Guides - Blogabond

There is a stereotype for Saharan guides involving a Tuareg heritage, a turban and sunglasses, a 4x4 vehicle with extended air filter, overloaded roof racks and sand ladders, and a supreme aloofness impervious to the most insufferable tourist. This type of guide gives you the impression he might just leave you in the desert on a whim, and I have read enough to understand it isn't out of the question. The two guides I had the pleasure to meet were nothing like this, and it is my pleasure to recommend them to anyone interested in visiting Algeria.

Ahmed

Ahmed Labchek (evasiondune@hotmail.com) is based in Ghardaia and with Wolf Gaudlitz solved my little can't-get-myself-into-the-country problem at the Tunisian border. Ahmed took his job very seriously indeed, meticulously handling all of the paperwork and never hesitating to place himself firmly between his paying clients (that would be Wolf and I) and trouble of any sort. Bureaucrats, customs officials, border police, unscrupulous truckers and the Guardia National all felt a little of Ahmed's sting when they posed a threat to our equipment, our plans or our person, and he earned from me a tremendous feeling of respect. His addiction to making and drinking tea, his incessant need for sleep, and his stories about driving second hand cars across the desert for sale in Niger were extremely endearing.

Talla

Abjau Intalla (tinakachker@yahoo.fr) is a good friend of Lakhdar in Tamanrasset and drove us around over several days there. Talla impressed me with his open and friendly manner, his experience and knowledge of southern Algeria, and most of all the ethic he brought to his daily interactions. When challanged to describe who he knew where, and where he had been in Africa, Talla remained honest and straightforward, tempted not at all to embellish his accomplishments. When offered European cakes as a dessert after cooking a fabulous Algerian meal he demurred gracefully, saying only that it would not be appropriate after such a feast. Here is a guy unhesitatingly guided by a powerful sense of right, a characteristic I find frankly pretty rare and one that earns from me as well both confidence and respect. For anyone considering a journey in south central Algeria I recommend Talla without reservation.

written by

roel krabbendam on February 8, 2007 from Tamanrasset, Algeria

from the travel blog: Harmattan

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