Blogs from Mauritania, Africa

FOtki na razie, wpis będzie z czasem.... read more

Stasiek wraca z wizami :) Wojtek cisnie na gaz pedzimy w strone granicy,nocleg 100km przed granica, mile sniadanie i na granice. Zatrzymuje nas policja i sprawdzaja sie niepokoje wojtka,pytaja o ubezpieczenie ktore skonczylo sie dwa dni wczesniej ze wzgledu na czekanie na wize.Na szczescie skonczylo sie na mandacie za niby przekroczenie predkosci . Jestesmy w Mauretanii,przestrzegani przez wszystkich jaka Mauretania ciezka i niezyczliwa czekamy w strachu na pierwsze posterunki. Pierwsza kontrol dokumetow prosza o fiszki dajemy fotokopie paszportow, Bon voyage i jedziemy dalej, tak kolejne posterunki nie wiemy o co chodzi nikt nie wsadza lapy do samochodu po kase. Ibrahim ten od kawalu jadac z nami do Dakhli mowil "Ci zolnierze na granicy tak gadaja na tych mauretanczykow a tak naprawde to oni sa gorsi,nie chcieli mnie puscic na granicy jak nie dam im 50euro,mimo ... read more

Will there be somewhere for me to sit down, lay down? Will I have to stand up the whole time? What about a toilet? Will I be able to breath? Where’s my luggage going to go? Even if I am able to sit or lay down, what’s the state of the floor or seat? Will I be able to cope catching an iron ore train for 12 hours not equipped for humans and getting sand blasted by the Sahara for my troubles? I crossed over from Morocco and we cross the train line, which was going through maintenance so that brought confidence and concern at the same time. I reached Nouadhibou, which is the second biggest city in Mauritania. It is used for its port and is a desert landscape. It is also the location to ... read more

Cute, very cute we were, but even more naive....The bus ride from Bamako to Nouakchott was indeed a bit more than the promised 30 hours, which I also mentioned in the previous blog entry. I would have settled for 40, but in the end it became 50 hours. Ok truth be told: we arrived just a bit too late at the border, so we were forced to sleep there. But the Mauritanian customs were nice and suggested to sleep next to the cabin of the border police: more safe. Ok safe it was, but still cold.... But the ride in itself was uneventful, too many 'security' checks, but that's ok. The bus attendants wanted to collect bribe money to pay the police at the checkpoint, but we did not fall for it. They explained that we ... read more

Met a german with dreads and a van to give us a 700km lift south into Mauritania. slept in the dessert on the way, dodged camels, and traversed landmine infested terrain. border was a bit of a deal. took 5 hours to cross due to paper work and double checks.. looking at our passports again and again. inbetween mauritania and morocco theres 5 km of no mans land. with no road, local nomades offer to guide you through for 10 euros. if you go solo without their help it can be risky: fake tracks in the sand, with traps just over the hill, once you get stuck sudenly they want 100 euros to pull you out. anyway.. aparently the german knew what he was doing more or less and we made it through by following a ... read more

Climbed into the iron ore train after only an hour of waiting.I'm pretty sure I was the only female in the open bines section (no ticket required), and definitely the only tourist, but I got lucky and rode with three very nice and experienced guys. They had warm blankets and quickly set up a sand firepit in the corner and we had a freshly cooked beef stew tangine and plenty of tea for the trip. The open desert and starry night were wonderful, and the train was a lot more comfortable than expected, even got some good sleep in between the occasional jolt of cars crashing together. Arrived in Zuerat, feeling quite safe despite the hype; one thing that helps is that every police or army officer i have met has been very nice and there ... read more