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Tale of two cities

Posted on December 17th, 2009 in Africa, Mauritania, Morocco by robjkentjr

The two cities of cities of Nouadhibou, Mauritania and Dakhla, Morocco are similar in regards to their geography, resources and culture.  The major difference between them seems to be the governance of the two countries, which immediately noticeable as we entered Dakhla.
Here is a shot of Nouadhibou taken from the lighthouse.  You can make out the iron ore refinery through the haze, which adds a nice purplish tint to all the dunes downwind or it.
There is a rumour about why there are so many beached ships.  Supposedly one ran aground in a storm.  All the other captains heard of the insurance payout so decided to do the same.  It was only after this they discovered that intentional destruction is not covered.
This thin strip of water adds about two hours of driving to get around and into the city which lies out on the end of the peninsula.
This is the vegetable market in Mauritania.  You cannot really make them out but there are flies on everything.
Four hours north is this vegetable market in Morocco.  The differences in the city infrastructure were even starker.  Morocco even had sidewalks and a seaside promenade!
The only problem with Morocco is all of the European tourists.  This was the first crowded campsite we encountered.
This little door at the back of a hotel is the only place in Western Sahara to buy beer for take away.  I have never been to a speakeasy before so this was an experience.
We instantly fell in love with Morocco when we entered Dakhla but it was really the endless variety of food in the markets that made our hearts melt.  Good thing too because now we seem to spend every coming night freezing in the desert where just two weeks ago, we were sweating to death.

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Banc d’Arguin National Park

Posted on December 14th, 2009 in Africa, Mauritania by robjkentjr

After about a week of sand, the cold, dark blue water of the Atlantic Ocean was a welcome sight but we had one more sand dune to make it through before we could take a swim.  After that we enjoyed another couple of days lounging on the beach while fishing and bird watching.
We saw a pass in a large sand dune but were devastated to discover it was soft sand and swallowed the car up to the axel.  It took about an hour of digging and letting the tires down to get us out.
After our night stuck in the sand, we set out in the general direction the sign pointed to find the coast.
We ended up staying at the town of Iwik, which is a little fishing village that survives off a solar powered desalination plant.
A day’s haul of fish from one boat.  The catch from these rich fisheries mostly end up being flash frozen and shipped to Europe.
A late return from a day of fishing.  We did not see a single high capacity ship here; the entire fleet was all wind powered boats.
The sunset followed by an early moon.
David and Peta walking back to our camp in the desert.
Unfortunately, it was too late in the season to see the peak of migrating birds from the shore (we could have paid a fortune to hire a boat but passed).  After a night here we visited the two very similar cities of Nouadhibou and Dakhla.

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