The Unplanned 4: Tunnel Party

By my third afternoon in Algeria, our mission is accomplished. The first climbing site in El Aouana is installed and tested. The Algerian climbers can handle the workshop from there. We're not much needed anymore. We can of course stay in that amazing place among mountains and trees, so close to the most beautiful beach in the area that we can smell the sea from there.

We finally have the chance to eat the lunch for which we didn't have time nor the petite before, what with all the climbing piercing and hammering... You'd probably imagine it includes toothpicks in coconuts with the Algerian and Tunisian flags on them, considering where we are, but in reality it's only normal sandwiches with kebab, with only water to drink along with it, and yet it is delicious and mouthwatering. Everything is exceedingly delicious in the mountain, especially after a heroic climb or a some tough work. We sit on the rocks to eat and drink and plan for the next move.

I'm saying "we" because, from now on, it's up to us Tunisian climbers te decide what to do next, and we decided to do something together, alone for a change. My companions are Maher and Imene, a young married couple who live not very far from where I do. Our common passion for climbing, exploring, and outdoor activities made almost forget I'm the third wheel in the group. We were always good friends, even from back in Tunisia. Maher was my highly placed friend in our climbing club, it's always to him that I go for information or anything related to climbing, and Imene, well, she's Maher's wife and she's acting friendly with all his friends, especially the club members.

They bring this idea of going to Bejaia, since it's not very far from where we are. they even have a friend there who's willing to show us around. I went before to Bejaia and I loved it for its wonderful nature, so my answer is yes!

Maher drives us there with his car. The roads in Algeria are wider, cleaner, and much smoother then those in Tunisia, and yet the traffic signs are unsupportable and severe. Sometimes they make us drive at 50 or even 40 Km/h, even when there are no buildings around.

Maybe this is the Algerian way of making us slow down and admire our surroundings.

The road is indeed worth admiring and enjoying every second of it, slithering around and through magistral, green mountains but barely loosing sight of the sea, as to keep us at the same distance and prevent us from taking side in the eternal battle below. We are witnesses, or maybe judges of a never-ending battle between the Mediterranean sea against this dozen of Algerian mountains. As if ashamed of outnumbering him, the mountains are only playing defense, taking each one of the sea's blows without hitting back. Maybe they are unaware of his slow but constant progress he's making. His impact on them throughout the centuries, if not felt by them, is clearly visible for us.

Inside one of the tunnels that I suspect are only there to distract us from that previous scene, the car behind us starts honking wildly. We get confused, Maher starts giving them light signal to find out what they want. The honking doesn't stop. We all look around to find a man and two children, all laughing... That's when it struck me like lightening; the last time I came to Bejaia, the bus driver was an Algerian. Every time we go through a barely lit, sound-echoing tunnel like this one, some cars would start honking, our driver would join them, along with every car, bus, and trunk in the tunnel. I tell Maher and Imene about this and, the next tunnel, it's us who start the tunnel party you see in the cover video.

Previous part of "The Unplanned":

1 The Day Of The Storm

2 Feel The Wind

3 We Fight Violence With Love