What should you know about the country? Summary Mauritania is located in Northwest Africa, where the Arab and Sub-Saharan African worlds meet. Its population is made up of three main groups: the Moors (peoples of Arab–Berber origin, 30–40%), Black Moors or Haratin (40–45%), and Sub-Saharan groups—Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof—who together account for 20–25% of the Read more

February 5-7: As we were driving out of our wild camping spot on the sandy road, we started to feel that something was wrong with Mezi (that’s what we call our car because of its license plate). We hoped to make it to the capital, still about 500 kilometers away, but the car was shaking Read more

February 7: After Mauritania, we headed towards Senegal. To avoid the infamous Rosso border – which is very crowded and corrupt, plus you have to cross by ferry – we chose to go via the Diama border instead. It’s a much smaller and quieter crossing, as the road goes through a national park where you Read more

February 1-2: We only spent one night in the capital this time, as we planned to return later. In Mauritania, many people sleep on mattresses on the floor (their living room is often a large space covered with carpets and cushions where they can relax), while in rural areas, many live in tents. For the Read more

January 30-31: The border crossing from Morocco to Mauritania was truly exhausting. We arrived at the border around noon, and there were about 15 cars ahead of us, so at first, we thought we would get through easily. By 2 p.m., only two cars had crossed the border when the border guards went on a Read more