Chapter XXV: A Voyage

Though perhaps the journey described in these pages is longer than many tourists would wish to undertake, it is rather set out with the idea of giving a notion of the amount that can be seen in a comparatively short space of time and under the easiest conditions.

The trip can, moreover, be divided into separate excursions as indicated in the table of distances at the end of the chapter. It is better to do this journey in a private motor-car, which enables one to rest at will, eat by the roadside, and take photographs. But if the traveler has not the means to progress in this luxury he will find public conveyances at moderate prices on practically every route mentioned. Sometimes it will be the train, sometimes the motor-bus, and though in some cases he will be obliged to travel by rather a roundabout way or occasionally wait a few days for the bus, his journey will always be assured in comfort.

Generally speaking, there is a daily or even bi-daily motor service on all the main roads of North Africa; and it is only in the far south that the bus does not have a regular time-table. Otherwise the times of departure and arrival are as fixed as for a train. The motor-busses are covered and very comfortable, and to the individual who is entertained by strange faces and gay chatter about all that is going on in the country through which he is traveling, the motor _diligence_ is a delightful entertainment. In fact, if the traveler is bent on studying the country and its people, he will do so much more advantageously in the public conveyance than in the isolation of the private car. However, if he is only on holiday or a pleasure trip the motor is recommended, and it is with the idea of traveling thus that this imaginary journey will be taken.

It is presumed that the period chosen for the tour will be between December and April—January, February or March—and let it be borne well in mind that North Africa in winter, even on the edge of the Sahara, is not a warm country. The thermometer does not actually drop very low, but the biting air of the mountains and the sharp dry winds of the rolling plain or the Hauts Plateaux and the Sahara make heavy coats and rugs essential.

Once south of Laghouat and at Touggourt the temperature is definitely warmer than in the north, but hot days can not be depended on before this latitude is reached. It is true that on the edge of the Sahara the sun heat in the middle of the day makes it impossible to go out bareheaded, but the nights are very sharp. Once into the Sahara the nights are also cold, but in the day it is pleasantly warm, and the overcoats and rugs can be put away; but the return journey across the Kabyle Mountains may be done in a snowstorm. The great thing to remember about Algeria is that it is a country of extremes. The morning may dawn in a downpour of rain and at noon one may lunch in the garden dressed in white. Crossing the mountains during the winter one is practically certain to find rain, but once on the Sersou it is almost always fine.

The Hauts Plateaux are bitterly cold, but as soon as one has come down on to the Sahara the temperature is very pleasant, and it rarely rains; when it does, it pours for a few hours and then clears up.

Therefore, the warmest wraps for the journey in the north, English summer clothes (not Indian or tropical) for the south. All evening dresses, etc., can be left in Algiers, as there is never any occasion to dress up, even when invited by an Arab chief. It is advised to travel light, and linen can usually be washed by the Transatlantic hotels in forty-eight hours. The question of hotels brings me to another point.

The hotels of Algeria can be divided into two categories—those which belong to the Transatlantic Company and those which do not. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique has opened up the whole of North Africa by their circular and inclusive tours which run into the wildest parts of the Sahara. In order to accommodate their customers they have built hotels in all these remote spots, and these are certainly very well organized. In all the more frequented places there are other hotels for the accommodation of commercial travelers and Arabs, and though they are usually quite clean and the food eatable, that is about all that can be said for them. There are usually no bathrooms and there is nowhere to sit except in the public café. Here again let it be said that for the traveler in search of copy the hotel with its Arabs and people of the country is a source of perpetual entertainment, but with few exceptions it is rough—very rough, and sometimes dirty.

The prices, of course, correspond to what one gets, but to the holiday-maker the Transatlantic hotels can not be too highly recommended. Good food, clean beds, running water, hot baths, perfect service, reliable information on all that can be done and not done, seem to warrant the fairly high charge, and yet not high when one realizes the difficulties which confront the hotel manager in getting all this modern comfort in the wildest districts.

It is, however, recommended that one see the Transatlantic Company in Algiers to make certain that there will be accommodation as, if they are booked up with heavy tours, their own travelers will naturally have preference over independent tourists.

The cost of the trip, quite roughly, will work out as follows:

1. For the private car owner staying at the Transatlantic hotels, one hundred to one hundred and fifty francs per person per day. Petrol, etc., in addition. If a car is hired it works out at about two to three francs a kilometer plus the board and lodging of the driver, which is about thirty-five francs a day.

2. For the traveler by public conveyance staying at the local hotel fifty francs a day will amply cover his living and expenses.

Train fares are not dear, and the bus fares, though they vary, do not exceed ten centimes a kilometer.

Equipped now with knowledge for the journey, it only remains to trace the itinerary, which will be quite easy to follow on the accompanying map. This information can be supplemented by the guide-book, and in referring to the guide-book I always speak of the _Guide Bleu_ which, with the exception of a few slips, is really very reliable.

ITINERARY OF PROPOSED JOURNEY

1. _By private car_
Kilometers
1st day Algiers/Bou Saada 250
2nd day Stay Bou Saada —
3rd day Bou Saada/Laghouat 222
4th day Stay Laghouat —
5th day Laghouat/Ghardaïa 200
6th day Stay Ghardaïa —
7th day Ghardaïa/Touggourt[1] 200
8th day Stay Touggourt —
9th day Touggourt/Biskra 216
10th day Stay Biskra —
11th day Biskra/Timgad 190
(It is advisable to sleep at Batna.[2])
12th day Timgad/Constantine 190
(If Djemila, described in Chapter XXXIV, is to be visited it
can be done from Timgad via Sétif or from Constantine.)
13th day Constantine/Bougie 259
14th day Bougie to Algiers by 4 alternative routes:
_a._ Bougie to Michelet 147
and thence to Algiers via Tizi Ouzou 154
_b._ Bougie direct to Algiers via.
Bouira and Palestro 300
_c._ Bougie direct to Algiers via.
Azazga and Tizi Ouzou 300
_d._ Bougie/Tigzirt 250
and thence to Algiers via Dellys 155

2. _By public conveyance_
Algiers/Bou Saada 250
(Motor-bus takes some 10 hours.)[3]
Stay Bou Saada —
Bou Saada/Djelfa (bus) 112
(Stay the night at Djelfa, leave at six o’clock next morning
in bus.)
Reach Laghouat at nine-thirty a. m. 110
Stay Laghouat —
Laghouat/Ghardaïa (bus) 200
Stay Ghardaïa —
Ghardaïa/Touggourt 200
(The bus runs once a week [Nov. 1926]. Verify this.)
Stay Touggourt —
Touggourt/Biskra (train) 216
Stay Biskra —
Biskra/Batna (train) 120
(If Timgad is to be visited a car must be hired at Batna for
the 70 kilometers run to the ruins and back. One can sleep
at Timgad or at Batna.)
Timgad/Constantine (car and train) 190
Constantine/Bougie (bus service not regular) 259
Bougie/Michelet
(No bus service direct. If Michelet is to be visited the
train must be taken to El Kseur and thence to Tizi-Ouzou by
bus; from Tizi-Ouzou bus to Michelet and from Michelet bus
to Tizi-Ouzou and train to Algiers. If Michelet is to be
omitted there is the train direct from Bougie to Algiers.)[4]

Various alternative trips will be set out in the succeeding chapters where they seem opportune. The distances have been marked in kilometers as the guide-books and maps are all scaled in this way. For the information of those who are interested in miles, however, one hundred kilometers equals sixty-two miles.

For all details regarding routes and motors the traveler is recommended to apply to Captain de Malglaive, at the Anglo-American Automobile Company at Mustapha Supérieur, who is always informed as to the state of the roads, accommodation, etc.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: It is advisable to ascertain the state of the road between Guerrera and Touggourt, as there is much sand in this part. On principle it is wiser to start just ahead of the motor-bus as the route is very desolate and there is no possible means of repairing serious breakdowns.]

[Footnote 2: If time is short, Constantine, Bougie and the Kabyle can be omitted. From Timgad one can get to Sétif via Corneille. By leaving Biskra early one can do Biskra/Batna, see Timgad, and be at Sétif in one day—210 kilometers. From Sétif to Algiers the road is good and straight—300 kilometers.]

[Footnote 3: If this bus journey is thought too excessive, there is no necessity to go to Bou Saada. The train can be taken direct to Djelfa in one day, and then next morning the bus lands one at Laghouat at nine thirty.]

[Footnote 4: I have not marked the number of days for the journey by public conveyance as, being much slower, it is correspondingly more tiring, and the traveler will probably wish to linger longer in the different centers he visits.]