February 9 :: Tiguent, Mauritania
February 9 :: Tiguent, Mauritania :: 108km / 2392km total
The temperature rocketed skywards and by 11:30 I began to suffer from it. The forecast had been for 37C and it seems the weatherman got it right. First comes the mild headache, followed by mild nausea and the inability to eat. I bought water for the sole purpose of dousing my head every 20 minutes, but thats just a bandaid and at 100km I started looking for a place to stay. Luckily a large town appeared coupled with the largest auberge (hotel) in this stretch, so that was it. As per usual in the desert I was the only tourist in town for the night.
After the usual bucket water shower I wandered out into the heat for search of food. I gambled on a plate of meat (of undetermined source) and onions, tasty but scary... I loaded up on toilet paper before going to sleep, fully expecting the worst. But the only battle I had to fight at night was with ants, which infested my room. Fortunately they detest insect repellent as much as mosquitos do, so it was in a DEET-smelling haze I fell asleep.
Downtown Tiguent
Downtown Tiguent. Not out of the desert yet, but trees starting to appear.
A late 8:30 a.m. start that I would soon pay for in full, I navigated the roundabouts and rushhour traffic of Nouakchott on my way South out of the city. I felt... great! Three days of rest has completely rejuvenated me and the pedaling was flat and easy, to boot. South of Nouakchott is far more populated than the North, complete with basic accomodation every 30km or so, which really helped to take the stress off of riding.
The temperature rocketed skywards and by 11:30 I began to suffer from it. The forecast had been for 37C and it seems the weatherman got it right. First comes the mild headache, followed by mild nausea and the inability to eat. I bought water for the sole purpose of dousing my head every 20 minutes, but thats just a bandaid and at 100km I started looking for a place to stay. Luckily a large town appeared coupled with the largest auberge (hotel) in this stretch, so that was it. As per usual in the desert I was the only tourist in town for the night.
After the usual bucket water shower I wandered out into the heat for search of food. I gambled on a plate of meat (of undetermined source) and onions, tasty but scary... I loaded up on toilet paper before going to sleep, fully expecting the worst. But the only battle I had to fight at night was with ants, which infested my room. Fortunately they detest insect repellent as much as mosquitos do, so it was in a DEET-smelling haze I fell asleep.
posted by Graham Durrant at 9:46 AM
1 Comments:
sorry and i know i'm gonna sound very north american here, but THAT'S THEIR DOWNTOWN??? i couldn't do it.
sorry.
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