Sahara, day 1. Nouakchott - Terjit oasis, 420 km

We started our five-day Sahara trip with a short tour of Nouakchott. We stopped at the fish market, then at the camel market. They bought a "travel charter" from some people, without which we would have been turned away at the first checkpoint. At 11:00 we filled up the Toyota and headed out into the desert. The checkpoints were mostly passed without delay, the guide gave the guard a leaflet on which all the information about the tourists was printed, including the place of birth. But sometimes at the post they demanded a bribe, it took time. The landscape outside the windows changed: now white dunes, now a green pasture with camels, now dark brown earth. Mountains appeared 250 km from Nouakchott, and many beautiful ones. Halfway we stopped in the town of Akzhuzht to drink Mauritanian tea. It is like Moroccan, only they pour half a cup, which they bring three times. The air temperature is about 40. The guide advised not to come here in the summer if you can not stand the temperature of 55-58 degrees. It's good that the car has air conditioning and ice water. We traveled 420 km in 6 hours. The first day of the trip is the easiest.

Lunch was waiting for us at the oasis. Prepared tajine with camel meat. The guide said that the camel should be cooked strictly for 20-25 minutes, after the meat becomes tough. We stayed at the Auberge des Caravanes guest house. Service as in a Soviet dacha: water from a washstand, one socket for three rooms. But two toilet cubicles: Arabic and with a toilet bowl. Not far from the hotel there is a source from which an oasis arose and where you can swim. Nearby in the lake - fish massage, frogs jump on the shore. I immediately broke the rule I wrote about a couple of posts ago: do not swim in fresh water in Africa. It is flowing, and arises from the mountain in an inexplicable way, even in the driest period. Clean and satisfied, I returned from the source 1.5 km in the coming dusk and envied myself. The hotel was waiting for dinner, watermelon and no hope for the Internet. Which is very good at times. By the way, Mauritanian tea is slightly intoxicating from habit. It's generally a good idea to visit Arab countries as long as I don't drink. No need to check in the restaurant: is the beer definitely non-alcoholic? Mauritanians, by the way, severely fine those who try to bring alcohol into the country. Mosquitoes fly overhead, but, they say, not yet malarial. There are no scorpions or snakes either. Well, what are the stars at night in the desert, you know better than me.

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