Mauritania – 135th Country

Mauritania – 135th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Mauritania is my 135th country.

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Mauritania traces its history to a Berber kingdom from the 3rd century BC. Mauritania is located on the Atlantic Ocean south of Morocco in the north west of Africa. Approximately 90% of Mauritania can be found within the confines of the Sahara desert. Mauritania is another former French colony that won its independence in 1960. Less than 5 million people make their home in Africa’s 11^th largest nation. This nation that straddles the African and the Arab world is nearly 100% Muslim.

I arrived in darkness to Mauritania’s capital of Nouakchott, spending one night there. The next day my driver picked me up for a seven-day drive in the Sahara. I spent the first night at tented camp in a small village, the next two nights in the ancient Saharan town of Chinguetti, followed by one night in the Saharan village of Oudane, and then wild camping next to the Ben Amera monolith. The next evening I rode the longest train in the world to the coast, where I spent my final evening in Nouadhibou, in the north of Mauritania. It was a fascinating visit to this Saharan country. This is a poor country with little infrastructure and few tourists.

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and Part II

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Mauritania – 135th Country