The moon was quite bright so we were able to see huge herds of camels and see the herders' tents. There were large rectangular blue PVC 'pillows' of water beside each tent community which we deduced would have been filled with water from tankers plying the main highway and probably the only way the nomads could get water while on the move. They could be easily rolled up and carried by camel when empty.
We arrived in the dark at just before midnight at the Global bus office and had no map and no idea where we were. Of course we expected to be chased by taxi touts but there were only enough cars for the families who had ordered them and we were left alone on the side of the road. We had no choice but to flag down any lights coming towards us and hope they were a taxi or would give us a ride to the campement we wanted to stay at. Someone did stop and after dropping off his two passengers took us to the camp where we wanted to stay.
Even though it was after midnight there were women and children sitting on mats on the floor eating food. They found a male to take us to our room.
We were lucky enough to get the largest room with three narrow thick foam mattresses on the carpetted floor. The other six rooms were rather cell-like. The bathroom was a long walk across the sandy car park and we had a key for this as the locals from the shops nearby used the other two unlocked toilets and showers. There was even a gas water heater to have a hot shower. At one end of the rooms was an open kitchen with a gas cooker where we could cook if we wanted. In the morning we met Rina from Japan and Axel from Sweden.
Rina was planning on a year in Africa and had been to Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco first. She planned to take the longest train in the world, 2.3 kms long. The train carries iron ore from Zouerat to Nouadhibou and has only one passenger carriage which gets really crowded. If you ride in the empty ore bins it is free and we met a young French guy who did this. He got covered in dust from the ore and it went all through his pack. Each time the wagons slowed they clunked and crashed so he couldn't sleep and at night he froze even with all his gear on. We would have liked to have gone to the Adrar area too but the summer temperatures can get to the high 50's so we decided to add it to the bucket list. Axel planned to do the same trip but we never saw him again as he headed off to stay with a Senegalese family he had met in town.
There was nothing else in our room except for the three mattresses and a small table but it was warm at night and cool in the day. There were two wooden shutters that covered the window holes to keep the sand out and let light in, as well as one light bulb.
The kitchen walls were covered with copies of photos of groups who stayed here in the heyday of 1997 when there was a huge camel herders' tent in the yard. The tent has gone and looks like nothing has been done to the place since then.
Some of the houses and shops on the outskirts of town built from recycled wooden crates or pallets.
The wind was cold and we put on jackets for the first time in about three months. The local men dressed in their blue or white traditional gowns with western clothes underneath. The gowns were billowing in the wind and to stop being blown off or blown along like a parachute kite, this man had to wrap himself up tightly.
I was not feeling well with a cough and runny nose and needed to rest and stay warm. John went for a walk to check out the port and fishing. The seas are overfished but Mauritania has given licences to European fleets. There are dozens of partly submerged ship wrecks rusting away
amongst the trawlers in the bay.
On the shore there are racks of drying fish.
We were able to find a pretty fast internet shop and a nice place to eat rotisserie cooked chicken with chips. The people we met who had come to Mauritania all said there was not much here and not a lot ot do. We had not planned on spending too much time here and would have liked to have spent more just appreciating the gentle nature of the people.
We were able to find a pretty fast internet shop and a nice place to eat rotisserie cooked chicken with chips. The people we met who had come to Mauritania all said there was not much here and not a lot ot do. We had not planned on spending too much time here and would have liked to have spent more just appreciating the gentle nature of the people.
It is noticeable after Senegal how pale skinned the people are. The only worker in the camp was black. He had come to Mauritania from Mali, but ran out of money so the owner gave him a job cleaning the place and running errands for the women in the family house at the front of the camp.
Mauritania has outlawed slavery several times but it seems people are still slaves here. Read more http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/06/the-country-where-slavery-is-still-normal/241148/
