Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 7: Western Africa: Mauritania to Nigeria
I quickly found the road to the city centre and because of the lack of street lighting,
I needed to use the lights of passing vehicles to guide me. In my haste to leave the airport,
I didn't notice that my derailleur was not sitting properly on the bike's frame. As a result,
whenever I cycled, my chain would skip no matter which gear I was on. I didn't want to
pull over to the side of the road to fix it in the darkness but decided to keep going instead.
It was close to midnight and I kept hoping to come upon a hotel. My hoping lasted for 10
kilometres where I finally happened upon a building that had its lights still on.
It was not a hotel but turned out to be a local telephone exchange. I coasted to the
front of the entrance and asked the employee if I could sleep inside just for a few hours. As
he was explaining why it was not possible, a stranger approached me and invited me to stay
with him and his family. I had to make a split-second decision. I went with my gut feeling
and took him up on his offer.
Ba ou Saleck and I walked along the main road for only a short distance before we
ventured off onto a side street. As we walked he talked about his city. He said that when
Nouakchott's location was planned, it was to be around 50 kilometres or so south of the
Sahara Desert. However, over the years, the desert expanded, overtook the city and has ex-
tended to the border of Senegal. This would explain why all the side streets consisted of
sand…and it was tough pushing my bike through it.
We quickly arrived at Saleck's home. From the street, we entered through a large
wooden door that led into a dark passageway. I slowly walked my bike being careful not to
knock anything over that sat along the walls. We passed a room to my immediate left and
Search WWH ::
Custom Search