Blogs from Mauritania, Africa - page 5

While the cities in Mauritania are anything but special, the drive from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott was far and away the highlight of the trip on the Dover to Dakar section. There is a brand new tarmac'd highway linking the two cities, but if we took that it would entirely defeat the purpose of travelling overland. A little sandmatting was certainly worth the effort in order to experience the real Sahara. Part 2 of this drive took us along the beach through a bird sanctuary and national park. When we arrived at the beach we had to wait around for several hours to allow the tide to go out so that there would be a large enough strip of firm sand to drive on. Once the tide was out far enough we were only about 10 to ... read more

Hello Everyone, Well, it's being a while since I posted anything on my blog which I apologize for. No excuse really, just got lazy for some reason. This posting finds me in the middle of Ramadan, though I'm not fasting but it sure is hot here. The other day atar hit 120 degress. Not fun by any means, but the cold season should be coming soon and it does actually get cold here during the night and day. So what has being happening. School ending in June and since most of my students left aoujeft to go home for the summer, their wasn't much for me to do so I went to atar and stayed for about a month. In july dad was kind enough to buy a plane ticket home so I went home for ... read more

Mauritania is not a popular tourist destination. It has two main paved roads; they are so skinny that I held my breath each time our car approached a HUGE overloaded truck (often). The only way to get anywhere is in a small French car that is used as a long-distance taxi, called a bush taxi. It is a fill-and-go policy and the car is not full until there are 4 people in the backseat, and two in the passenger seat...yes two. It is like a bunch of teenagers going to TP someone's house or something, except you are crammed in with at least one enormous woman and her one or more children (who don't count towards the head count). The car stops for prayer time, roadblocks, bathroom breaks, etc. it's really hot and there is no ... read more

Dakhla-NouakchottTom Griffithurl='/Videos/3399.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/3399.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'The Sahara You know you have arrived in West Africa when your old van breaks down in the desert wilderness of No Man's Land, and then again five minutes past the customs check, requiring you and five hastily-gathered Mauritanians to get behind and give it a push. Yes, we made it to Mauritania, and it instantly felt so much more African than Morocco. From the ricketty wooden hut that constituted Mauritanian Immigration at the border, to the old Mercedes taxi blaring out Senegalese pop music, the vibe transformed after crossing the arid border zone. Despite being the last remaining haven of the Moors, and the distinctly Arabophile attitudes of the government, the spirit of West Afr... read more

Since I left you in Morocco, I've travelled south from Marrakech and on to Mauritania via the disputed territory of Western Sahara. Western Sahara, as I found out, was invaded by Morocco in 1975, resulting in a 16 year long guerilla war against the occupation. There's been a cease-fire for ages now, but for the last 15 years the locals have been waiting to vote in a referendum to decide on independence or integration. The Moroccan government spend upwards of US$2 million a day in the region, and it's not difficult to spot what this money is spent on, with police checkpoints every few miles in what is essentially the middle of nowhere! And all for the usual reason ... natural resources - zzzzzzz.... Anyway, the years of guerrilla warfare mean that the country is ... read more