans with dual citizenship who have already left or are seriously considering leaving the country as job prospects for the short term and long term are dire.
In the outskirts of our town we have a large area that has been occupied by the "toma tierras" Illegal land grabs that has been used as a selective tool of punishment by the government against those it perceives as hostile to it. This goes to conditions which create instability and loss of interest in investing in Nicaragua.
Since the seizure of the premises and imprisonment of the owner of 100% noticias last week, many employees have fled, gone in hiding or are being arrested simply for being employees of an opposition news organization. The police is working off the personnel files to locate and arrest the employees.
I have noticed that although most deliveries of medicines and other essentials have been by and large restored, the distribution network is quite fragile. Individuals who have been seen wearing the national colors or toting a Nicaraguan flag have been summarily arrested. Many types and forms of medicines which were formerly available are currently not available. I have been informed by the local pharmacies this is a direct consequence of the ongoing crisis and not due to normal disruptions in deliveries.
I mention the above to provide examples of why it may not be the best time to consider removing to Nicaragua at the moment as these are all factors that may seriously impact a potential foreign resident in Nicaragua. In addition, the crisis has seriously impacted travel options into the country, especially for those individuals residing in the Western part of the US/Canada. Current levels of air travel are so impacted that it remains to be seen if the airlines still running into Nicaragua will maintain their commitment to maintain the current frequency of flights. Miy flight into Managua was not even a quarter full and yet it was an Embraer 170 one of the smaller narrow body jets.
It is likely true that conditions may not descend into a Civil War at this very moment, however it is also true, that it is no doubt due to the vicious and extensive efforts on the part of the government to quell and dismantle any and every avenue of dissent. From closing and shutting down NGO's to systematically intimidating, arresting and imprisoning opposition news reporters, workers, and news organizations depriving them of their livelihoods and means of sustenance. It is difficult to have a Civil War if one side has all the weapons, guns and state apparatus of repression.
In summary, local conditions are not the best for contemplating residency as extra illegality, arbitrary application of the law are major issues. Foreigners are not generally targeted unless one happens to be a citizen of a nation that has criticized the Nicaraguan government for its descent into dictatorship.
Hi fellow travelers,
In case any of you is considering visiting the Kamiali Guesthouse (http://kamiali.org/) on the Huon Coast south of Lae, please be advised that we were informed that the guesthouse has burned down. Kamiali is (was?) a research station that also welcomes regular visitors and we were keen on visiting because of their fieldwork with leatherback turtles who nest on their beach from Nov-March.
Their website has no contact information and as such it wasn't until we were in PNG and had a local SIM that we could contact Maine, who's listed in LP as THE contact person for that area. His number is 72167313 and he's quick to respond. He can arrange village stays etc. If you're in Lae you might be able to get more information from Lae Travellers Inn (Phone: +675 479 0411), which accommodates researchers en route to Kamiali.
I hope this information helps others.
Sara
I don't speak Arabic or French, and I have no contact in Marrakech.
Then you are lost as you will have to depend on a local who will rake off a fat commission. Virtually anyone you meet will not want to help you but help themselves to the contents of your bank account.
Will I be able to find suppliers that are able to send me goods on a regular basis?
You need to go to the sources, not people in the souks. Either the people producing the goods or wholesalers. You are vanishingly unlikely to be able to do so, especially seeing as you have no local-language skills.
@NicoleEliane - Appreciate the advice. It sort of confirms what I've suspected after reading a bit more: that it's really tough to get a student visa. I will be doing more research and focusing on Birzeit and An-Najah. And I'll definitely check out La Casa. Thanks!
@sandyfoot & @stephenpeterlovell.1050446 - Thanks both for your advice. I admit that an accredited programme sounds great - and so is the possible idea of studying Arabic in Israel (but I guess this is for another thread).
The seniors in my current MSA programme all cut their teeth in Egypt and in Jordan (specifically at Qasid in Amman). I suppose that I was hoping that, if I could study in Palestine in the future, I would be able to bring a different perspective to local Arabic education. But we'll see.
Thank you all again for responding! If I do come across more information, I'll post it here.
Hi Travelers
I am about to take off on my first trip t Egypt, super excited! I have been using Mango Languages to learn some Egyptian Arabic. But that is speaking only, I have not learned to read Arabic script. Are menus transliterated into English -- is that common?
We favour finding places a bit off the beaten track, but it just occurred to me, will we be able to read menus and order in places like that?
Thank you in advance. This forum has been very helpful!
Howdy,
The trip went very well.
We stayed one night in Dublin for a layover, it was pretty cool, we had time to go to the Guinness Brewery and visit several pubs including the Brazen Head which is Ireland's oldest pub. The next morning we walked around the Temple Bar District and toured the campus of Trinity College.
From there we flew to Geneva, rented a car and drove to our Air BnB in Montreux. The apartment was on a hill with a view of Lake Geneva and the city of Montreux below.
Day 1 - We drove to Sion and walked around the farmer's market. We enjoyed the town. From there we drove to a village named Leuk. It's a small place with great views, but the reason we stopped there was to see this place A Charnel House. It was only the first highlight of the day. From there we continued towards Furkapass where we saw the Belvedere Hotel, the Glacier and the Ice Caves. Then we left and drove back to Tasch and made it to Zermatt just in time to catch some great photos of a new moon over the Matterhorn. We also had Fondue in Zermatt. It was our longest day, I would say it was 12 - 14 hours. (this was our favorite day in Switzerland)
Day 2 - We toured Chillon Castle, that was pretty cool. Then we drove to Martigny to see the castle there, but we never found it. I think my apple maps was wonky. So we grabbed lunch, then drove to Chamonix. I got a great photo of the Rhone Valley on the way. Chamonix was nice. beautiful mountains and a very scenic drive there and back to Montreux.
Day 3 - We were going to walk around Montreux, but we were kind of tired, so we opted for a train ride to Zweisimmen, with a stop in Gstaad. We had a very good dinner in Zweisimmen, then headed back to base.
The next day we caught our train to Avignon and rented a car there too. It was raining a bit, that that was ok. We drove the hour to the Castle we rented through AB&B near Castelnau-Valance. The castle in and of itself was a great experience, although I wish it had been closer to the things we wanted to see.
Day 1 we spent in Nimes. This was our favorite day in France. The food and sites were amazing.
Day 2 we spent in Avignon, mainly at the Popes Palace, and just walking around.
Day 3 We went to Aigues-Mortes where I was hoping to see the pink flamingos on the pink salt marshes, but we ended up going to a bird sanctuary where we did see many flamingos, just no pink salt. Then we spent the rest of the day in the Walled City shopping and eating.
The next day we caught our train to Barcelona. It was a pleasant trip except for the chatty ladies in front of us and the kid with his legos across the aisle, but after I put my headphones on a watched a movie it was all good.
We got a hotel in Barcelona, just outside of the tourist district and I'm really glad we did because we got to enjoy some of the neighborhood atmosphere. I managed to find a traditional Tapas place where the tapas come with the price of your drink. It rained while we were out, I felt like I was in a movie because when it would start pouring we would duck in someplace for a beer.
We enjoyed some great paella in a place called Salamanca on the beach, and we spent a good deal of time walking around La Rambla. We toured the cathedral but missed out on the Gaudi buildings because tickets were sold out.
We met up with our friends in Barcelona after two days. The first two days were the best because we experienced the local nightlife in the discos and such. But overall, Barcelona isn't someplace I'm yearning to go back to. It's just like every other big city.
I really wish we had spent at least one more day in Switzerland. Renting a car was a good idea for us, I wasn't restricted in where I could go photograph. Montreux was very hilly and I'm not really in the best shape, so I wish I would have gotten something a little farther down the Instagram
Here is my instagram account
I'm trying to stick to one new photo a day, I took more than 3K exposures, so it's taking some time for me to go through them.
Overall it was a very good trip. I think three countries was too much to fit into 14 days.
Now we're planning our next trip.
Unless they've opened the newly found and unimaginably large underground city in Nevşehir (doubtful) there's really nothing of interest to the tourist there. Once well outside of Adana the scenery between there and Nevşehir & Konya is far from attractive. You're among semi-arid, severely overgrazed, round-top large hills/small mountains, the occasional very narrow river valley with any arable land barely able to support a wheat crop most of which is exported due to the low quality of the grain and tastes of the Turkish. I don't encourage speeding but there is nothing to keep you from driving as fast as possible from early morning until evening. Its the kind of place where my personal planning rule of 50km/hr average pace while touring a new area of Turkey does not apply.
Unless you're going for religious reasons Konya was a place of little interest for me. There are some decent Selçuk buildings in the surprisingly small old city but it's mainly a fast-growing, working city with scant (for its size) and expensive accommodation.
Perhaps spend your first night in Polatli after taking in Tuz Göl (Salt Lake) along the way with a visit to Gordion (amazing tome attributed to King Midas) before finding accommodation or the next morning?
If you do drive between Nevşehir and Konya be certain to stop at at least one of the Karavanseri. Sultanhanı is the largest and most famous.
The Black Opium Fortress perched atop a monolithic basalt mountain that sprouts from the middle of Afyonkarahisar is one of my favorite sites in Turkey. Despite its prominence it's surprisingly easy to miss so be certain to get a good view. You can climb hundreds of narrow ancient steps to the top if you like--I hope to someday but the two times I've visited found rain and I didn't even want to think of coming back down on slick footworn steps. The lokum (Turkish Delight) and other confections in Afyon are among the best in the country. There are numerous Şeker Evleri" (sugar houses) selling such.
The so-called "Phyrgian Tourism Road" north of Afyon is definitely worth some exploration if you have the time. You wind along tiny (but easily negotiable) roads among villages and Phyrgian ruins in a sugar beet growing region in a landscape similar to Cappadocia. Plan on it taking the best part of a day. If you're interested write me a private message containing your email and I'll send a copy of the only decent map I've found. Many of the roads and villages are so small they don't even appear in my "comprehensive" Turkish atlas.
If you have the least interest in ancient Roman architecture you would kick yourself for not stopping to see the Temple of Zeus at Aizanoi in the village of Çavdarhisar about half way between Afyon and Eskişehir.
I also suggest the modest diversion to İznik (Nicaea) on the far east shore of the lake of the same name on your way to Bursa from Eskiiehir. The ancient city walls are amazing and the town itself ancient and pleasant.