I wake at 6am sleeping on a mattress on the floor of our cabin. My days on the top bunk are over, the short ladder and cramped cabin have convinced me of that. We will be docking in about two hours, so time to get ready and pack. The crossing was smooth and apart from having the toilet not work initially, due, we were told, to “people tortured the button” – gentle tap only required.

Anne wanted to be on deck as we came into port as this is where her father did his national service back in 1950. We are arriving in Algiers, the capital of Algeria and the first time we have visited the country plus the first time Streak and Storm have been in Africa. The waterfront of Algiers with its historic buildings rising up the hillside make an impressive vista.

Docking completed we need to negotiate with the bikes two levels down. How come every indoor parking so far has been two levels, either up or down? Suffice to say we negotiated it successfully and entered the arrival process which is documented in Visas and Borders. The whole process took a couple of hours but we were ably assisted by a very helpful customs officer who followed our progress, assisted us with paperwork and even guided us to the insurance booth and gave directions to get SIM cards. Thank you, a welcoming arrival to Algeria.

Into the traffic, after laid back Spain, one has to be much more focused here. I had been complaining about the number of traffic lights on roundabouts in Spain, here I am reminded of Lima, everyone has priority. A couple of traffic lights would not go amiss to ease the mayhem. Maybe we have spent to much time in Europe.

We head for the suburb of Bab el Oued, an older suburb close to the port, both sides of the road house small shops selling everything from washing machines to SIM cards housed in the ground floor of apartment blocks. There is very limited parking so into some roadworks we go, “Ok to park here?” “Oui” and we are off for SIM cards. We now have 80GB (€8) each and are set for our time in Algeria.

We navigate through the myriad of vehicles and people who seem to step out without looking, unaware they in front of a foreigner’s vehicle. For all the apparent chaos to us, it seems like the vehicles and pedestrians are conducting a dance with steps we are unfamiliar with. Anne noted at one point that the bonnet of the car behind me and my pannier were separated by centimetres, probably less than an inch, as we wove through traffic. Yes I did see a couple of fender benders today, but very little hooting or driver aggression.

As we get out town, waves, smiles and toots of horns greet us. I think people are happy to see visitors. Lunch is taken at a motorway service station as we head west towards Tipaza, our first stop. As we are eating a tasty chicken lunch we are approached by a woman who informs us she and her husband have paid for our lunch as we are guests in their country. A kind and unexpected gesture.

We continue west, humbled by the generosity of people, towards our newly built hotel in Bouma’Chouk. Navigation to our destination is easy as a multi story hotel with the name writ large on the side helps.

At the hotel we meet Lamine, a motorcycle enthusiast who says he will link us up with friends across the country. How kind of him.

After checking in we head by taxi for the Roman ruins at Tipaza which has an impressive history and is of course another UNESCO World Heritage Site, which we have recorded visits to many over the years, I suspect UNESCO keep adding more, so we will never get the full set.

Tipaza some 70 km. west of Algiers was an ancient Punic trading post which the Romans took control of in the first century CE (Common Era) which I found confusing because I thought “CE” meant “Conformité Européenne” and was found on electronic products? Oh well back to the Romans. They developed the port and it became an place of exchange with the indigenous population for the next few centuries.

Two French / Algerian couples kindly invite us to join them and their guide on a tour. We had planned to hire a guide as otherwise we would be looking at columns and walls with no idea of their significance. Our guide Andou is just 19 and spent six months learning French to be able to share his love of history and this location. He even showed us the entrance to a roman water tunnel that in his early teens he had followed to the other end and come out in a police station across town. The policeman who first saw him thought he was having hallucinations! Andou explained the layout, how the rich lived overlooking the ocean, what’s changed?! and how each part of the city worked in relation to each other. He showed us how they heated water and even made underfloor heating under the mosaics. As it was in French you will have to ask Anne any questions.

After a quick drink with the two couples, it’s back to the hotel and a quiet dinner watching the sunset contemplating how kind and helpful the Algerian people we have met are. What will tomorrow bring?

– Anthony and Anne