`We made it!` With Johan en Jeannette’s 4 wheel drive we have just made it to Iwik. In the dark, straight through the desert, putting all our trust in their GPS.
After camping together at the border, we have decided to continue together for a little while. The Dutch -not a couple- Johan and Jeannette in their Toyota and we on our bicycles. They drive ahead to Nouadhibou, where we want to stay for a day or two. By the time we get there (late because of wind, once again) they have settled in auberge Sahara. Momo, owner of the auberge, is waiting for us at the beginning of the city: `I’ve got a letter for you from Miss Jeannette`. It turns out that they have been calling police and `gendarmerie` to see whether we had passed the checkpoints yet. It also turns out that they knew yesterday that two bikers and two Dutch people in a yellow truck were coming to Nouadhibou. They had actually been waiting for us, while we decided to camp by the road. They also knew that we were interested in visiting the National Parc Banc D`Argain. (Several guides had talked to us in nomans land and had stopped by our camp spot. They know everything. This is what they call the `Arab telephone`.
Nouadhibou is a dirty, crazy city in the desert. Few roads are tarred and even the tarred ones are covered in a layer of sand. The air is so sandy that it hurts my throat. After two dusty days in Nouadhibou we leave late from the auberge. We end up at the same spot where we camped before and Johan and Antoine start another campfire. They have a lot of fun. Today I am not feeling so well. It feels like all the energy is drained from my body. Lifting up my arms seems like a hell of a job. I skip dinner and go to bed as early as possible.
The next day I feel better but not great. Johan knows the solution. He would not mind biking for a little while. We leave camp, Johan and Antoine biking and Jeannette and I driving. We manage to pass by a checkpoint without needing to buy a special insurance for our bikes (!). Johan, Jeannette and I split the kilometers today, biking behind the car that catches the wind.
When we pitch camp and are cooking dinner, a car with two people in it breaks down right where we are pitched. They ask if they can borrow a pump, but our pump does not seem to fit their tires. Two guys become seven and they all show up to say hello. They are all going to Nouadhibou to find work. But their car is pointed in the other direction. Now it turns out that there aren’t seven people in the car, but twenty eight. I ask Antoine to go over there with some water and check it out. They need more water. And they are hungry. With a large baguette (which of course will never feed 28 people) Antoine goes back and tries to help them back on the road. Just as he has the tire pumped and on the car, one of the guys has to make a phone call so urgently that by the time he gets into the car, the tire is flat again. Meanwhile several cars stop to ask if they can help. None of the people that are stuck even try to get a ride. They seem to think that putting the weight of 28 people on this broken tire is still going to be the best solution.
We are feeling more and more uncomfortable. It is getting dark. As we are cooking dinner, we decide that we are not going to have a good night sleep with 28 poor people broken down by the road, only one hundred meters away. We pack our completely pitched tent, put our halfway cooked dinner in the car and quietly detour bikes and car around the group of people by the side of the road, hoping that they do not see us leave. It is pitch black now. We push through the sand, which is not easy. When we reach the road, Johan drives behind us to provide us with light and we bike several kilometers back where we had seen a sign for an auberge. A tent, with no shower or even a toilet, but at least a quiet night sleep.
Antoine and I continue the bike ride through the desert. After the hard time we had between Dakhla and the border, the support from Johan and Jeannette is more than welcome. Their car shelters us from the wind, sand and sun and we regain the energy to bike the next stretch. One time they even drive a few kilometers back to us, to tell us that there is a gas station ahead with cold drinks!
Eventually we get to the entrance of the Banc D`Argain. Here Antoine and I have to arrange transportation, because from here it is one big sandbox between the tarred road and the ocean. This national park is no more than a large stretch of desert that meets the ocean, home to supposedly many birds. A ride turns out to be unaffordable for us and our bikes. It seems that everyone in Mauritania wants to earn all the money they lost from missing out on the Paris-Dakar rally, from the few tourists that still dare to come to Mauritania. As a joke Antoine proposes to smash all four of us, including bikes and luggage, in the Toyota. Why not? The bikes go on top and Antoine and I share one seat between leaking jerry cans full of Diesel and 200 kilos of luggage.
While the sun sets we make our way through the open desert without getting stuck.
In the fishing village of Iwik, we camp in another Mauritanian tent. This `campement` does have a toilet (hole in the ground) and a shower (bucket of water). Accompanied by Iveko, the 'chef' of the campsite who wants to help us just a little bit too much, Johan and Antoine catch fish and together we grill and eat the catch. Jeannette and I swim in knee-deep water, trying to get the experience of being on some exotic beach. The next day we have rented a fishing boat to visit the islands near Iwik, in order to see what the National Park is famous for. We are told that there are thousands of bears in the park. That is how they pronounce birds... And indeed, we see some pelicans and pink flamingoes. But the entire trip is a big disappointment from start to finish. The one time we pay for something truly touristy, the boat is stuck in the sand because of the tide and we leave very late. The captain is very old and not in for any conversation. They sail 200 meters from the coast and tell us that this is where we will have to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the day. Antoine is pissed. After a while the wind picks up and we are able to convince the captain to continue sailing. We sail for one more hour and are dropped off in Iwik. What a shame.
But we have the best part ahead. We decide to drive a different route out of the park. We have a map with coordinates and will go straight through the desert. Johan drives the car, Jeannette checks the GPS, Antoine rides on the side of the car and all I have to do is get sick from the smell of fuel. After we dump the leaking Diesel into the tank, it gets easier. Many times we hold our breaths. Are we making it through this sand? Climbing up dunes and especially going down on the other side, the car leans over more than seems doable. This is the real adventure. When we take a break, it is unbelievably hot. The air is shaking. Sand in every direction you look, dromedaries are approaching the car. They are clearly aware that we are now in their territory. Just walking away into the desert a bit to go pee, all I see are 'bird steps'. Huge ants are crawling around, they must be at least an inch long.
After a long drive we reach the road. Tired and blue from being shaken around, but very pleased, we ride as far as the next auberge. From there Antoine and I continue biking to Nouakchott and Johan and Jeannette drive on.
For Johan’s stories in Dutch visit www.africayebo.com .
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