Only the road and the dawn, the sun, the wind, and the rain, And the watch fire under stars, and sleep, and the road again. - John Masefield

23 February 2020, Nouakchott to Les Suntanes, 17.6km
Les Suntanes - camping UM400 (R160)

It’s COLD. This is the first time I have been seriously COLD since the winter of 2018.
We made a leisurely start to the day as we had under 20km to travel. We wanted to do a little shopping - coffee and sweets and loo paper - and eat brunch before leaving the city. The former was easy enough, at least in theory, as Sky Rim Market was open. Sadly they were out of 2-in-1 Nescafe and sold toilet rolls in packs of four or more only. Outside the market, packing away our few purchases, I felt a drop on my head and thought I’d been anointed by a bird, but it turned out to be a smattering of rain. Rain!
For awhile we thought a meal might be out of the question as almost all restaurants were closed on this Sunday morning, but then, on the N2 highway out of town, we stumbled upon an open Crep House. Their breakfast prices seemed excessive, but we were already seated and hungry and opted despite this for a London breakfast each. Well… The breakfasts were so large we could easily have shared one. What we did not eat, we brought away with us for breakfast tomorrow morning before our long day. An entire basket each of pastries and bread and a mini croissant. An omelette as well as a boiled egg. Green olives in olive oil (the olives here are DELICIOUS), and prunes served with honey. Coffee and orange juice. Yum. (Charl would have preferred a traditional English breakfast with fat pork sausages or bacon. Shame.)
The double-carriage N2 north runs a couple of kms to the east of and parallel to the Atlantic. It is in excellent condition, lined on both sides with street lights powered by solar, and with young eucalyptus trees planted close together. The city is obviously making a real effort to ensure their survival. They are tied to stakes to keep them upright in the wind, and protected with a hessian wrap around their base. We saw a water tanker creeping along the verge, pouring water into a shallow channel which runs down toward the trees.
We know, at least in theory, what to expect from the road ahead, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of cyclists who have cycled this desert before, and who have recorded and posted a list of water points, shops, accommodation, restaurants, gendarme or police checkpoints. The first person we know of who made a careful record for cyclists was freewheely.com in 2014/15. His information was updated by a lone woman cyclist in 2016, and again by someone in 2019. THANK YOU all; you have removed much of the anxiety we feel about crossing the western reaches of the Sahara desert.
So… we were on the lookout at the KM13 marker for a turnoff to a restaurant and camping option. And just where it was touted to be, was a sign to Les Suntanes. Although we knew there were erected tents for hire, we were surprised to find these are in fact permanent structures, large and square, with solid floors and two solid sides, the other two sides being canvas. There is a large restaurant, chairs and tables under straw umbrellas, plastic recliners on clean sand, and an ocean of water. Also saddled camels with handlers who offer rides to visitors. And there have been a steady stream of visitors all day despite the inclement weather. Foreigners travelling overland, and locals on day trips from Nouakchott. People, arriving to lunch at the restaurant on a variety of fish dishes and more, eating with the fingers of their right hands only. Others came bearing picnic food in basins wrapped in fabric, the women wrapped in their soft patterned fabrics, the men in their billowing blue or white robes. No alcohol on offer.
The permanent tents are twice the price of erecting your own, so our tent is up for the first time in forever. And we have ordered dinner for 18:00 as we have a long ride and early start tomorrow.
We ran into two men we have “met” before. A trucker, sitting on the side of the N2, called out to me that he had seen us in Rosso. And a visitor to the beach turned out to be a fellow share taxi passenger in Nouakchott. He had helped the night before last to translate our ATM needs to the taxi driver.
A good day.

For today's route see below photos
For overview route, click on ROUTE tab above…