Mauritania
November 17, 2019
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14 March – 6 April, 2014 ~ Probably the most beautiful, unique, traditional, messed up, mesmerizing, scary, dreamlike country of the entire trip.
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Western Sahara
November 2, 2019
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11 – 14 March 2014 ~ Also known as the Southern Provinces (of Morocco) or the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, this disputed territory is among the most desolate places on earth. Makes you wonder what all the fuss is about…
Morocco
July 31, 2019
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4 feb – 11 march 2014 ~ So close to Europe, and yet a world apart. Morocco was the perfect introduction to Africa, and to the subtle art of backpacking.
Georgia, 2016
December 28, 2018
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Inbetween jobs, I had three weeks to head east. Georgia, culturally European and geographically Asian, seemed like a suitably ambitious destination.
West-Africa, 2014
December 27, 2018
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In over my head? Yes, very much so. But it’s the trip I wanted to do and the moment I could do it.
Gear reviews
December 26, 2018
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…so that others may learn from my mistakes 😉 and the odd success 🙂
La Route du Despair
April 9, 2018
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1 – 3 April 2014 ~ The pickup truck’s rear is filled up with fridges, food, furniture, construction materials, a few goats, and who knows what else, until the cargo is more than twice the size of the pickup truck itself… and then some ten people clamber on top of the cargo. I’m about to experience one of those quintessentially Saharan journeys, but I barely notice, let alone feel like taking a photo (I don’t want to do anything that makes it more obvious that I’m a tourist).
La Route de l’Espoir
March 7, 2018
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31 March & 1 April 2014 ~ There are many gueltas in the Sahara desert, and they’re often a lifesaver for nomadic herders. What makes this particular guelta special, though, is that it is one of the last places in the Sahara desert where the West African Crocodile still lives.
Why not?
December 31, 2017
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29 & 30 March 2014 ~ The sea is dotted with hundreds of pirogues, waiting to be brought ashore. The beach is littered with thousands of men, women and children, whose job is apparently to bring the fish from the boats to the traders. It’s a dramatic scene, and one that repeats itself every afternoon.
GTA: Nouakchott
March 4, 2017
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28 March 2014 ~ On the morning of my sisters’ birthday, I meet a couple from Bretagne, named Simon and Valerie. Their great passion is west-African music. Their main reason for coming to this part of the world is to interview and record West-African artists and others in the music industry. They are looking for an American, who supposedly lives in Nouakchott and records local artists. It sounds interesting, but it ends up leading to by far the craziest day of my life…
To the place of the winds
May 26, 2016
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27 March 2014 ~ For the most part, this is a thoroughly uninspiring city; it was a fisherman’s village of only a few hundred people until the 1950’s, when Mauritania became independent. Since it had always tagged along as the most neglected colony within the colossal French West Africa, it had never needed a capital, or much of anything approaching a center of organisation. So when the country became independent, it needed a new capital, and fast. Someone, somewhere decided that the little fishing village of Nouakchott, or “windy place”, should become the capital.
A fairy tale with an anti-climax
March 12, 2016
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25 & 26 March 2014 ~ I’m curious about the dinner invitation by Coumba, the sister of the bride at yesterday’s wedding. Cora calls her for me, and as luck would have it, Coumba can make it tomorrow evening. The following day, Edgar and Katie invite Adrian and me to join them on a trip to an oasis, about 50 kilometers from Atar, called Terjit. Apparently it’s located in a ravine. Having already seen a stunning palm oasis in a ravine in Morocco (a Ait Mansour), I’m not terribly excited. As it turns out, my scepticism was completely unjustified; Terjit oasis is one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen.