Mauritania Sahara Fun

The best places to visit are the artisianal villages, the markets and the beach. Also, schwarma, like a gyro sandwich, is wonderful here, always sold in small Lebanese restaurants. You'll often find small women's craft sales, where you'll find great souvenirs at cheap prices while at the same time supporting women enterprises.

Quick Tips:

Try to dress modestly, meaning no shorts and swimsuits. Do not wear flashy jewelry on the streets.

Be open to new experiences. Strangers offered us rides in their cars, brought us to their homes for free meals and helped us arrange cheap hotel rooms and cheap market buys. Everything was an honest attempt to be helpful, no scams. Try to connect with locals, they're very hospitable.

Do not visit the beach at night, you'll likely get robbed.

Be VERY careful about bringing in local currency, the ouguiya. Customs will often search you and it's illegal to bring them in and out of the country. When laying on the floor, a norm, do NOT lay on your back or stomach, it's sexually suggestive.

Best Way To Get Around:

The best way to get around downtown Nouakchott is by walking. Taxis are good for leaving the city center and going to the ocean. Strangers may offer you rides if they see you walking on the streets; we always took them up on their offers and had no problems.

Kind of expensive compared to similarly priced places, but clean, friendly staff, flexible check in and check out times and no hassles for non-married opposite sex friends staying together (can be a problem at other hotels).

Great Lebanese restaurant, like many in West Africa. Casual and friendly environment. Serves burgers, falafal, grilled chicken and kebabs. You could tell them something and they'll likely make it. Their schwarma, like a gyro sandwich, is WONDERFUL -don't forget to have them put sauce on it. Good environment for a group of friends, out of the hot sun.

The food on the streets is usually safe and clean. You can buy nuts and tea, local versions of donuts and cooked meat. It's most fun to go out at night and buy food along the streets, watching as it's prepared. You can ask about food without being harassed to buy it.

Not too crowded or loud, like many African markets. Friendly sellers and fair prices. You'll need a local man to translate for you, as women mostly speak Hassanya, rarely French, and most venders are women. You'll find jewelry of different price levels, wonderful local clothing, rugs, teapots, African wares and more. Mostly local cultural stuff. Still not too touristy and you won't be harassed.

I went with two girlfriends and one male friend. We LOVED Mauritania. The trip there via public transport via Senegal was long AND hot, but well worth it. We had some problems at the border, as my friend tried to bring in local currency we bought in Senegal, which is illegal. So we had to pay some bribes. Be careful of locals trying to be "friends" with you and offering help while crossing the river, as they're likely to try to scam you. You take a car into the capital city and will be dropped off at a gare routiere. Finding accomodations is easy if married or alone, but a group of friends (male and female, not married), can be a problem, as some hotels won't let you share a room together. Throughout the weekend, strangers were often asking us if we needed help and offering it.

Unlike Dakar, Senegal, where people always want something from you or are harassing you, Nouakchott residents are helpful, friendly, courteous and generally just want to give you a good impression of their country to take home with you. The markets are wonderful, quiet and there's a lot to buy. It's fun to buy a local "veil" that you can drape around yourself, showing respect to the locals. The beach is quiet and almost empty, fun to take long walks alone to relax.

The best food is found by accepting offers from locals to come home with them for a meal. You'll likely eat rice and meat with your hands (before which they'll wash your hands with a teapot-like thing for you) while sitting or laying on the floor. Men are able to be more open with foreigners than the local women. But most men are not acting out of sexual interest, just curiosity and friendliness.

While in the market a teenage boy offered to help us get good prices; we were suspicious, but he was friendly and did prove helpful. Afterwards he invited us home for lunch and we enjoyed lunch with him and three of his friends. During the lunch he promised us that a friend of his was getting married and that we were invited. We agreed to meet up later that night at out hotel. That night the 4 guys met us at our hotel, told us there was a change of plans due to a car accident involving the bride-to-be, and we went to another wedding, the wedding of the richest man in Mauritania. One boy's father, a policeman providing security, snuck us in. AMAZING. The men and women were separate. Long tables of food, hundreds of water bottles and huge platters of meat (in a country of starving people). Courtyards of Islamic designs. Streams and water fountains in the desert. Dancing and women singing. Opulence galore. Everyone was friendly and very curious. We ate and drank and then left before we were figured out. All of us women were veiled in the local clothes to avoid suspicion, and we kept our blue eyes downcast much of the time. We caught a public bus home to the hotel. Wonderful night. Beautiful weather, not too hot. And the funny thing is that a man we had met earlier, who drove us around the city free one day, came to out hotel before the wedding and helped all us women get dressed in the local clothes properly (has to be wrapped just so). No one wanted anything from us, just to welcome us and show us a good time in Mauritania.

Believe it or not, many Mauritanians do not know that "America" or the United States exists. An odd person may have traveled to the US or watched CNN, but that's about it. No stereotypes, no preconceived notions of wealth. No one wants something from you, because they assume you don't have more than they do. If you say you're American, they say, "Hmmm, where is that? Across the ocean, huh? That's interesting." Bedouin/Muslim hospitality is in high gear in Mauritania, and you're quickly and easily welcomed into people's homes. If more people visit Mauritania, this may change, but for now it's a welcome break from the typical experience traveling as an American across much of the globe.

A nice thing to say "thanks" is to take some photos and send them to the persons helping you after you return home. People will not accept money as a form of thanks.