Departing Mauritania for the Senegalese border and beyond

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Wednesday
Day 39

My alarm went off at 06:14 so I could squeeze in a shower before breakfast at 7 but I really didn't want to get up. I'd planned on having one the night before but my towel was on the truck and Toni was sleeping up there. I did not want to incur the wrath of Toni (who's lovely and probably wouldn't mind but still). Some people had been having cold showers but mine was hot and with the early morning air still cool, I actually felt refreshed!
I unplugged all my electronics and packed them along with my sleeping bag and toiletries and dragged my bag out to the truck before breakfast, putting the stuff I wanted for the day under my seat. We were on wash-up after everyone had finished eating and loaded everything back onto the truck, ready for an 8am departure. The bill was settled, water bottles were filled and Justice and I went to the corner store for bottles of Coke and Fanta (I love the lemon Fanta) to use up the rest of our money and had a 50um coin left. I felt like a little kid again, going to the corner store with fifty cents and saying 'how much is that? and how much is that?'. Today though, we happily walked away with two lollipops.
Suse was already in the truck manoeuvring her way out the gate, wearing her concentration face. We stood at the gate, myself on the right side telling her how much room she had. It was a total fail at stopping traffic though. In a country where people cross wherever and whenever, seeing someone standing in the middle of the street meant nothing. They just drove around us! Thankfully they stopped when they saw the truck as they would've come off a very poor second....
On we got and off we went, heading to Senegal! After spending so long in Morocco, we were now passing through several countries in only a matter of days. We weren't sure what to expect as our Mauritanian visas had expired the day before but between waiting for our Senegal visa and the fact that the border closes at 6pm (with the last ferry leaving sometime before then), we'd had no choice.
The drive took us through the suburbs of Nouakchott past school yards full of children, donkeys pulling carts piled with produce or water and a goat market with men dressed in blue kept an eye on their animals, waving as we passed.
Through police checks and passing small villages, we made our way towards the border. At the last police check Suse learnt that the bridge crossing we were aiming for was no longer there, the bridge collapsing with a Moroccan truck on it. Eek. Instead, we made for the ferry that would take us across the Senegal River which forms a natural border. We pulled up to a closed gate around 1pm and almost instantly people surrounded the truck. Some called in greeting, some offered us goods and some offered to exchange money. I sat at the window and smiled and waved and chatted a bit but I was tired so my French was even worse than usual. The gate was opened and we drove in, pulling up behind other trucks already waiting. When the engine was switched off, people moved in to sit in the shade our truck offered, lining the left side and lying at the back under the stairs and spare tyres. I really wanted a photo but couldn't, us being at a border. Luckily, I'm told I'll have plenty of opportunities at later stages for the same photo!
Customs was closed until 3pm so with time to kill and no shops, locals offered to buy us bread and soft drinks through the gate we'd just passed through. With the 100um I'd belatedly found in my bag, the man bought me two foot-long baguettes (I'm pretending they're gluten free - I'm SO sick of rice cakes!!) and I squished Laughing Cow cheese (I'm SO sick of Laughing Cow cheese!!) onto one of them.
Suse tried to marry me off in exchange for free insurance (not sure what type!) but I figured I'd hold off and try my luck further down the continent, the offer in Marrakech being hard to beat. Some wandered the short distance to the water's edge or stood in the shade like the locals but I lay on the seats on the truck with my legs up. In busy areas we keep at least three people on the truck at all times for security, just in case. Usually we'd rotate but today, a few of us were happy lying there eating and talking so there was no need.
When immigration and customs reopened after lunch, Suse began completing our departure from Mauritania and with the help of the guys who had been lingering all afternoon (and had bought our food and drinks for us), secured our ferry tickets. Then it all went downhill. We weren't yet cleared and trucks began overtaking us in an effort to get on the ferry. Suse moved our truck forward but not having the paperwork meant we couldn't board and the ferry filled, leaving without us. We heard conflicting stories: there were no more ferries until tomorrow, there is another one in five minutes. And then, we learnt that our ferry tickets had been stolen. Denise had been sitting up front and came back to collect any money people had left to pool together for new tickets which Suse bought and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when we moved forward and onto the ferry (which is really more like a barge). From our high vantage point on the truck, we looked down on boys selling sunglasses, a mother breastfeeding her son and others dressed in a variety of traditional and Western clothing. On the water, men paddled the long wide canoe-like boats with passengers or goods and as we drew closer to the shore, we saw women washing clothes, children splashing in the shallows and people just about everywhere. We were tossed about as we drove off the ferry, the short drive made more difficult by people darting in front of our truck. Officials stopped us and Suse began organising our entry but it wasn't quick and with no breeze, the truck was like a sauna in no time. Patience was in short supply and I lay down with my head on my pillow and tried to stay out of the sun. A cheer went up when we heard the truck start and after lurching forward, we began the 100km journey to St. Louis.
It was an hour and a bit when we hit the outskirts of town and dusk had already arrived. Traffic was chaotic at best with some cars driving without lights, minivan buses with people hanging off the back, goats, dogs and children running in every direction and music blaring intermittently along the street. Suse flagged down a taxi to show us where the campsite was and we followed him, his hazard lights flashing so we didn't lose him.
None of us on the truck have been to Senegal, including Suse, so we were at the windows watching. We crossed a bridge to the old city, full of colonial style buildings and streets not really designed for a truck of our size. With relief, we finally arrived at the campsite (I'd been bursting for the bathroom) and we put our tents up in the soft white sand with the waves crashing behind the row of trees and made a beeline for the open air bar. I don't think they'd had many campers in recent months and definitely not ones who were craving beer after dry Mauritania. Cook group did an excellent job of feeding us quickly and we settled in the deck chairs and enjoyed the night sky.
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Thursday
Day 40

What a night. A handful of us stayed up way beyond any good bed time and Denise and I were still up at 2am watching YouTube videos with the guy behind the bar. As you do. Jareb and Brian had decided to sleep outside and we dragged our mattresses and sleeping bags out to join them under the stars. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep straightaway but woke at first light to a wet sleeping bag and mat covered in sand. Sigh. It wasn't nearly enough sleep but I knew it was a few hours to Dakar so I wasn't too fussed; I could sleep all the way.
What I hadn't banked on was wanting to kneel at the open windows and take in the sights and sounds. The streets were narrow and at one stage we had to pass so close to another truck that we literally only had inches between us. Both trucks had their wing mirrors folded in while they squeezed by and people shouted instructions to the two drivers. The shores of the river were a hive of activity. Men repaired their fishing nets; there were wooden tables filled with fish of various shapes and sizes cooked in a variety of ways; an older man carried a kid under one arm while two goats followed closely; colourful trucks were unloading their daily catch and again there were people EVERYWHERE. Us tourists were of course mesmerised and had our cameras at the ready and every third person was fine with us leaning out and taking photos. The rest shouted, wagged their fingers at us or gave us dirty looks. It was hard to know what to do when kids asked us to take photos of them while the adults yelled not to take photos of them. In the end we all put them away and just enjoyed the moment.
Then I slept. I barely stirred when the truck stopped for police checks or toilet breaks and belatedly realised that skipping lunch meant I arrived in Dakar rather grumpy. Once again we followed a taxi and when we arrived, none of us could say we were overly impressed with the look of it. It's the closest campsite to the city centre (all the others are 60km or more out of town) and I assumed that like Rabat, we were therefore a captive audience. How wrong were we! I grabbed my tent and slowly made my way past all the people milling around. Once we were through the front gate, we realised it was pretty special. Paved paths took us past bungalows towards a restaurant and bar and beyond that was a beautiful beach. And we were to put our tents up on the beach! With kites overhead (of the bird kind rather than the plastic kind) and a crown crested crane (the national bird of Uganda; he's obviously on holidays up here) prancing around on the sand, the local men practising their wrestling and others in the water, it really felt like I was in Africa. And I am. We're now in sub-Saharan Africa and my mood lifted as I put up my tent.
In the end though, after looking in Ben and Steph's bungalow, I decided to treat myself and upgrade to a room. It's rather expensive for what you get but it gives me time on my own which is priceless. It has a mirror so I can see my ridiculous tan lines, air/con and a mosquito net already hung over the bed under which I now lie. It'll be my first night sleeping under one - though not the last for sure! Someone is nearby singing 'Don't Worry Be Happy' which pretty much sums it all up rather fittingly...
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Friday
Day 41

I slept great last night, just not long enough so after turning my alarm off at 8am, I fell asleep again until almost 9. Breakfast is included in the price of the room so I sat watching the tennis in Monte Carlo and listened to the waves behind me with a glass of fresh mango juice (I wouldn't usually eat mangoes but it was nice) and a basket of croissants and bread.
After a bit of umming and ahhing I decided to head into town with a few others and we piled into two taxis (no more of this six squished in business!). There were people and cars and trucks everywhere, blaring horns, shouting and general chaos - and I'm told this is nothing compared to Nigeria! As soon as we stepped from the car, it began. Waiting for the ATM we were surrounded by people selling watches, sunglasses, local instruments, t-shirts, phone cards, SIM cards and bizarrely, pictures made from butterfly wings. They were beautiful but I doubt the all butterflies it took to make each one died naturally...
I changed Euro into Central African Francs which I'll also be able to use in Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo and from there, we strolled through the streets, accosted by people constantly. Everyone in this city seemingly owns a factory of sorts and obviously all want you to visit 'even just to look, no buy'. It gets really tiring really quickly but there's no point getting grumpy so I answered all their questions, listened to their rhetoric and politely but firmly declined. A few men looked shady but being a group of five, we watched out for each other and it was all good.
Turning down a quieter side street we passed several barbers set up in little more than a shack. Most of the guys on the trip are in a beard growing competition but Ben wanted his head shaved. Pictures adorned each place showing the styles you could get and one even had Obama in front of the American flag shaved onto someone's head! Nico and I walked across the street (seriously, no small feat) to the N'ice Cream store and I got passionfruit yoghurt and grapefruit sorbet in a cup which was a treat, it being the first time I've had ice cream on the trip.
Finding an internet cafe, two went online while we three went looking for coffee. We didn't find any but we did find a lady making egg rolls, her gas bottle sitting inside a cardboard box. Justice ordered one and for the equivalent of $US1, two eggs were scrambled with spices and put in a foot long baguette with chopped onion sprinkled on top. He said it was excellent. I sat and chatted to her (or at least attempted to) and found her name was Adama. I asked for a photo but she declined so respecting her wishes, I put the camera away. The set up was so cool though, so simple, I wish I could've taken one.
From there we'd had enough so we piled five into a taxi and headed back to the campsite. I did some washing, ate and then tried to nap but no luck. We were heading out after dinner so it would've been good but I've never been much of a napper.
After dinner I showered and the other girls and I got ready in my room, making use of the mirror to put on makeup for the first time since our night out in Marrakech (for me, anyway). Things weren't much different to back home. Even without having many clothes to choose from we still changed outfits more than once! After spraying on DEET rather than perfume, we piled into three taxis that took us to a local bar 15 minutes away with live music. At first we were pretty much the only people there but as soon as the act started, I realised the room had filled. A tiny pretty woman in jeans and heels sang upbeat tunes, backed by two guitarists and a drummer before being joined by a saxophonist. Shortly after, a traditionally dressed woman in small kitten heels who towered over the other woman appeared on stage and together their voices blended. The crowd loved it. We drank mojitos and beer and talked and laughed and at 3am when the band took a break, the majority of us decided to head back, stopping for burgers first!
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Saturday
Day 42

I woke at 10am when Britt knocked on my door to say they were heading into town at 11. Somehow I managed to drag myself out of bed and do the rest of my washing (there were only two coat hangers supplied and three nails randomly sticking out of the ceiling beams) before throwing on clothes and meeting everyone at reception. Being nine people, we found a driver willing to take five and the negotiating began. I've finally mastered the art of The Walk Away (at least in Senegal). We know the taxi to town should only cost 1,500 and he asked for 5,000 for the two taxis. I said 3,500 (the extra 500 being for the extra person in the car) and they made the shocked faces and refused. I thanked them and walked away, everyone following. 'Okay, okay' we heard behind us and we doubled back and jumped in.
Once in town, the hawkers appeared again but this time we were on a mission. We made a beeline for a pharmacy to pick up more anti-malaria pills and other stuff and the English-speaking French woman told us where a big supermarket was. It was hard to find because when someone says 'keep walking straight', how do you know when to stop? Obviously when you find it but we were walking and walking and hadn't come across it so we asked a local and sure enough all we had to do was cross the road.
There we picked up bug spray and lunch supplies. I bought a thermos and packet soups in an attempt to mix up my diet as well as canned fruit. Thankfully I'd brought a backpack and could throw the heavy stuff in that before setting off for the market, Justice and I intent on finding the egg sandwich lady from yesterday.
Alas, it was Saturday and she wasn't there so we turned back towards the market dejected. Then someone spotted a small stand just off the corner and we met Omar who invited us to sit on the bench behind his compact stand and we watched as he made the eggs and added chopped tomatoes instead of onions. Heaven, all for $US1. I wonder what reaction I'd get if I went back to New York or to Melbourne and asked for a two egg omelette and chopped tomatoes in a foot long baguette for that price...
On full stomachs we began looking for food for dinner. With a vague idea of making a chicken stir fry with mango and rice, we picked up onions and mangoes easily enough before venturing deeper into the chaos. Green peppers were expensive but red peppers even more so; carrots were dearer than green beans and overall, prices were far more expensive than we'd encountered in Mauritania or even most of Morocco. In the end we settled on green peppers, green beans and onions (not very colourful but we figured the mango would liven it up!) and went in search of meat. I was all for vetoing the chicken as all we could find was live ones! It made sense in the heat but there was no way I was that game and so we made our way to the meat stand on the corner of a busy intersection and picked up some unidentified red meat. Having learnt my lesson in Nouakchott, I watched carefully as he weighed it and saw he'd somehow managed to get bones in underneath. Like a magician, I've no idea how he did it when the three of us are watching him and when I pulled him up on it he happily removed it.
Feeling drained, we hailed one last taxi and went back to camp, Jareb and I climbing the short dirt track behind the truck to buy bread and eggs, going over budget due to fatigue and a lack of bargaining. But you know, sometimes paying the equivalent of $US4 is a small price to pay.
We began prepping at 18:00 with the intention of eating at 19:30 but it soon went haywire. Birds nesting overhead were coming in for the night and their poop narrowly missed several bowls of food. The food covered, we waited for the water to boil which took forever. Long story short (this entire blog is far too long!), we ate at 20:45. Suse had already gone to bed, expecting a long day tomorrow and the rest of us ate in the dark, aided only by a handful of head torches. Not quite what we'd had in mind...
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Sunday
Day 43

My head and nose are stuffed. I'm getting sick. Didn't sleep too well so I was already awake when the alarm went off at 05:30. I showered and finished packing and took everything out to the truck who was sitting pretty in her new shoes (Suse had new tyres fitted yesterday). Breakfast consisted of hard boiled eggs we'd prepared the night before and baguettes so I wrapped mine in foil to have it for lunch and ate the croissants again at the restaurant.
At 07:30 we were off, trying to beat the rush hour traffic. I had planned to sleep but sat talking and looking out of the window and within two hours of departure, it was HOT. By the time we stopped for dinner supplies it was unbearably so. What little breeze there was was also hot and we were all dripping within minutes. It's taking me ages to write this in between sneezing, losing concentration and wiping sweat from my forehead. Lovely. Even more so when we hear that the night time temperature will be 27C (82F) and we're now in full-blown malaria country so none of this running around in tank tops and shorts. Boo.
We passed through a small town and Suse will always slow down even more than the speed limit requires in case children or animals dart onto the road. There were shouts from the other end of the truck and looking out the window, I saw a small twister, moving at a fair pace through the back of the village. Having reached the town limits Suse picked up speed so I couldn't get a photo but it was an unexpected sight out here!
We drove on until the sun started going down because it's too warm to stop any earlier. A solid dirt road led off the main road to the right and we followed it a short distance until we came to a clearing. The ground was sandy as we set up our tents and few put their rain covers on, hoping the breeze would blow through and cool us down.
00:44. Woken up by sand blowing in and then drops of rain. Had to get dressed to go put on the rain sheet. Awesome. Sand still coming in underneath. Grr.

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Photos

Border crossing
Locals crossing from Senegal to Mauritania

Rush hour
We actually managed to get through this in the truck!

Stinky
Fish left to dry in the sun for a reeeally long time...

Lunch
A two egg omelette with diced tomato on a baguette for $US1. Yes please!

Heavy loads
Women traditionally carry items on their heads and many suffer from compressed spines. I can't imagine.

Overload
And this wasn't even the biggest load we saw!

It's a baobab tree!!
I was quite excited to see them...

Ooooww
Acacia thorns are everywhere and even pierce through the flip flops

Copycats
I crouched down to take a photos of these guys and they crouched down along with me!

Hard workers
These boys have hoes and are out in the fields in the blistering sun

Collecting salt
We passed these people along the side of the road

Comments

[Home and Away]

Great to see your pictures...
and am enjoying your adventure!

[The Travel Camel]

His fame in Africa knows no bounds!
I've come across Obama products and services in East Africa (Kenya and Ethiopia) as well.