Blogs from Chinguetti, Adrar, Mauritania, Africa

Quando una nazione genera quasi il 50% delle sue esportazioni da un solo prodotto, si suppone che per lo meno abbia sviluppato le infrastrutture necessarie ad una sua rapida e sicura movimentazione. Tanto di cappello percio' alla Mauritania, un paese quasi del tutto sprovvisto di trasporti pubblici ma che scarrozza il suo prezioso minerale ferroso da una miniera in pieno deserto fino ad un porto sull'oceano bene al sicuro su di un convoglio di piu' di 200 carri merci che vanno a formare uno dei treni piu' lunghi e pesanti al mondo; grazie alla SNIM (la Societa' Nazionale delle Miniere e delle Industrie) la Mauritania si assicura anche una forma di trasporto pubblico del tutto insperata: una carrozza passeggeri viene agganciata in fondo alla fila e cosi', partendo da Nouadhibou sulla costa, i mauritani possono raggiungere ... read more

So the trip in the desert has been going reasonably well. Not exactly what I wanted but at least I am seeing beautiful dunes and oasis. Tonight, my third night outside on the dunes and it seems like the best place yet. Last night was shitty as I was next to the town and in the open. My God is it hot during the day. I spend 12 and 5 pm at the Oasis reading (I just finished Margret Atwood’s “Oryx and Crake” --- it’s very good) and drinking water. Actually I have two guides --- I feel like a true colonial overlord. I was somewhat uncomfortable about this at first but I’m getting used to it. There’s plenty to eat --- last night we had camel stew and bread cooked in the sand. The stew ... read more

chinguetti was beautiful, but I dont feel like writting about it much. just check the pictures, Ill post something else instead in a while... oh yeah, just wanted to say that if you want to go to chinguetti you should go noow. since the killing of a bunch of frenchies in mauritania its a dessert city. me and the ppl that came with me were the only tourists in the city, and besides some CIA spies, I mean peace-corps volunteers, also the only whites (nassar in hassanian arab, a word I start to hear more and more in sentences such as: youre not like the other nassar, you dont buy stuff, you poor !)... read more

Vandaag gaan we richting Chinguetti een rustplaats voor de vroegere kameel karavaans richting het zuiden of richting Mekka, het begin van de ''echte'' Sahara, zoals iedereen hem kent met z'n eindeloze zandduinen. Rond negen gaan we richting ''garage Chinguetti'' de verzamelplaats van pick-ups richting Chinguetti. Zoals gewoonlijk is het na de onderhandelingen over de juiste prijs wachten tot de pick-up vol zit, dat wil zeggen, twee mensen op de bijrijderstoel, vier mensen achterin en minimaal acht in de bak, het vullen van de pick-ups duurt meestal wel een paar uur, dus rond twaalven vertrekken we richting Chinguetti. De bak is afgeladen, met onze bagage, een paar dozen bananen, twee reserve wielen, twee geiten aan de zijkant gebonden, en boven op acht personen, waaronder ik dus. De weg is opzich goed dus we kunnen aardig door rijden ... read more