Thesolowanderer

Sunset over rooftops in Nouakchott.  Mauritania is the country where my housemate says “If it was not for you, I would have never known that this place exists”. Well, today that is the country I will be sharing about. There will be no follow up blogpost on Mauritania, this will be the only one as I didn’t get to do anything there. Ladies washing the dishes outside the flats. Most families cook outside because their houses are not big enough to have a kitchen. Mauritania is a North Western African country. It is an Islamic state, so here you will have to take extra precaution in how you dress. A hijab is not necessary for the ladies. There are a few things about Mauritania that most never discuss, Slavery, female genital mutilation, discrimination against the darker skinned citizens, child labour and human trafficking are prevalent issues and are not hidden. There is extreme poverty in parts of the country where the darker skinned locals live. A herd of goats...

Mauritania is a desert country.  Nouakchott is the capital city of Mauritania. Mauritania is a desert country, bring loads of water and sunscreen. Although there is a caveat to bringing loads of water, this trip has no bathroom breaks. I did not see a toilet anywhere and asking the taxi to stop so you can relieve yourself is a bit tricky as there is no bush and you are driving through the desert. So drink loads of water at your own peril. The local taxi to get to the border Take a taxi from Nouakchott to the border with Senegal. The taxi stops about 1km from the border. There are horse carriages available to take you to the border should you need but it is a walkable distance. When you get to the border, you need to produce a copy of your passport. There is a place to photocopy your passport if you don’t have a copy, and there are guys who can change money for you. The border town  is called Rosso. There are plenty of trucks at the border. there is no ...