Transportation

I guess we’ll start with airports. There is the one main international airport in Nouakchott (I haven’t been there because we flew into Dakar, so I really have no knowledge of the Airport in Nouakchott). The one in Dakar however, was quite small by US standards with only a few luggage corrals, and everything was open air. When we landed, the plane didn’t pull up to a gate and you got off on a jet-way, rather we walked down the stairs and loaded a bus that took us to the terminal. There is also an international airport in Atar that accepts planes as large as 747s (one or two a week). These are pretty much the only flights in and out of that airport and are always direct from Paris. There is also an airport in Nouahdibou that flies to Atar, Nouackchott and the Canary Islands.

So how do people move around in country here? Well, they don’t hop on the interstate or anything like that. Most roads are unpaved with the exception of a few main roads coming out of Nouakchott. There are about four spokes of paved roads coming out of the capital: to Nouahdibou, Atar, Aleg, and Rosso. There is also currently a project underway to construct a road between Rosso and the Kaedi/Bogue area. The paved roads are just that: paved. No lines, shoulders, just paved. When you’re going up into the mountains however there are barriers as safety precautions.

Many people do not own cars, but almost everyone at least knows someone who does. The cars are usually used/fixed up Mercedes, Peugeots, etc, and are not the most reliable vehicles I’ve ridden in. There may or may not be seat belts, not that it matters much as you don’t get a seat to yourself usually anyway in the common taxi bruisse. There are of course new cars around, not a lot in my town, but you do see them from time to time. A land cruiser-type vehicle is also quite popular with the sandy terrain.

Now to the famous taxi-bruisse. This is what we use for travel around the country for the most part. There are some coach-style busses that run from Nouahdibou to Nouakchott, but they are not very common. I did take this from Nouakchott to Nouahdibou a few days ago, and it’s sort of like a coach bus, but with seats that fold down into the aisle to maximize the number of passangers. The most common form of transportation is the taxi bruisse where you will get 7 people into a small car (like a Mercedes) or 10 into a station-wagon style car. How do you do that you might ask? Well… the driver usually gets his own seat (yes… usually… I’ve also seen them share driving around town with the driver hanging out the open door). Then in the passenger seat you’ll have 2 people sitting. Then in the back seat of a small car you’ll have the remaining four passengers. If you’re in a station – wagon Peugeot style car you’ll get four in the middle seat and an additional 3 in the back. I have not yet had problems with a car breaking down mid-trip, but I hear that it will happen eventually as it is pretty common – more so in the Peugeots, but also in the Mercedes. P.S. You may also have animals traveling with you, either tied down to the roof or in the truck.

There is also a train available if you’re looking to travel from Atar to Nouadibou. It’s not exactly like a passenger train like you might think of – but it’s a coal/iron ore train. You pretty much get to ride on top of the coal/iron ore as it is transported to the coast. I’ve been told this is a “must do” before leaving country!

Now for traveling around town, the most common form of transportation is to walk – everywhere. Our bureau is nearly a mile away from my house, and my work is probably a half mile (along with the market and such) – you just get used to it. People with cars however… they drive everywhere usually. There are always plenty of people around to push the car when you need to start it.

But what if you buy a large item in the market, or need to transport something across town, but you don’t have a car? Well… that’s what the donkey carts are for! The driver is usually a young man, and they’ll load up your stuff, tie it down and take it wherever you need to go in town for about $1.75ish depending on where you want to go and how much stuff you have.

And brand new to Akjoujt is the Taxi! We do have taxis that will take you where you need to go, but I have yet to use one. It’s usually just easier to walk – no need to haggle on prices and all. In the larger towns taxis are very common and used much more than the donkey carts such as in Nouahdibou and Nouakchott.

Sorry, I thought I had some good pictures, but I don’t have too many… just some video, which I don’t know how to post. I’ll see what I can do though.