violence in Algeria

From the BBC world news site:
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Two vehicle bombs exploded outside two police stations in attacks in two towns east of the Algerian capital during Sunday night.

The near-simultaneous blasts took place in Reghaia, 30km (20 miles) east of Algiers, and neighboring Dergana.
According to witnesses, at least one person was killed in the attacks and about 14 were injured.
The blasts were believed to have been carried out by Islamist rebels in the most sophisticated attacks in years.
Sporadic clashes between militants and security officers normally take place in rural areas.
In Reghaia, a grenade was thrown into the police station after a truck laden with explosives had been parked outside, AFP news agency reports.
Police were reported to have fired on men who had been in the truck as they fled from the scene in a waiting car.
The blast, detonated remotely, hurled vehicle parts across the street, tore a hole in the two-storey building and burnt out 18 parked cars.
Police cordoned off the area around the blast scene in Dergana so details were not immediately available.
Militant Algerian groups have killed some 150,000 people since 1992, when elections in which an Islamic party was poised to win were cancelled.

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Now, don't get me wrong, I can't agree with any side of any situation once they use violence like this, BUT after all the so called "rebels" were elected in 1992. So as such doesn't that make then "defenders of democracy"?

Just the same I am sorry to hear about violence in Algeria. Algerians deserve to live a quiet happy life in a country which should have enough resources to keep everybody satisfied. I wonder if anybody I work with live in these towns....

from BBC wildlife photographer of the year

I am not posting the photo of the finalist since I don't particularly like it.

go and check it out at :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/default.stm

If you want to see it.

winter

I am home and today it is snowing! I woke up this morning to a totally white view.

I am not against the concept of snow per say, but I could do without it actually falling on the truck and on the roads or is it too much to ask for?

Ireland

After Algeria Ireland was so just about the exact opposite. I especially enjoyed the countryside. Dublin was too busy for me and I wasn't in the mood for literature / history type of things.
The countryside was exactly what one thinks Ireland should be. I loved the ocean, the cliffs, the little fields with the edges and the walls, the sheep wandering all over the countryside, the narrow roads..all of it, including the Giant Causeway!!!

I saw quite a bit in short period of time, from caves to old castles and 6 thousand years old burial sites (Knowth and Newgrange).

People were very friendly...I had a great time.

I'll try to post more photos.

Not looking the part

Saturday I walked by a gallery who had painting by Morisseau (Norval Morisseau, a canadian artist). I've wanted a Morisseau for a long time. I don't like all of his work, some of his colours are wrong for me, but I liked this one. Apparently I wasn't dressed the part and couldn't get the attention of anybody, especially since the gallery was pretty busy with people trying to find ways to spend their money. The town is full of nouveau richs trying to find status through what they buy these days...

They even had a Emily Carr...I would have loved to know how much an Emily Carr goes for these days ...but I guess it'll teach me right for wearing plain clothes instead of status screaming clothes!!! I wonder if I should walk around with my bank statement sewn onto my jacket!!!

This town stinks!

favourite moments

My hotel in Ghardaia was in a part of town pretty much between two minarets so I could hear two versions of the "call to the prayer".
I love the call to the the prayer. Hearing two of them really made me appreciate how different they really are.

Some of my favourite moments in Ghardaia were late at night (midnight) then again early in the morning (4:00am) being woken up by the call to the prayer, getting dressed and going in the gardens in the dark and sitting down by the jasmine bush for the duration of the call.
At night the temperature was sweet and perfect, the two calls were hypnotic, cats were sneaking by and the smell of jasmine added nicely to the mystique of the moment.

I am back home

So I did go to Ghardaia. It was nice.
Ghardaia is one of the cities in the Mzab, a part of Algeria where Mozabite have been isolating themselves for a about 600 years. They are opening their doors now but some part of the old city can only be seen if accompanied by a guide and without taking pictures, particularly pictures of people and specifically pictures of women.

It was Ramadan so the rhythm of the city was a little weird but still quite nice.

I did go to Ireland for a week afterward. I am now home trying to rest and trying not to get bored as the “what’s next” feeling is hitting.

Work is done

I am leaving the rig in an hour!!
I woke up in the night realizing that I still had some stuff to do, like fill in my invoice!! So I am up early.
I am all set. Amazing what you can do from the middle of the Sahara with an internet connection.

I am booked to go to Gardhaia for five days, with most likely a side trip to some other towns whose name I forgot right now...probably because I had never heard of it before.

Then I have bought a ticket to Dublin, and made reservation at the Royal Dublin Hotel...Ooh la la!

As J. was saying last night....tonight I'll go to sleep in a totally new town....and Gardhaia none the less. Honestly right now after 4 hours of sleep I am too tired to care where I go to sleep as long as I go to sleep. Also right now I am not looking forward to the plane ride...Yaaakkkk! I get so sick in it. The only thing is that since it is cold (well, something like 15C I would guess this morning) there shouldn't be thermals so the ride should be smooth....I'm hoping.

I forgot to say, after Ireland I am actually going home.

Thanks Giving

It's Thanks Giving long week end in Calgary. I take it everybody is eating turkey and potatoes and what ever else people eat on such occasion.
I know C. is alone at home being "antisocial" and enjoying it! Hey, why not?

Here things are wrapping up. Today I finished my report and THEN received an email that all the tops will have to be change. For those who do not know what I mean, let's just say that I will have to go to every single page of my 85 pages report and change A LOT of small things! I am talking about a couple of hours of really tedious work here! And I am so bad a those little details....

Tonight, if I quit playing with my blog's format, I will actually get a chance to sleep more than 7 hours. Wow, something unusual and just about worth celebrating.

Anyway, Happy Thanks Giving to the Canadians!

borrowing to help

I can't remember where I stopped posting...
I started this without looking at my blog.

For a while it looked like I was going to go to Gardhaia, then I wasn't, then I was, then I wasn't, Now I am!!!

Here is the weirdest thing about it. Everybody in Algeria wants to get some foreign currency. I cannot use credit cards in Algeria so everybody is offering to lend me some money so they can get it back in US dollars or Euros.
A friend of a friend helped find a way to rent a car with a driver and he is offering to lend me the money for the trip, in exchange for getting the money back in Euros or Dollars...The guy does not even know me. He cannot be sure that I am coming back to Algeria!
I am going to "borrow" a little bit from one guy to whom I want to be nice...and I will probably either change some money or "borrow" some money from the guy who helped, as a way to pay him back for his troubles.
Weird!

the ever changing plan

I think that I will be done here on the 10th.
I still have no idea whether or not I will be able to go to Gardhaia and Djanet...Gardhaia is looking good, but Djanet!!...I am not so sure.

Then possibly, most likely a week or so in Ireland, then home!

sailor's delight or sailor's warning?

The light is so different this time of year. Every night and every morning we get display of bright pink skies.

Why I am not doing Ramadan

I talked about Ramadan and about considering doing it myself but never said anything more after that.

In the end I decided not to do it..and no it isn't because I was concerned about not eating , drinking etc in day time. Those who know me will know that I always think those things long and hard, and I thought that fasting without the rest of it (prayers, special thought all day long to religious matter etc) would be like reducing Ramadan to a dietary exercise as opposed to the religious event it is supposed to be. I felt that it could be read as a mockery of Ramadan.
I imagine that if I saw a Muslim cross himself to pray I probably would feel that it is out of place for him to use a religious symbol that belongs to what is supposed to be my religion and not his. I actually had an interesting conversation about it with the medic on location and a few other guys.

There was other reasons for my decision but this played a major part.