Mauritania has become a very expensive ordeal for us thanks to him. Hard to believe that the 5th poorest country in the world is more expensive than europe when it comes everything! "Special price for you my friend" really has a special ring to it when you don´t have any other choice. 

After a small trip into the center of Nouakchott this morning to haggle the prices of bread and water (they demanded more than 20 EURO), we found ourselves an hour behind the convoi. We got in the car and did some serious speeding east into the country and finally caught up with the rest. Sebastian admits that for a brief moment he was worried. No phone, no CB radio, no convoi - and this was a strictly "don´t drive alone-day". 

Driving in a convoi is a little bit boring, but has it´s moments too. When passing through a military checkpoint or village/city all we had to do was smile and wave. The convoi stopped for lunch off the road after 200 km and we were all hiding in the bushes to avoid the scorching heat. To us, hiding away in this colourful country of nice people just didn´t feel right, so we wanted to continue to the next village for some proper lunch. An armed guard came with us in our car and we set of. A couple of kilometers further up the road we found a nice "restaurant" in the shade. Johan went to buy some flippy-floppies and to his amazement he got them at a fair price without haggling. Lesson learned: When you bring a soldier and his AK-47 shopping, nobody will try to hussle you. Walking back to the resturant with new fotwear thing were all set for lying in the shade and enjoying some freshly butchered goat of the grill. Tea was served in three glasses, and the waiter waited patiently for one person to finish his glass so it could be refilled and served to the next guest. Our bodyguard ate and drank with us and really seemed to enjoy himself. Later when the convoi passed, the last armoured car stopped and joined us for tea. Again, the price for food for eight people and tea for 15 came to half the price of our breakfast this morning. So always bring some armed soldiers when settling your restaurant bill in Mauritania. 

The rest of the drive to Kiffa was very nice. Beautiful and dramatic scenery that changed at every turn of the road. In Kiffa we go our tent up and settled for the night. Both of us looking forward to the next days savanna crossing.