Hotel Ikrama Nouakchott

... covered area to hang out in and all sorts of odds and ends including chickens, trinckets and a vast collection of wonderful wooden doors!

As i drank one of my many litres of l'eau outside under the canopy i came across Mick and his motorbike. We hit it off straight away and as he is driving solo from Spain to South Africa and we are also embarking on an adventure and half we had many notes to compare in the comfort of 'The Bab'. By midday Stu had surfaced from ...

... a series of small but suspicious incidents that this man was more than met the eye. Although a very generous and kind character, he commanded the respect and attention of all in his path including the intimidating border guards. Getting through the border being his passengers was perfect! After an extremely treacherous ride through the 'no man's land' that lyes between the two countries and still has live land mines ...

... but also himself from a much larger wet patch. Suffice to say we stayed at that pub for quite a while before heading to a place called mojo's, which was a cool, packed, pumping little place. We all caught a taxi home in the early hours, having missed the last light rails and being a little intoxicated. Day 5 was a slow day - it might have been hangover induced!! - and in the evening mama took all the family (and me) out to dinner. Nina, mama, Clare, Dave, Paul, Vicky, and little Joe ...

... would make a rock concert sound loud.


While in the Nouakchott the guidebook Lonely Planet recommended that no trip to the capital is complete without a trip to the Fish market. Well, take it from me, its not that good.....



Well, at this point its official my computer has **** itself and not working, I'm no longer happy. I think the cold, heat, sun, rain and worst of all the sand has finally killed it.....

... learnt the technique of "sand-matting" the truck across 150 metres of soft sand - which involved digging out the wheels, placing sand mats (steel 2m tracks) in front of the wheels, and moving the truck far enough along the track to allow placement of another sandmat....a slow and exhausting process in 39 degree heat.

Over the next couple of days we got bogged and blew tyres frequently - the worse involving digging the truck out of soft sand for 6 ...

... treating us to a "Broai" and BBQ'ing it in beer and coke. Sounds interesting tastes delicious. Can always rely on Saffers to cook good meat. Whilst waiting for dinner us girls discovered another lovely drink, namely red wine with cherry vodka. Mmmm tasty. I'm starting to worry that by the time I get back to reality my tastebuds will be so shot I'll no longer have appreciation for champagne... nahhh not going to happen!!!

... Sam and Suzy. Being told of a good burger place just down the way we set up tent, changed some money and went in search of it, finding it conveniently situated just around the corner. It didn't look like much... actually it looked closed... but when we all piled in chairs and tables were placed outside and it all kinda came to life. With Oliver's ankle still playing up he stayed back at the campsite so I ...

... Baby, Abdramane, fanfarrão, muito simpatico. Começou a saga para tentar fazer dinheiro para o combustivel. Precisamos de 3 tanques cheios para chegar a Bamako, 2 no minimo para chegar a fronteira. Objectivo inicial fixou-se em 3, mas as coisas não se vendiam, a conta do Baby estava a zeros, o desespero começava a instalar-se nas hostes malianas. Os dias passaram. Foram quentes, muito quentes. A temperatura chegou aos 40° facilmente segundo os locais. Foram os ...

... full-length jelabba and headscarves, while she flaunts her best Levis and skinny-fit top.  Everyone seems to be smiling so perhaps there is no issue to speak of. FINDING OUR FEET - by Derek One of the books we have read - Peter Moore's "The Wrong Way Home" - has the following quote: "The ability to instantly assess the motives of people is a skill you learn pretty quickly when you travel.  Nearly every day you are put in a situation where you have to decide whether or not to trust ...

... a day - usually mid-afternoon.  We had varying reports from people in the town as to the departure time, varying from 1pm to 4pm.  To be on the safe side (and hopefully to nab one of the coveted 'beds') we arrived at midday.  To cut a long story short, the train eventually arrived at 7pm, and we did not get a bed.  As the train pulled up there was an almighty rush of humanity to the back of the train, heading towards the passenger carriages.  Something like a very ...