We drove through a very barren, but beautiful landscape. Mostly sand with rocky parts becoming more frequent as we got closer to the border. At N 23° 26´ 22" we hit the Tropic of Cancer, one of the five major circles of latitude that marks the maps of the world. With compliments from Sven we enjoyed a fine cigar at the signpost set up by earlier Budapest Bamako participants. 

We continued our trip further south for an hour and passed through yet another minefield, a remnant from the Morocco-Mauritanian dispute. A bit more careful this time, we decided to stay on the road for our little photo-shoot. From a safe distance we could watch the mine-clearing camels lurking around in the minefield. Just give it a couple of generations and they should have the area cleared. 

Then came the most interesting part of the day, border-crossing. This is according to the roadbook (provided by B2) a 8-step process. A perfectly choreographed seance that includes paperwork, stamps, bribes, car-searches, cues, more bribes, passing through no-mans land, crooks, mines and burned out vehicles. Then repeating the whole thing again on Mauritanian side. 
It takes about 6-8 hours, but since we knew Ohdibou, our local fixer, heavily connected with official channels, it only took 4 hours. (Later we learned that we owed him a hefty sum of 20 EUR pr person. We have been avoiding him ever since.) 
The initial part of the border crossing was OK. The usual hassle you could expect, but driving from Moroccan to Mauritian side was something out of the ordinary. I will quote some parts of the roadbook to give you an idea of what we were up against. 

"ATTENTION! ONCE YOU CROSS THE BORDER DO NOT GO OFF THE ROAD: DANGER OF MINES!!!!!! FROM THE MOROCCAN GENDARMERIE ALL THE WAY TO THE THE ASPHALT THERE MAY BE MINES ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD." 

"... in truth this is a free zone under UN control where officials of neither Mauritania or Morocco can enter. Both countries´ non-uniformed agents are present. But legally it is not an actual country with a set of laws. So be very careful! There are multiple dangers, mines and guides. The guides are those Mauritanian "guides" who operate under the umbrella of local organized crime. Money exchange, sale of license plates, motor vehicle trade, smuggling, etc.. For 20 EUR they drive you through the area without exploding. ...DO NOT EXCHANGE MONEY WITH THEM!!!" 

"...as long as you are on the tire tracks of another car, you are okay. Everyone is afraid the first time, but you don´t have to be afraid. The other rule is, keep to the left! Follow the tracks until you see the Mauritanian border." 

"Don´t try to find an alternate routes. Do not get off the road. Last February two French guys blew up along with their SUV." 

The Mauritanian side was a little more simple, but still time consuming. Passing that border was one of the most interesting things on the trip so far. Not very a pleasant, but rather bizarre experience. 

We were in the last group that passed the border, so we drove together in a small convoy to the bivouac for the night. It took about an hour to get there and it was something quite different from our earlier arrangements. 42 cars parked in a tight circle with their headlights pointed out. Tents and bonfire in the middle. The entire compound was surrounded by several heavily armed vehicles keeping guard for the duration of our stay. Mr. Ohdibou was collecting his 20 EUR from unknowing participants. We evaded him successfully! 

Sitting down by the fire and enjoying the evening meal was really nice. Finally we had separated from the huge pack and were left with a small group of friendly people eager to travel through an exciting area and getting to know each other better. It finally feels like the BudapestBamako trip has begun and the Spirit of B2 has returned.