Day 3

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Again, no sooner does the sun emerge from behind the dunes, than we are the centre of an instant market; have they been following us? Again we start later than planned, make a detour to pick up water from a village well (apparently despite his interminable footering in Chinguetti, Mamou had not brought enough to last the journey) and then stop for an extended lunch. By now we are beginning to get into the swing of it and, although not adopting the lethargic, fatalistic approach to life that Mamou exhibits, we are probably enjoying our holiday rather more and stressing less. However, I am glad we allowed a couple of extra days because we are not covering much ground! We were definitely over-equipped, but today at last we actually got to use the tow-rope for the first and only time when Mamou uncharacteristically hesitated at the crest of a dune and was stranded like a beached whale. It becomes increasingly clear that he is completely unable to navigate in the sense that we understand. He cannot read the maps, indeed it is questionable if he can read at all, nor can he use a compass or GPS. He finds his way because he has been this way before and when he is forced to realign his route to avoid the ever-shifting sand dunes, he sometimes has to zigzag around until he finds a familiar landmark. I later discover that Mike, despite having the latest sat-nav is also having navigation problems, so I feel less embarrassed about plotting my way manually on the IGN printouts from the co-ordinates on my hand-held GPS. I am beginning to look forward to the campfire at the end of the day, Mauritanian tea and Tesco noodles and soup! On looking back, I realise we have spent the day crossing several dune fields stretching tens of miles. Although, not quite in the Geoffrey Moorhouse league, that had been my fear; becoming lost in an endless sandy waste where no-one would ever find you. In reality it was actually rather fun at times, not at all scary and distinctly more comfortable than driving along a rocky piste.