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Mauritania is hot .. very hot .. but during the Summer months it is far less humid than other
West African countries farther South. In August 2006, I travelled North from a hot and humid,
'rainy-season Gambia' to accept another kind and generous invitation to stay with my friend
and fellow bead enthusiast Gabriel .. in Mauriatania's capital city of Nouakchott.
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Following
successful buying visits to the local bead dealers, we set off North to explore the countryside and visit the famous town of Chinguetti, the seventh holiest city of Islam,
keeper of precious manuscripts dating from the 11th century and some 500 kilometres away.
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Much has already been written in previous Mauritanian trips on this Website, about
the comfort of travelling in, what is to me unaccustomed, style across Mauritania's 'desert wastes' with Gabriel.
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His generosity, local knowledge and driving
skills were once again very much appreciated.
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Setting off early in the morning .. with emergency equipment, food, water and enough spares of everything to ensure that
if we had a problem, we would be self sufficient .. we headed up the straight
tarmac road for kilometre after kilometre
of a relatively unchanging landscape, containing virtually nothing of even the
remotest interest.
We can usually find something of interest to point out and discuss .. but it became increasingly more difficult to do so !! I sincerely hoped this was not all we would see on our journey.
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Thankfully, this proved not to be the case, as I was eventually to enjoy some of the most remarkable events and spectacular scenery that I have ever been privileged to witness. |
