Novotel Nouakchott

... heat of the desert in Chinguetti but we checked out the red sandy city and saw what was forerly the centre of Mauritania. It made me a bit sad to see a place so beautiful but so reliant on tourists that just are not there. The locals were lovely and as we were the only travellers to be seen we were treated to some incredible company and culinary delights but doing the short trip back to 'The Bab' to eventually end up in Noukschott waswelcomed if i am honest.

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... nothing surprised us! Soon we were deposited to the door of our hotel but had some strange suspect packages in tow too?!

Totally confused and fatigued, far-fetched stories of Saharan scams and Moroccan mafia made our wait for Majit all the more exciting! When we were finally greeted by his cool, calm character, the boxes were barely mentioned and we were left alone and amused at Auberge Abba.

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... el-Atrous, Timbedgha and Nema before trying to head up to Oualata. Temp hit 40C in back of truck...oh how fun that was. Had our 1st bogging in sand tyring to turn around, took 20 mins to dig out..it ended up that we didn't need to turn around. Tried to cross an old river canal later on that was all soft sand, resulting in 2hrs of sandmatting and digging. Camped on the other side of the canal.



Dist cov. = 330 km

... goodbye b43 we head home. Our last day in Manchester we shopped at the supermarket and cooked the whole family a nice big roast lamb. We figured it would be the last one for a while!! On Monday 9th March we left for Gibraltar. The flight was uneventful and sadly we were not on the rock side when we landed on the tiny little airstrip which divides gib from Spain...literally the plane needed to touch down as soon as the runway started (which was interesting as it was an over-sea ...

... excited by the challenges that overlanding provide and the others who neglected to consider that driving through Africa can sometimes be hardwork, requiring everyone of the truck to pick up a shovel and contribute.

Overall, Mauritania provided beautiful scenery, colourful people and a memorable overlanding challenge....including not showering for over a week and learning more about the people in which I'm sharing this long and wonder-filled journey.

... matter, I get into a zone and HATE being interrupted, especially when it's the last internet stop for a week or so. But as I am trying to change certain aspects of myself I figured this was one of them so politely pushed the keyboard in and had a conversation with him for that hour. I would like to say I walked away fulfilled with the fact that I hadn't brushed him off or ignored him but I ...

... from us. Some females came into the shop and kinda stood around us... then other people started running. Within seconds armed trucks filled the street - the kind where two people stand up on the back with a big sod off stationary gun. Nice. And then the tear gas began to fall. I looked back to the shop owner who was now gesturing for us to get up and come inside. Clara and Luke were like "Quick, it's tear ...

... que encontrasse, alongado no colchão que o Baby comprou para os gémeos dele. Salvou-me a vida esse colchão. Fomos vagabundos durante 5 dias. No quarto dia o Abdramane começou a dar-me mais conversa, insistiu que eu ligasse a minha miuda e não se contentou com toque, disse para ligar mesmo e dar-lhe o numero. Ainda bem, caso contrario não ia funcionar porque aparecia "num privado" no telelé da Viuma. Também foi ele que me comprou alimentos para o fim da hora ...

... south in the country the 'hassle' diminished, there is still a continual procession of people wanting to speak to you.  Some out of genuine inquisitiveness or a desire to share their home with you, but many see a couple of westerners with backpacks as their prize cash cows which are to be milked as much as possible.  We met people whose generosity extended far beyond the call of duty - the guys who took us from Assilah to Rabat  ...but we also met some complete pains - the taxi ...

... When the windows were closed it was hot and stuffy; when the windows were open a sand storm whipped through the carriage.  At 7am the following morning we stumbled off the train dazed and confused.  There then followed a 4 hour journey in a pick-up truck to Atar, which in many ways was just as bad - barely existent roads across sand and rocks (aka 'piste') that was incredibly difficult on the bum - particularly when you are crammed in like sardines in an overcrowded van ...