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Mauritania seems to be built of sand only. Endless
plateaus changes slowly into beautiful sand dunes as far
as the eye can see. To avoid the heat of the afternoon
as much as possible you will leave the camp in the early
morning. You make your first pedal strokes while the
sun appears slowly on the horizon. The sunbeams create
long shadows on the road and give the sharp curved sand
dunes a wonderful orange glow. It makes of cycling a
unique and surrealistic experience. It's waiting for
your first fata morgana. The road is straight, flat and
paved with superb black tarmac. Probably you have to
stop for caravans of camels crossing the road. Other
stops along the road you can make in some poor sheds
made of corrugated iron. They provide shelter for the
sun, offer sweet mint tea and sell sometimes refreshing
cold drinks. A coke won't taste better than in the
intense heat of the Mauritanian desert. The camps are
located in the middle of the desert, so you'll
experience the unreal silence of the night and
magnificent starry skies.
The contrast is striking as you leave the emptiness of
the desert and enter the noisy and crowded streets of
Nouakchott, the
capital of Mauritania and the biggest city in the
Sahara.
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It is the city where the desert meets the ocean. You can
visit the colourful fishing harbour or stroll around the
lively town centre where nomadic people sell their
cattle.
Back on the road again the scenery changes into rural
vegetation, country people and domestic animals. The
daily distances become shorter and the temperature
drops. Within two stages you reach the
Diawling National Park
at the north side of the Senegal River. The wetlands are
the home of meter long lizards, wart hogs, pelicans,
flamingos and many other bright coloured birds. The
overwhelming flora and fauna marks a major boundary and
a milestone in the voyage : The Sahara has been crossed! |
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