November 5th - Saying goodbye to the desert

So we're finally in Nouakchott after some of the hardest days of my life.

Monday 31st - Border to Bou Laminar Our first day in a new country never goes well, but even though we had remembered that we both felt irrationally optimistic about Mauritania. We got up before dawn and packed up our stuff so we were on the road at first light. The early morning light in the desert, when it’s still cool (25 degrees or so) is the best. We’d slept in an auberge just after the border, and felt happy that we’d successfully done the border crossing bit, which has the reputation of being a bit difficult. The visa cost 240 euros and was biometric - but then they all wanted to take selfies.. A nice man came to help us, and then asked us for a LOT of money - we gave him a fraction of that. Another man was persistent with a fist full of Mauritanian Ouriga, and we changed a tiny bit of money. We’d heard you can use any currency in Mauritania so neither of us was worried, and we felt that the man at the border had to be dodgy. This turned out to be a big mistake. Most people cross the border and go right 40km into Nouadibhou where there are cashpoints and banks. We chose to turn left, 430km or 4 days cycling, towards Nouakchott. 

Things started well, and the Mauritanian tarmac is much smoother and easier on the bottom than the Moroccan version. After 20km we found a tiny shop- looking like an allotment shed, but with “boutique” scribbled on a wall. When we got to the doorway we found the couple running the shop asleep on the floor next to the counter. They had tomatoes! But their bread was stale and disgusting. We stocked up on water, but as we got going again the unmistakable draft of a head wind was beginning to build. Within a few minutes our speed was down to 6mph, and we were seriously struggling. We’d had four days of this in Western Sahara, and it’s just unbelievably hard. Plus here the temperature was already 42 degrees at 10:30am, and there was sand  blowing all over the road (I suppose it is the desert!). After another 20km (at least 2 hours) we reached the only town marked on the map, which turned out to be mainly people hanging around, with a few tiny tiny shops in makeshift sheds or tents. We asked about a cup of coffee, to which the answer was “in Nouakchott!”, and tea, which they agreed they could find (surely we weren’t the first people ever to stop and want a drink?). In the end we had to skip the tea as it was about 30m away from our bikes - 30m of sand - and the effort to move our bikes to the tea was unthinkable. In Morocco we’d have happily left our bikes, unlocked, with all our luggage 30m away, and only once ever did we feel insecure about them. Incredibly through the sand we found an auberge, with bedroom, living room and bathroom, and amazingly effective air conditioning. Outside felt like an oven and the temptation was too great, and we dived inside. A disastrous first day with only 40km or so done. But we also still had the problem, which is the auberge cost almost all of our local money, and we are still 400km away from the nearest cashpoint. In the end we asked everyone we could find, and the auberge owner rustled up a friend prepared to accept dollars (at an exchange rate decided by him….). We spent the afternoon playing backgammon (the trip score is 54 - 36 to Harriet even though I'm the better player) and left again early in the morning. 

Tuesday 1st - Bou Laminar to a police checkpoint - I'm writing this on the 5th and I cannot remember anything about this day - I think I've selectively repressed it as it was absolutely terrible. The heat/wind/sand is unbearable and whenever there was any sign of life it would be a tiny disgusting shop selling biscuits (although obvs I love biscuits). The difference in Morocco is staggering - it makes Morocco look like Farnham. We spent the night in the police checkpoint where they gave us some goaty pasta which was delicious. 

Wednesday 2nd Police checkpoint to police checkpoint - We woke up in the morning full of optimism again, and again it was an absolutely horrendous day. I can't cope with headwinds at the best of times, on club runs with loads of people to hide behind and only in one direction. This was not the best of times. Lorries overtaking with sand flying up and hitting your face, all inside my mouth, clogging up my bike, nothing except biscuits to eat... Occasionally we have moments of joy, like the truck driver who stopped and gave us both a cup of tea. 

Thursday 3rd Police checkpoint to Police checkpoint - Again ANOTHER bad day, and this was even worse for me because we arrived in a village that seemed to be entirely made of fish. I had a 20 year gap from eating fish which has only recently made its first tentative steps towards ending and I was not ready for this. They gave us an entire fish for lunch, the water tasted of fish, the children all smelt like fish, it was hot, it was windy... Anyway this was not good. 

Friday 4th Police checkpoint to Nouakchott - Today we had 103km to do, and there was no way we weren't doing it. We set off very early and gritted our teeth. The wind wasn't as bad as the previous days, and as we got towards the end of the desert there was less sand and it was less unpleasant. We stopped for a quick break at a checkpoint and a policeman gave us 6 satsumas. I was borderline crying I was so happy. At about 30km to go morale was low again, but then like a mirage Gaby and Werner overtook us again! They waited for us at the campsite turning and we followed them to a lovely campsite right on the beach and had a swim. It's amazing how quickly you can forget and be happy again...

Saturday 5th - Rest day in Nouakchott! After a lovely meal in the restaurant last night, we had the famous Gaby and Werner breakfast (it's worth going to Africa just for that) with a swim before, and now we're feeding our wifi addictions in a posh hotel. And.. We've booked flights to Rio! 

I should say that although this post has sounded very negative, there have been real moments of joy and happiness, and the sense of achievement is massive. Plus, the desert is beautiful.