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The next morning—day three—there were more bureaucratic hoops to jump through before we could leave. But mostly for the vehicles so Evelyn and I were able to sit this round out. With Abdellahi to assist, Roger and Thierry took off for town with our passports. It took them hours but fortunately they were able to finish before noon when offices would close for the weekend (which is Thursday and Friday in Mauritania).
Tanguy showed up at our auberge on his bike with the good news that he'd be riding with us. He was planning to stick with the guys in the Mercedes camions but they'd decided to take the train. His ankle was fine by now and he was psyched to ride.
As our lunch was being prepared, we took a drive south down the penninsula. Technically this penninsula is split length-wise between Morocco and Mauritania but the line is disputed and in actuality Mauritania controls the whole thing as part of the greater Nouadhibou area.
The port appeared to be a disaster zone. The natural beauty of the green sea in striking contrast with the post-apocalyptic scene that sits within it. Dozens of wrecked ships in varying levels of decay and submersion lined the coast—abandoned and neglected—like the litter at the edge of town blown up to a grotesque scale.
It was mid-afternoon by the time we actually got going. Nouadhibou being on a penninsula, the route out is the same as the way in; so again with the border posts. |
MAURITANIA
