On The Road: From Western Sahara to Mauritania

I was going through my Notes app this morning and had a laugh reading through the entry I made on one of the road trips a few months ago so I decided to post it here as raw as it was when I wrote it. I use notes to put down details of certain aspects of trips that I can then refer to if someone asked or for reviews but sometimes I end up having full blown entries like this which I send to my friends. Enjoy!

The Supratour bus, ticket now 410 Dirhams (160 Dakhla to the border, other to Nouakchott) came at 8:25am and departed at 8:35, making a 25 minute stop at another bus stop to pick up passengers.

Got to border at 14:20 and the wait began. Got stamped out and made it to the bus around 15:00. Crossed no man’s land to the other side at 15:40, it was about a 10-minute drive on an untarred road.

Our driver took our passports (the Japanese guy and I) and asked us to follow him to a room. The officer asked us to stand outside in the blazing sun and I told him he must be joking. Walked to the shade by the gate and struck up a conversation with a rather good looking, gun-wielding soldier whose chat-up line was to ask me to guess his age. He looked ten years younger than I guessed and by the time I left the border I had a received a marriage proposal.

The driver came back and took us to another room with beds on the floor at 15:55 but told us to wait outside (standing with a million flies). Got tired and went to sit in the car. Went back after I realised the driver was probably just there having a chat. It was only after knocking and asking what was going on did he come to call us 3 minutes later at 4:20 to come next door to the visa room. It’s now been 2 hours at the border for really no just reason.

16:45: The Japanese guy decided to take a picture of the border, just as I warned him against it someone saw him and alerted the border patrol. They come to take him out of the bus just as the driver returned. Now he has gone to try to get him. Which kain local trouble be this. It worked as 16:50, we are finally moving. A whole 2 hours and 30 minutes since we arrived at the border. Spoke too soon, we just moved for 30 seconds and filed out of the bus for final check with the police.

Him: You’re from Nigeria

Me: Yes

Him: So you’re from Boko Haram *bursts into laughter

Me: kikiki not funny

Him: Okay but you know Boko Haram?

Me: Yes. Not personally though

17:02: We move again. Officially now in Mauritania and time has moved back by one hour so it’s now 16:02pm and my map says it’s 427km or 4:22hrs to Nouakchott. God help us!

16:17: We are at the junction while the driver and his boys sort out a bus to take the Japanese guy to Noudibou, leaving just me, the chuchuchu black man that has talked or complained since before the bus in Dakhla arrived and the only other lady who has been on the trip since the beginning. Turns out we are the ones who got out. Had to put my backpack on the roof as this bus is full, with one million flies inside and the windows aren’t open because the AC is on. I am living one of my worst nightmares right now and can’t even get as much as a cold bottle of beer at the end of this ordeal.

16:27: And I hope, for the last time, we are finally on our way. 3 hours after we got to the border which is only 10 miles away.

16:47: And we’ve stopped at a mosque for prayer. I knew driving straight to Nouakchott was a pipe dream.

16:57: And we move again. Finally got to pee but in a pit latrine. Chuchuchu came to speak to me and turns out he is from Saint Louis. It’s now been 10 hours and 30 minutes since I left the B&B and ije ka di anya (the journey is still far)

◦ Now Playing: Ubi Ego - Otigba Agulu ft Flavour

That little red pin at the top is the border leaving Western Sahara while the one slightly below it is the Mauritanian side. The cursor is our location at 5:05pm and the rest is our location. Leeemao.

18:44: Slept for a bit wrapped in my scarf with my sunglasses on so as not to feel the flies. We just stopped at the fourth or fifth checkpoint but this is the first time our driver is getting out of the car. Someone’s been praying for a long time now, I hear him whenever my music stops. 257km to go.

18:54: Stopped for prayers. It is next to a place that calls itself a restaurant but ehhhhh lol. Anyway, just asked for a beef sandwich as I haven’t had anything since this time yesterday when I had shawarma.

19:23: We are off again... until the next prayer time. It’s cooler now, the flies are exhausted and don’t seem to care to fly around. Lazy irritants! The sandwich was not bad at all, quite yummy in fact.

19:44: Checkpoint! This time, two officers get into the bus to have a chat. They inspected someone’s bag of takeaway snacks and biscuits checking for alcohol, I guess.

20:35: 13 hours after departure from the Supr@tour office, we still have a long way to go. Well, seeing how long we have driven it’s actually not a long way, only 166km.

22:00: Roughly 50km to go and the bus reeks of fish. Dear lord!

22:13: I can see lights in the distance. Nouakchott, oh Nouakchott, is that you, Nouakchott? 35km to go while I pray my reservation has not been marked as a no-show. Just realised I had put arrival time as 2pm as per google estimate. LMAO

22:35: 15 hours!!! With 5km to go, yay. They drive through red lights here, grandpa is still praying behind me.

22:47: Got a taxi and chuchuchu is arguing with the driver that he must get into it. WHY ALWAYS ME OOOOOOO, Jesu! So it’s me, him and the lady together in the taxi now. Taxi is moving away from where the map says my lodge is, he is going to drop the lady first. I really called this taxi because I wanted a drop straight to my place. Anyway, we survive.

23:06: This bastard decided to take Chuchuchu to end of town before me. I literally started screaming the further away we went out of town, from 5km to 17km now, what the fuck?

23:30: Finally at the lodge! I hear the ocean and it feels worth the stress. The final fight with the Taxi man is over taxi fare. He quoted 2000MRU, I said 200 and we settled for 300 after I told him the fuck off for driving me around Nouakchott doing drop.

815km done!

The End.... or is it?

*Chuchuchu is a name for someone who cannot stop talking.