The second leg of our North African adventure saw us flying from Algiers to Bechar on the edge of the great western erg in the Algerian Sahara. From here we did a short circuit of two oasis towns before heading back to Algiers. This leg was both the highlight and strangest part of the trip due to the spectacular desert scenery and extremely tight security, respectively. You can read about the Algerian leg of our trip (including all of the logistical aspects) in greater detail here.
After getting pegged at the airport by the Algerian gendarmes and given the full shakedown, we were off to the oasis of Taghit with our driver … and an impromptu escort of gendarmes. From this point on, our smiling friends with AKs would never be far from sight.
We spent two days at a guesthouse set up by the tour in Taghit on the edge of the erg. Taghit was a sleepy place and a little light on the activities, but we managed to entertain ourselves between climbing the dunes / taking in the beautiful views of the erg and drinking at the bizarre high-end resort that had somehow been built there. It was kind of like vacationing on Mars.
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The second day in Taghit, Guise, the strange little man who watched after the guesthouse, walked us up to the top of a hill for some more great views. We then “lunched” (bread! – always with the bread!) in the palm grove below and took a stroll through the old abandoned ksar, the old part of Taghit.
We spent the afternoon drinking beers at the bizarre fancy hotel with new friends Sami & Neila. They were Algerian but spoke great English and we were happy to be effectively communicating with someone for the first time in days. Sami insisted on taking multiple photos of us.
Our last evening in Taghit was one of our favorite parts of the trip. We hiked once again up the imposing dunes before sunset with a bottle of whiskey. It was a surreal experience with a surreal backdrop. Definitely worth making the long journey!
The next day, we suffered through hangovers and went to the next town deeper in the desert, Beni Abbes. Unlike sleepy-but-charming Taghit, there was absolutely nothing to do in Beni Abbes. No real restaurants, no sights in the city, and the gendarmes were never a few paces behind us in their ubiquitous green trucks (smiling and waving, of course). We hiked the dunes once, but other than that, we decided to take an R&R day and just chill out.
Our last day in the Sahara was spent driving back to Bechar and flying “home” to Algiers. The only eventful occurrence that day was the minor car accident we got in a few miles shy of the Bechar airport. The gendarmes multiplied, along with military and police, all concerned for our condition (we were fine). We felt bad for the poor driver who made a simple mistake and found himself in the center of this national tragedy. Once we got back to rainy Algiers, we spent one night in the hotel and it was off to the airport the next morning to catch a flight to Morocco. Algeria was a wonderful and strange place to visit, but at this point we were ready to switch gears and do something a little easier. How wrong we were …
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