Back to Reality

Going back home is always great! It is after all my base from which I take off and to which I return every time. However, getting back there is just as challenging as getting anywhere due to all the airport hurdles I have to deal with... I left Algiers today at 4:45 pm or so and reached Barcelona 55 minutes later. Finding the bus to my hotel was challenging but did manage to find it after all... the next day I was up at 6:00 am, had breakfast and headed out to the airport by 8:45 am ... the timing was just perfect as I reached the gate when the boarding started. I was lucky this time as I had an aisle seat so I could stand whenever I wished... the flight was long, very long... when I reached Washington DC I texted my daughter to let her know when to pick me up ... Huntsville flight was on time so all was smooth and reached home at around 6:30 pm local time. That marks the end of my vacation...

The vacation itself was great! A tail of two mountains in two different continents: the Pyrenees in Europe and the Atlas in Northern Africa. The Pyrenees are greener and less rocky than the Atlas especially near the Mediterranean Sea, I guess this is due to the age of the two mountains; the Pyrenees are older than the Atlas. The Pyrenees are a natural border between France and Spain, whereas the Atlas stretch from Morocco to Tunisia crossing Algeria.. My visit was limited to sections of both mountains: the southern half of the Pyrenees and the Djurdjura mountains in Algeria .. I did cross the border between France and Spain several times..

The surprise of the trip was Andorra, this tiny independent principality in the Pyrenees between France and Spain... One of the smallest in Europe.. It was beautiful and had a booming economy based on all the construction projects going on and the number of big name stores and banks around.. this economy is driven by tourism and its tax free status... no VAT tax Andorra so things are cheaper..

Lourde was another surprise as I did not know that it was the second destination for catholic pilgrims from around the world after the Vatican. It is also second tourist destination in France after Paris!!! Who would have known that, not me!!  I even observed a late evening procession of pilgrims in a steady rain, but thanks to the big trees I stayed mostly dry.. it is something to see for sure!!

Figueres and Cadaques in Spain are also two places I enjoyed visiting, Cadaques more so than Figueres! Cadaques is a beautiful all white village with red terracotta tile roofs located right on the Mediterranean Sea .. Both Figueres and Cadaques have strong ties to Salvador Dalí who was born in Cadaques but achieved his fame in Figueres..

Barcelona, off course, needs no introduction, it is a beautiful port city on the Mediterranean.. it is the biggest city of Catalonia with a thriving economy. Gaudí left his mark all over Barcelona starting with the Sagrada Família where he is buried and still not finished.. the big goal is to finish it by the 100 year anniversary of Gaudí death, 2026!

Off course, the highlight of my trip was a lightening visit to see family in Algeria... that is always priceless especially when the frequency is so low. Seeing people I have not seen in over 40 years is always fun and getting a chance to speak Berber is awesome.

View of the Berber villages from “Main du Juif” in Djurdjura mountains (Algeria)

Cadaques on the Mediterranean in Spain

Salvador Dalí’s museum in Figueres Spain 

Dancing in the square in Figueres Spain 

Driving through the  Pyrenees 

A view of the Pyrenees 

The famous church in Lourdes France 

Andorra seen from high above

Camp Nou in Barcelona Spain 

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona Spain 

Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona Spain 

Bouira: My Birth Place

The last day of my lightening visit to my former homeland was spent visiting my birth place of Bouira. The city is located in the high plateaus of Algeria on the south side of the northern Atlas Mountains also known as Djurdjura mountains. I was born here because our home in the mountains was destroyed by the French during the war of liberation. I am not going to reveal my age here but it is easy to guess based on the historic fact I just mentioned. Bouira therefore can be considered as my displaced home, or refugee home within Algeria ... My dad owned a business here for most of his life, and my younger brother still owns that store... I also went to school here for three years; first to third grade!! In addition, Bouira being a major city on the east-west Highway, it is a very busy trading post... it has now become the capital of the state of Bouira... Add to that all the family members that live here so it is a must visit place for me... I started the visit from my dad’s home where I used to live and my younger brother still lives there today. His wife made us a nice couscous for lunch... from there we went to visit my dad’s grave. After that we headed to my late old brother’s home where my nephews still live... there we had another lunch. One cannot refuse an invitation for food in Algeria... I was careful not to over eat, so I had half lunch at my brother’s and the other half at my nephews and everyone was happy.. after lunch we went to my older brother’s grave! 

By 2:00 pm we were headed back to my suster’s home using a more scenic route through the mountains... Except for few bad sections of the road, the drive was awesome... very very scenic..

We arrived home at 5:00 pm and were all exhausted and ready for some rest... My niece from Algiers showed up to say good bye to me since I was to leave the next day... we had a great dinner and fun with all...

View of the Berber villages from the top of the mountains 

 

Beautiful rocky peak in the Atlas known as “Main du Juif”

Views of the Berber villages from “Main du Juif”

At over 1700 meters above sea level, it is the highest soccer field in this area 

Ghost-like mountain peak in the Djurdjura mountains 

An Atlas Mountains monkey sits by the side of the road completely ignoring us 

A nice town between Bouira and the mountains

My nephew cleaning up his dad’s grave 

My dad’s grave under an olive tree (Rest In Peace Dad) 

The water reservoir of Bouira 

The city of Draa El Mizan where I went to elementary and middle school 

Berber Villages

Today we decided to just go for a car ride and visits some well-known Berber villages. We started out from Oued Aissi, going through Makla, Ain Alhamam, Larbaa Nait Irathene... the view were just spectacular.... all the villages are located on top of hills strung together like beads in a necklace ... the location of the villages goes back to the warrior past of the berbers who live here and who ferociously  defended this land from various foreign invader. Most recently, the berbers fought the French in the bloodiest war of independence in the 20th century. Most recently, the berbers revolted again the central government for the neglect of their culture and language and their peaceful fight led to the recognition of the Berber language as a national language. Berber holidays are now celebrated openly by everyone in Algeria... one thing I noticed in every village I crossed is the massive construction projects going on everywhere.. the whole country in under construction, highways, subways, railways, hotels, high rise buildings.. the landscape is littered with massive cranes, trucks, earth moving equipment... just unreal! All this makes the place look chaotic and driving is a nightmare!! 

Houses nestled between olive and fig trees are a major part of the landscape 

Villages on top of hills in the Berber state 

Goats and sheep are part of the landscape 

Berbers love their homes and they love multi-story ones too

More hills and villages...

Berber colors and signs

This Berber sign is everywhere 

Visit to my Childhood Village

My Algerian vacation is entering its last and most hectic days... I spent today visiting my childhood village and it was quiet a visit... emotional !! Walking down my childhood paths and trails brought back all the good and bad memories.. the trails are all overgrown and dug-out by the rains and snows.. I ran into older friends from the village that I have not seen in over 40 years, we all aged but some better than others... after the village we headed to the cemetery to see my mom’s grave and all others... visiting graves has become a ritual for me to remember the departed and to remind myself that time on this planète is short and soon I will join them. As we say in our culture when addressing the dead “you are the departed and we are coming”... my mom’s grave is not easily identified as she died some 52 years ago.. her grave is over taken by grass and weeds.. following this rather sad and emotional visit to the cemetery, we went back home for a break. Late in the afternoon, we headed to meet my middle sister in another town. The meeting was very brief ... the day came to an end with tea and watermelon...

A big gap between two mountains 

A Berber village near a mountain top

The valley and villages in a distance

The rocky northern Atlas Mountains near my village

A small walkway in the middle of my childhood village

The famous olive under which I spent countless hours playing games and telling stories. If only this tree could talk, it will tell all my stories... 

The cemetery where my mom’s final resting place is located: REST IN PEACE MOM! 

The fertile land down in the valley bellow my village. I used to roam this land looking after cows and sheep. Those were the days that made me who I am now... 

A view of my village in a distance hidden between the trees... 

A Berber Wedding

Well, today I attended the wedding of a young lady from my extended family... I don’t know her off course as she was born long after I left to the states. One good thing about attending such event is meeting all the family members in one place, and that is exactly what happened... I met people I grew up with and did not see for 35+ years!!! Some of them I recognized right away and some I did not and vice versa.. It was quiet an emotional get together... they were all amazed at how well I spoke Berber after 35+ of living in the states.. they asked me how often I spoke Berber and off course the answer was: rarely!! We told childhood stories and jokes and we laughed just like the good old days... some of them stayed with me much longer and talked about all sorts of things.. 

We ate lunch around noon, took pictures and then the music started. Some people danced, some sang and some like me just watched.. things have changed over the years, wedding ceremonies are no longer as charming and traditional as they used to be. Call me old fashion if you wish, but I just miss the good old wedding ceremonies.. modernity has its place off course, but traditions have their own too, but it seems to me that the latter is loosing ground to the former. Soon all traditions will disappear and we will have the same boring ceremony all over the globe.. I hope I am wrong on this one, because today’s ceremony was a breath of fresh air... IT WAS TRADITIONAL and I loved it... the bride looked awesome with the Berber dress and jewelry...

The groom party showed up at 3:00 pm to take the bride to their party in Algiers. They had fireworks, drummers and pipers and other musical instruments particular to the group. They played music and people danced and alter one hour the bride and groom were off to Algiers for their own party... i was invited by I declined for lack of time, my nephews went...  I decided I had enough heat and high decibel music for today...

Bride-groom car 

The bride leaving the party

Reception hall

Building where reception was held

Arrival of the groom party

Hello from Algeria

I have arrived at my sister’s home in the city of Tizi-Ouzou, where I went to college for three years, the first three! At the moment I am catching up on family news and other related news... it is hot here so no need for sight seeing today just resting at home and learning how cook... My sister is the chef so I am learning from her how to make Berber dishes that I love to eat... I made videos and took notes as she cooks so I will have lots to practice when I get back to the states... There is no recipe for what my sister is teaching me so I need to both observe and take notes... I asked a lot of questions as she proceeds from phase to phase... I am loving this so far... my nephew from Paris will be here tonight so we will have fun together tomorrow...

The water dam not far from my sister’s home

Atlas Mountains in the distance

More Atlas Mountains 

Cactus’ everywhere

Big dam next to my sister

More dam but most importantly the villages on top of the hill

Spain: The Last Push

The grand finally of my Spanish-French vacation has been rather very hectic. today we decided to do way too many things and we managed to do most of them... Figueres, Roses, Girona and then Barcelona! I give credit to the success of this grand finally to my friend who never hesitated to drive me anywhere I suggested. Except for Lourdes, France, all the places we went to were picked by me. However, my friend had seen some of them and confirmed the need to visit them at least once... my friend wanted to drive to the Atlantic side of the Pyrenees but we did not have enough time so go that far and then come back to Barcelona to fly out. 

Here are few random pictures from the places mentioned above... tomorrow Algeria and the family visit... it should be a great one .. a Berber wedding is already in the line up and then some more visits some sad (cemeteries) and most happy.. 

The Roses beach

Roses beach

Wide beach similar to the ones in the states

More beach

Condos for rent on the beach

A view from our new hotel

Morning sunrise picture from the balcony of our room  

More beautiful Mediterranean  sun rise 

A last pic from the Girona train station

Girona station pic again 

More from Girona station

My new hotel in Barca near the airport 

It turned out my hotel in Barca was near the university