I don't remember what I've uploaded and what I haven't so here are a few recent posts I have on my mobile...
So - it turns out that what I thought was a suntan was actually dirt - I went to the hammam again today and I am just as white as ever :P I think this was the best hammam yet!! Eti and I decided to go just before leaving Noukachott - so that we would be clean before we spend another night camping in the desert. We asked Abdul - the owner of the campsite we were staying at and he directed us down the road and said there was a hammam there. So we wandered along and no hammam. We asked some shopkeepers they said there was nothing. So we ended up in front of a centre promoting local womens rights or something and thought that would be a good place to ask.
They didn't understand what we were looking for and sent us to the directors office!! Once we got there and the director arrived, the women finally figured out we were just asking directions! LOL - but Mauritanian people are really nice so the lady led us to where there was a hammam. We got there and there was a big padlock on the door and 4 girls sitting outside. They looked at us like we were aliens. The lady leading us just shrugged and said it would open at 10:00 and then left. So we stood around and after a few minutes the girls told us it was closed for good. So they chatted amongst themselves and decided to lead us to a hammam. So 2 of them led us to a really nice one! It was super steamy and unlike the Moroccan ones - you don't have to sit on the floor. They had nice marble like benches coming out of the wall. It was all just the perfect temperature! We had ourselves scrubbed down and then washed our hair. One of them even help me wrap myself in my local dress thing (I think I have the hang of it now! It takes some figuring but its really convenient - just a long piece of fabric but super light and airy and they come in so many pretty colors!! And cheap! Except for the covering my head bit (which sucks because I can't seem to make it stay on my head) I would prefer this to western clothes. And they wear some sexy little dresses underneath these too!!!)
So anyways - we are all clean and happy! We went and grabbed the rest of our money and had lunch...they make a nice chicken pita here! Good seasoning and whatever. Cheap and pretty much like you would get off a kebab truck - but yummmm!! They even put fries in them! Then I popped over and bought a free-standing mosquito net! A few others bought them! They aren't very sturdy but they are cheap so hopefully tonight I'll be sleeping under the stars (unless its windy because its still the desert and super sandy and I don't want to wake up buried in sand!!)
But I really liked Noukachott! For a capital city its super laid back - especially after Morocco! No hassles small and easy to get around (or at least wherever we needed to go) and super friendly people! I never felt unsafe - I really liked it. The only bad thing was all the other people in my group - LOL!
Oh - the other cool thing is all the sea shells!! They are everywhere!! The streets (which are mostly unpaved) have sea shells all over and its amazing!! Even though the city centre is like 5km or more from the beach - it still feels like you are by the beach! I don't know - I just loved looking down and always seeing sea shells!! But now we are on the road again! Heading towards Senegal. Tonight we will bush camp somewhere before the border and tomorrow we'll cross over. Apparently the other truck took 5-6 hours to get across the border. Then we are staying in what looks like a really nice campsite (Zebra Bar) about 20km outside of St. Louis. We'll be there for 4 nights - so we'll spend Christmas there.
Which it seems there is going to be an up-rising on the truck for Xmas. 4 people have already booked their hotel rooms in town and away from the group. I think that's quite brave as I feel like - now that Nancy knows that "something" will happen and we won't reach St. Louis on time and they will all miss their hotel booking! But anyways - I was planning on staying with the group at the campsite. I was skeptical at first because the leader and her little buddies have just been talking about how they are going to just get drunk all day for the next 4 days - but it looks like there is a lot to do at the campsite - so I won't have to just sit around the campfire and be drunk. They have canoeing and its a national park so they organize bird-watching trips through the park. And there is another park nearby that they can take you to. And then a day (maybe a night) in St. Louis and we'll be on the road again. I think Geoff and Eti are teetering between staying at the campsite and staying in town. Geoff is really really pissed at the tour leader and he has a sore back now - so today he's determined to stay in town. Eti doesn't seem so convinced. We'll see! They were also talking about completely giving up on the truck and just getting off and doing their own thing!! That would make me sad!
But today is the halfway point of the trip for me!!!! Woo hoo!!! I can't imagine it can get any worse so - I can make it to the end. Then a couple nights in a nice hotel in Accra before I fly home! Perfect!! Well, maybe not perfect but at least it will be over!! I do like Mauritania though. I wish we could have seen more of it! They have a 3km long iron ore train that goes about 700km in the northish of the country. It has passenger cars and is supposed to be a good adventure! And there are some other cool cities in the country - pity the country is on the FCO warning list so all we can do is transit through because its considered too dangerous to spend time here!
So - it turns out that what I thought was a suntan was actually dirt - I went to the hammam again today and I am just as white as ever :P I think this was the best hammam yet!! Eti and I decided to go just before leaving Noukachott - so that we would be clean before we spend another night camping in the desert. We asked Abdul - the owner of the campsite we were staying at and he directed us down the road and said there was a hammam there. So we wandered along and no hammam. We asked some shopkeepers they said there was nothing. So we ended up in front of a centre promoting local womens rights or something and thought that would be a good place to ask.
They didn't understand what we were looking for and sent us to the directors office!! Once we got there and the director arrived, the women finally figured out we were just asking directions! LOL - but Mauritanian people are really nice so the lady led us to where there was a hammam. We got there and there was a big padlock on the door and 4 girls sitting outside. They looked at us like we were aliens. The lady leading us just shrugged and said it would open at 10:00 and then left. So we stood around and after a few minutes the girls told us it was closed for good. So they chatted amongst themselves and decided to lead us to a hammam. So 2 of them led us to a really nice one! It was super steamy and unlike the Moroccan ones - you don't have to sit on the floor. They had nice marble like benches coming out of the wall. It was all just the perfect temperature! We had ourselves scrubbed down and then washed our hair. One of them even help me wrap myself in my local dress thing (I think I have the hang of it now! It takes some figuring but its really convenient - just a long piece of fabric but super light and airy and they come in so many pretty colors!! And cheap! Except for the covering my head bit (which sucks because I can't seem to make it stay on my head) I would prefer this to western clothes. And they wear some sexy little dresses underneath these too!!!)
So anyways - we are all clean and happy! We went and grabbed the rest of our money and had lunch...they make a nice chicken pita here! Good seasoning and whatever. Cheap and pretty much like you would get off a kebab truck - but yummmm!! They even put fries in them! Then I popped over and bought a free-standing mosquito net! A few others bought them! They aren't very sturdy but they are cheap so hopefully tonight I'll be sleeping under the stars (unless its windy because its still the desert and super sandy and I don't want to wake up buried in sand!!)
But I really liked Noukachott! For a capital city its super laid back - especially after Morocco! No hassles small and easy to get around (or at least wherever we needed to go) and super friendly people! I never felt unsafe - I really liked it. The only bad thing was all the other people in my group - LOL!
Oh - the other cool thing is all the sea shells!! They are everywhere!! The streets (which are mostly unpaved) have sea shells all over and its amazing!! Even though the city centre is like 5km or more from the beach - it still feels like you are by the beach! I don't know - I just loved looking down and always seeing sea shells!! But now we are on the road again! Heading towards Senegal. Tonight we will bush camp somewhere before the border and tomorrow we'll cross over. Apparently the other truck took 5-6 hours to get across the border. Then we are staying in what looks like a really nice campsite (Zebra Bar) about 20km outside of St. Louis. We'll be there for 4 nights - so we'll spend Christmas there.
Which it seems there is going to be an up-rising on the truck for Xmas. 4 people have already booked their hotel rooms in town and away from the group. I think that's quite brave as I feel like - now that Nancy knows that "something" will happen and we won't reach St. Louis on time and they will all miss their hotel booking! But anyways - I was planning on staying with the group at the campsite. I was skeptical at first because the leader and her little buddies have just been talking about how they are going to just get drunk all day for the next 4 days - but it looks like there is a lot to do at the campsite - so I won't have to just sit around the campfire and be drunk. They have canoeing and its a national park so they organize bird-watching trips through the park. And there is another park nearby that they can take you to. And then a day (maybe a night) in St. Louis and we'll be on the road again. I think Geoff and Eti are teetering between staying at the campsite and staying in town. Geoff is really really pissed at the tour leader and he has a sore back now - so today he's determined to stay in town. Eti doesn't seem so convinced. We'll see! They were also talking about completely giving up on the truck and just getting off and doing their own thing!! That would make me sad!
But today is the halfway point of the trip for me!!!! Woo hoo!!! I can't imagine it can get any worse so - I can make it to the end. Then a couple nights in a nice hotel in Accra before I fly home! Perfect!! Well, maybe not perfect but at least it will be over!! I do like Mauritania though. I wish we could have seen more of it! They have a 3km long iron ore train that goes about 700km in the northish of the country. It has passenger cars and is supposed to be a good adventure! And there are some other cool cities in the country - pity the country is on the FCO warning list so all we can do is transit through because its considered too dangerous to spend time here!
i'm so glad you got a mosquito net!!
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