On to Algiers...Barely

We arose well before dawn today to begin our travel to Algiers.  Due to a boarder dispute, land travel between Morocco and Algeria is not allowed, so the only other alternative was to hop across the border on a local flight.  We left the youth hostel with just enough time to catch a train to the airport, check our luggage and board the flight.  Unfortunately the train was late, there was a line at a security checkpoint between the train and the airport, and the check in counter for our airline was on the other side of the terminal.  By the time we arrived at the counter, the workers informed us that the gate for our flight was closed, and that it would be impossible to check our luggage and obtain boarding passes.  I quickly found a manager and begged him to allow us to board the flight.  We had paid for the tickets and could not afford others if we missed it.  Effectively we would have been stuck in Morocco.  Without much hesitation he instructed someone to help us and we quickly checked our luggage, ran through the first security check point, ran through customs, and to our gate.  We went through another security check point and were able to board the flight last minute.  Whew!  Arriving in Algiers was a fairly pleasant experience with the usual formalities and paper work to fill out.  We quickly retrieved our baggage, changed some money, and found the first bus into the city.  We were told by many people and our Fromers guide not to use the buses, but the it went surprisingly well despite the warnings.  Our next task was to find the Youth Hostel promised on the Internet.  We started walking with full packs toward our objective and eventually stopped to ask if anyone was familiar with the address we were seeking.  A man asked his friend who was overheard by another man dressed entirely in black.  The man in black and his small friend agreed to accompany us to the Youth Hostel since he remembered being there before.  After a 5 km walk with our packs we discovered the hostel is closed until January 2006, and that we would need to walk back to find a hotel.  The man in black stayed with us, helped us find and negotiate a room in what we lovingly call l'Hotel Roach, sat with us through dinner, and has promised to return tomorrow with news of a better hotel and a shower.  Right now we are thankful for our overcrowded rooms (with our little legged friends) and the pit toilet.  Maybe tomorrow will land us a better spot?  Right now we are just tired, washing, and preparing for bed. I also finally heard back from a travel agent in Libya.  He is planning to contact the Libyan embassy here in Algiers to see if it is possible for us to obtain a visa for travel there.  We are hoping...and may find out soon.  Tomorrow we start making our way around the city.  As I am writing this, Stacy is signing with some deaf people here in the Internet Cafe...weird how we make friends along the way.