13 May Mauritania: Chinguetti Road

Hello everyone, I'm writing this entry from the dunes of Chinguetti, it's a starry night like few others, so I'm going to sleep outdoors. What better place than here to spend my last night watching over the safety of the free world.

In the distance I hear distant drums again, but tonight I'm not going out to look for them, nothing is going to get me off the dune. I'm getting tender again (this damn crazy hormone...). It's just that on nights like this I don't want to be alone, I feel the need to be with my friends.

artirlas, so that you understand what I mean and why I am so hooked. Anyway, I wish you were here (inshaala).

The bad thing about sleeping under the stars is that the sun, the flies and the singing of the muezzin will wake me up very early, although I don't mind too much as I will be able to see how the herds of camels come to water at the wells.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because this trip doesn't start here, but in Nouakchott, where I went with the excuse of attending some meetings. Just to see the dunes, the fishing and the markets of the capital, it's worth the effort to swallow all the meetings they throw at you (although sometimes they make it very difficult for me).

So, after a day of meetings without mercy and in spite of being tired from the mental effort made (to which I am very used to...), I decided that instead of taking a nap, which is what my body was asking me to do, I would go to see the arrival of the fishermen at sunset. That way I could post some pictures on the blog. What I don't do to get followers... (have you subscribed yet? Look, there are going to be surprise gifts for the new ones).

I am also going to show you their markets. I see all African markets as equal and special at the same time, and believe me, this one won't leave you indifferent either. A few years ago I bought an authentic "trolex" in this market, and as it marks African times and gets a bit confused with the duration of the minutes, I went back in search of the person who sold it to me, in case it was still under guarantee...

On the way to Nouadhibou it is curious that on the left hand side of the road the dunes are white (those of the sea), and on the right hand side they are orange (those of the Sahara). These, by the colour, must be the white ones.,

and these will be the orange ones (I assure you that in real life the difference in colour is much more noticeable).

It always strikes me that despite the harshness of life in this area, everything is dotted with spectacular sites and moments, or at least I see them that way.

Did you know that the roots of an acacia tree can reach a depth of 20 metres in search of water?

The Chinguetti road has some incredible places, but among them my favourites are the Almojar pass.

and the city of Atar, on a market day.

But Chinguetti is a big word. I've been wanting to come for years, and here I am. I have not been disappointed at all.

And if you are lucky enough to be invited to Alfonso's house, even better. With views of the great dune.

Alfonso is a new friend who has welcomed me as if we were lifelong friends.

He is also the soul of a necessary project that has become a reality, the hospital of Chinguetti. Here is his link so that you can visit him and be encouraged to cooperate. It's worth it, really www.fundacionchinguetti.com

This is what you can see from your house, on the other side of the wadi, and you will never tire of looking...

Chinguetti is one of the seven holy cities of Islam. Founded in 777, it has been a meeting place for pilgrimages to Mecca, a centre of Islamic studies and a crossing point for caravan routes. If you come, you can't miss the mosque, the libraries and the great dune, and of course, a stroll through its streets.

A little further east is the city of Ouadane, which, like Chinguetti, is also a World Heritage Site, but I couldn't get there for lack of time. So I'm going to have to go back, it's bad luck...

I'll leave you now, I've hardly had a gin and tonic for a week now as alcohol has been banned in bars for the last two months, so when I go to El Lateral I'm going to arrive like these camels, who haven't had a drink for three days.

As I said at the beginning, if God forbid and I get a job in the former Upper Volta, I will have to move to Norfolk (Virginia) this summer. There will be more trips, but they will be different, this is my last night in the fight against the forces of evil, from tomorrow the world will be less safe, or not, what a mess...

To be continued...

Pd: Let me know which photo you liked the most, there will be some, I say.