Last night we spent a convivial evening having dinner with Didier and Pascale, the French couple also in a TD5 Defender, who are staying at Auberge Triskell too. Mousaka and salad was the offering of the evening. Accompanied sadly by non-alcoholic beer. Mauritania is a “dry” country. Today there isn’t…
From our desert camp it was only 180ks’ back to the city. There are police stops every 50 or so k’s and I enjoy trying to avoid giving them a “Fische” a piece of paper with our passport numbers and car registration details. Jen gives me a hard time as…
Last night the wind came from nowhere, just as we were getting our bedding ready in Poki. Without having the Caranex erected the wind is no problem. It is impossible to stop the noise from something flapping. With the portable airconditioning on and wind rocking Poki, we were soon asleep…
Another peaceful night in the isolation of a desert camp. We are approx 30k’s from the road to Chinguetti. We are enroute to Chinguetti. It apparently holds priceless historical Islamic scriptures and records and is also a historic town. Breaking camp and on the road by 10.30am, it’s only 30k’s…
The plan was to visit the White Valley. As we weren’t sure where to find it we were going to follow our fellow campers, a tour group who were staying at Camp Jemal in Terjit. The previous evening we had been talking to the young Mauritanian guy who owned the…
Another desert campsite 1mile in from the road. Bliss. Not too windy this morning and lovely and cool 14degC. Today we are heading for Atar. Despite the miles of flat emptiness that surrounds us here, there are mountains in Mauritania. We’re heading for them and some amazing scenery, according to…
I am delighted to report our mosquito net was a great success. I was concerned it would be claustrophobic and keep in the heat. There isn’t much space between our sleeping platform and the ceiling. However, it was not at all restrictive and felt like sleeping in a protective cocoon.…
A rest day We sure need it. No shower for days and loads of washing to be done. Last night was the first night mosquito’s have played a part in our travels, or more specifically, sleeping. It was easy to get to sleep, we were exhausted. The heat is getting…
Leaving our desert camp we head for the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. Since we crossed the border there has been little in the way of a township. Just huts, tents and tumbledown shacks. My impressions of Mauritania so far are not favourable. Apart from the filth and squalor, the guards we…
An interesting night The wind had subsided over night. The sky was ablaze with stars. The sun didn’t appear over the horizon till around 8am casting a pink glow. The rock in this area has been eroded by wind blown sand and has become filigree.The desert beautiful. Still and peaceful.…