Nema to Basskounou

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We were told that this route wasn’t passable in the rainy season, but there was a track going up on the escarpment that was being used by 4X4s at the time. We left Nema around midday, and drove straight up a track going up the escarpment, which led us to scrubby pastures populated by many goats and camels. The tracks were quite waterlogged and we got stuck quite often - we pushed of mud holes, just to get covered in mud from the skidding tires!

At lunch / prayer time, a berber family brought zreg (camel/goat milk) to us from their camp on a hillock above the grass, which was shared among all 16 or so passengers, and a fire was prepared for tea, which once again was shared out evenly.

The day went on like this - getting bogged down, and stopping for tea and prayers - and eventually we reached Basskounou by nightfall. It was a great insight into rural Mauritanian life and the nomadic berbers that live there.

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