We’ve arrived in El Kala, the last town we’ll be visiting in Algeria. El Kala is a quiet port town on the Mediterranean Sea, and I’d guess it’s just over 10 kilometers from the border with Tunisia. My Algerian visa is set to expire in two days, but I plan to take it easy in this port town until then.
A Three-Star Hotel in El Kala
Prices in Algeria’s urban areas are higher than I imagined (a meal at a local restaurant costs over 1,500 yen), and I didn’t have as much of my mandatory currency exchange left as I’d expected. Still, I plan to spend what’s left here.
First, I decided to stay at my first three-star hotel in Algeria. The hotel was fully booked for the next day, but fortunately, they had a room available for today. One night for two people in one room: 160 Dr = about 8,700 yen. [My long-awaited star-rated hotel—and it’s even a three-star!]
I had high hopes for a three-star hotel, but it completely let me down. Sure enough, the water wouldn’t flush in the en suite bathroom and toilet, so they were unusable. The only saving graces were the clean sheets and the fact that we could drink alcohol at the hotel restaurant.
We ordered the chef’s choice set meal (about 1,800 yen), a bottle of beer (about 430 yen), and a bottle of wine (about 1,900 yen). W and I treated ourselves to a little luxury.
We moved to a different hotel that day. Maybe because we’d drunk too much the night before (?), we were down to almost no money. We managed to negotiate the room rate of 90 Dr down to half—45 Dr (about 2,450 yen). The door lock was broken, the bed sheets were dirty—even 45 Dr seemed like a lot.
In any case, we were leaving for Tunisia the next day. Since W seemed to have some things to sort out in the room, I headed out to the harbor alone in the afternoon, sketchbook in hand.
Under a gloomy sky, the sea was gently rippling. Perhaps having finished fishing, I saw a fishing boat returning to the harbor from beyond the breakwater. A quiet atmosphere hung over the harbor in the late afternoon.
After finishing a quick sketch to pass the time, I headed back to the hotel. It was just past 3:00 PM, so I met up with W, who had just finished his errands, and we went to the hammam (public bathhouse).
“Still, that three-star hotel yesterday was a letdown, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, the water, you know. It’s been like that at every hotel I’ve stayed at so far. I wonder what the top-tier hotels are like?”
“But there were quite a few friendly people in Algeria, weren’t there? And some really kind ones, too.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Except for the troublemakers, of course. Oh, W, come to think of it, haven’t you tried camel meat yet?”
“That’s right. I completely forgot about it. I was so satisfied with the fish dishes.”
As we washed ourselves at the hammam, the two of us reflected on our regret at not having eaten camel meat in Algeria.
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アルジェリアで過ごす最後の街エルカラに着きました。エルカラは地中海に面した静かな港町、チュニジアとの国境まで、あと10数キロでしょうか。アルジェリアの滞在ビザの期限は二日後と迫っていましたが、それまでこの港町でユックリするつもりです。
エルカラの三つ星ホテル
アルジェリアの都市部では想像以上に物価が高く(街の食堂で１食1,500円以上も)、強制両替のお金も思いのほか残っていませんでした。それでも残金はこの地で遣いきるつもりです。
まずはアルジェリアで初めて三つ星ホテルに泊まることに。ホテルは翌日予約で満室ですが、幸いこの日は空室がありました。１泊二人一部屋 160Dr＝約8,700円。[念願の星付きホテル、しかも三つ星だ～ッ!]
三つ星ホテルということで期待をしたのですが、見事に裏切ってくれました。やはり部屋付きの浴室とトイレは水が流れず、使用できません。救いは綺麗なシーツとホテル内のレストランでアルコールが飲めることです。
おまかせ定食＝約1,800円、ビール１本＝約430円、ワイン１本＝約1,900円を注文。Ｗ君と二人でチョッピリ贅沢をしてみました。
この日は別のホテルへ移りました。前夜飲み過ぎた(?)せいか、お金も残り僅かです。何とか部屋代 90Drを半分の45Dr＝約2,450円にまけてもらうことに。部屋のドアの鍵は壊れ、ベッドのシーツは汚れ、45Drでも高いようです。
いずれにせよ、翌日にはチュニジアへ出国します。Ｗ君は部屋でいろいろ整理があるようなので、私は午後から一人スケッチブック片手に港へ出てみました。
ドンヨリした空のもと、海は穏やかな波に揺れています。漁を終えたのか、防波堤の向こうから漁船が一艘港へ戻って来るのが見えました。昼下がりの港には静かな時間が流れています。
ヒマつぶしのスケッチを１枚描き上げるとホテルへ戻りました。時間は３時過ぎ、ちょうど用事がすんだＷ君とハマム(大衆浴場)へ。
「それにしても、昨日の三つ星ホテルは期待外れでしたね」
「ああ、水がな。今まで泊まったホテルみんなだもの。一流ホテルはどうなんだろう?」
「でも、アルジェリアは結構人なつっこい人が多かったですね。それに親切な人も」
「うん、確かに。悪ガキ以外はね。アッ、Ｗ君、そういえばラクダの肉食べてないんじゃない?」
「そうでした。完全に忘れてました。魚料理で満足してましたよ」
ハマムで身体を洗いながら、二人の反省は、アルジェリアでラクダの肉を食べなかったことでした。