Sleeping at airports
Tomorrow I will arrive back home. But first, there is a decision I need to take. The gate closes at 5:25 in the morning, and at that time the metro isn’t running in… Read More
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To meet people
“How do you meet everyone?” That’s a question I get too often. So now I will tell you the story of how I got the phone number of the wife of the very… Read More
Cook some food!
I will donate a recipe. It’s Mauritanian food inspired by my friends and experiences. For one person. 1 large potato 1 small onion a tin of 70 grams tomato paste oil salt water… Read More
Thrown between worlds
“Welcome to poverty,” Bobo said as we stepped off the pirog in Demeth. “Don’t say that,” I said. “But it’s true. Look around yourself.” The houses were small and mostly made of clay,… Read More
Omar’s burn
The whole inside of his leg is boiled. From his genitals to the toes. “Have you been to the doctor?” I asked. “No we haven’t.” Fati said and squeezed the boy’s hand. “Why… Read More
Grandma’ Korka
She is living her life on a thin mattress in a small room. Every day after breakfast the old people from the neighborhood some to greet her and during the day time she… Read More
Friendships
“Now I am your friend. Because you look nice and smile often.” “You also look nice and smile often, and you have a nice laughter.” So we are friends. More than that is… Read More
To live with Fati
”For how long do you want to stay here?” Fati asked there we sat on the floor in the saloon. She served djiboudjen and well longed for cold water. “A week, five days… Read More
The other Mauritania
”Do you know a place where I can sleep?” I asked and stretched my legs, threw my backpack over my shoulder. I had just stepped out of the taxi in Boghé after a… Read More
The other food
”These are for you. This way you will be familiar with eating meat, and when you come back from Boghé you will have no problem with eating meat anymore.” Thanks friend… I think.… Read More
When society stops
Suddenly the salesman turns his back on me and puts a carpet on the floor. I turn around and my friends are gone. The interview stop. The taxi stop. Life stops. From the… Read More
The generosity of man
During the past weeks our interviews has been interrupted by almost endless cups of tea, lunch, water bottles, laughter and free rides. We have met some of the strongest people I have ever… Read More
This place
Beauty with almost no tourism. That is Mauritania to me. If you want to explore untouched dunes, eternal beaches and amazing hospitality, go now. Before the tourists find their way back (which I… Read More
When reality is confirmed
As I enter his house the sun has already set. The only light in the room come from his cellphone camera and I sit down on a thin mattress on the floor, thanking… Read More
Without the right to your life
“We do this procedure on girls in order to maintain their purity and chastity, so that they will not desire men. It’s better for them to feel pain now than in the future.… Read More
I found paradise
The ocean is glittering as if a million hidden diamonds decided to come up to the surface all at once. The peaceful splash from the waves calms the soul when they sweep over… Read More
Yoga in Nouakchott
Stretching up towards the sky, then going down in Lizard pose I felt a lot of no no no from my body. Poor yoga and a different diet has made my body weaker… Read More
The refuge in Nouadhibou
Sophie stood behind the counter preparing some eggs, around the small table were two men from Ghana, a girl from Nigeria and myself, all seated on plastic chairs. All of them, Sophie and… Read More
This is here
I’ve got a deadline for an article about a guy in Nouadhibou due for next week. It’s about him running from his homeland in a try to reach Europe. Though there is one… Read More
A different world
Every morning I go to my friend for breakfast. We sit in his room, eat bread, listen to music and drink tea. Outside the wind is blowing, today fairly strong and the sand… Read More
The prophets baptism
Everyone had dressed up and wore their prettiest jewellery. The girls had the traditional henna painted and their hair newly braided. It was the prophets baptism last Wednesday. Generally more celebrated than his… Read More
My open wound
Sitting on the thin mattress, surrounded by light purple walls with cracks and holes, spider webs in the ceiling and a metal bowl with hot peanut sauce and a plate with cold rice… Read More
“ça va mesdames? Cadeaux?”
“ça va bien. No, pas cadeaux. ça va?” Then the little girl with her dark hair braided under her bright pink scarf gave me a cadeau. A small packet of biscuits. I really… Read More
la gendarmerie de Mauritanie
By every entry and exit of the cities they stand and always they ask ”where are you going? For how long are you staying?” the gendarmerie. The men in dark green uniforms staying… Read More
Listening to the war
The sound of bombs exploding and machine guns firing traveled over the sand across the dessert. I listen to the bombs while falling asleep. While having breakfast and while preparing lunch. The army… Read More
To come back again
I opened the gate to Bab Sahara and let myself inside the sacred oasis. Just as I passed a woman came out of her hut. ”Oh I can’t believe it! Monica! It’s you,… Read More
Traces of a gone time
Her ankles witnessed of a time of force-feeding. Carrying the signs of being a really big woman she had problems walking, using a red stick to keep her body straight. She is one… Read More
A culture of tea
There are not many things in Mauritania that are as important as tea. Many say they get a headache if they don’t have their tea every day and sure that must be true.… Read More
Another year for the prophet
The smell of grilled meat is finding its way inside the house, the sun is high in the sky shining with its warm yellow shine and the neighbors are playing Rihanna’s “shine bright… Read More
The richness of poverty
”I was in Yugoslavia twenty years ago. I thought that was the worst it could get. I could never imagine this. Such poverty…” he let the sentence hang in the air, holding his… Read More
The artists of Nouakchott
His brush swished across the sheet and his practiced fingers easily chose the right amount of colour and blended them perfectly. I spent the afternoon and evening with Hamady; a Mauritanian artist. He… Read More
Staying safe
Staying safe in a country when two thirds of the neighboring country is occupied by terrorists, is it possible? In a few days I will go to Ouadane to meet with a cooperative… Read More
To marry in the kitchen
Bissap is juice made from eucalyptus, it’s really sweet and comes from Senegal. But it’s very popular in Mauritania. I have only been awake for two hours, but already one of the men… Read More
Smelling myself
There is something about traveling and smelling. Or sleeping outside and smelling. Or putting yourself in smelly situations and smelling. Whatever the reason, I always end up smelling when I travel. Nowadays my… Read More
“You’re my luck!”
Last year Manfred got a 600 dirham fee for speeding in the dessert. This year Flavio got 62 Euro fee for not stopping in time by the police checkpoint in Western Sahara. But… Read More
The real Starwars
Tantan; the city where Luke Skywalker grew up. But also the city where Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara first becomes visible. The former sporadic checkpoints by the police are now in every entry… Read More
Let go, and free yourself
Running across the street. Ten taxis, two cars. Me in the middle. The sound of the prayer from the minaret is overwhelmed by the traffic turmoil. Then, I stop. The clementines coloured as… Read More
Fo(u)r days in line
I sat on the ground, eyes closed, when someone stepped on my foot. At first I didn’t bother, but then it came again. I opened my eyes. There, beside me, was the cutest… Read More
Food to stay warm
After our lunch Cristian dropped me off by the lighthouse in Rabat. I strolled along the beach for a while and watched the fishermen. The sky was cloudy and the air cold. I’m… Read More
Another ride
This morning I overslept. I was supposed to wake up at quarter past five and go to the embassy, instead I woke up at quarter to eight and threw on the clothes before… Read More
Update on Visa
I stood in the line outside the embassy in Rabat at seven in the morning. At eight they opened the gate and let 60 people in, thereafter they closed it again. Some asked… Read More
Getting a Mauritanian visa
It is possible to obtain a visa for Mauritania in Europe, but it’s both cheaper and simpler to do it in Morocco. Here’s a guide on how to obtain a visa for Mauritania… Read More
Surfing Morocco
Couch surfing isn’t always about having good experiences. Sometimes you simply end up with a person who has different ideas of what is ok than you do. This guy I’ve been staying with… Read More
the rising sun
”Monica, Monica pssst are you awake?” it was 6:30 and my host stuck his head inside the room where I was sleeping. I got up and got dressed. He was taking me out… Read More
To know about Morocco
· Always demand by the taxi driver that he switch on the taxameter. If you can’t see one it’s either in the box or he’s not a taxi, and then you must change… Read More
A changed mind
It took me ten minutes in Tangier to completely change my mind about moroccoans. I don’t know what has happened, but suddenly everything went really smooth and easy. Getting off the ferry meant… Read More
You’re already here.
The bus to the other port was supposed to leave now. Instead it will leave at three. The ferry would leave at two. I’ll be on the one at four. Why? Because the… Read More
Africa, oh you dear love
”That’s Gibraltar. And you see the land next to it? That’s Africa.” Ana pointed to our left as we went down the coast of Spain. We had half an hour left to Algeciras… Read More
