Nouakchott, Mauritania

I'm in Nouakchott right now.

We're waiting for the second van to join us before we continue on to Mali. They should be arriving later on today and we will hang around until Saturday before starting off. Once they arrive I'll take some pictures and I'll introduce them.

For now, I've had good access to the net and so have been able to work on the Project admin as well as make this blog. Below I've posted some pictures of the trip and some sights we've seen... enjoy.

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar: it cost us 60€ for the four of us an our camping van to take a boat from Algerciras to Ceuta. We weren't allowed on Deck, so I had to settle for photos through grimy windows...

Tomato/tomahto: you say efficient garbage disposal system, I say foolishness.

The pristine beaches North of El Jadida

The Beautiful landscapes of Safi

Smokestacks in paradise

A mountain picnic East of Agadir: Some compare the mountain ranges around Jebel Toubkal to the Peruvian Altiplano. A humbling majesty that my pictures could not capture exists there.

I find this pic really illustrates the role that plants play in fighting soil erosion. See how around each plant there's a little mound of sand? That's because the root systems holds the sand, keeping it in place as the winds sweep away loose particles. The roots have the same effect when water is concerned. When the root system dies the soil is washed away, resulting in soil erosion (check out the link to the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment on the right for more info on soil degradation). This is what is going on in Mali right now, all the forests are being chopped for fuel and the desert is quickly advancing. By using solar energy in a big way to decrease wood consumption it might be possible to reverse the trend.

Dakhla: Kiteboarding capital of Morocco. All year long a solid +30kph wind blows through this floodplain, providing ideal conditions for kiteboarding. The kiters have set up a permanent village on the seaside called l'auberge des nomades. Google that and check out their site if it interests you. I went swimming with my camera (a waterproof, shockproof Olympus) and took some videos and pictures of them zipping by the setting sun... it was 'nickel' as the young French say.

Enter the desert.

Enter the deforestation.

Enter the practice of using seashells instead of gravel when making cement. I never would have guessed, but it makes perfect sense (and pretty roads).


Karim, charcoal merchant of Nouakchott. Charcoal costs 200 Ouguiya/kg (355oug/1€). It is used almost exclusively by the poor, since gas is relatively plentiful (but still more expensive).

Stay tuned, tomorrow I'll introduce the rest of the people from the associations I'll be working with and outline some of our plans.