Mauritania to Senegal: Diama

On the ride to Diama, we had a very long day and I dropped the bike twice. Because of the nature of the day, we hadn't rested. When we arrived, my lady Angelika was hobbling from an injury from the falls and, frankly, I was too tired to think clearly.

Because of this, I used a fixer here. It seemed worth it not having to think or queue - he did most of that for us.

Perhaps, bearing this in mind, what follows may be of use anyway.

There was no obvious corruption (but see above). The whole process on both sides took about two to three hours.

I'm unsure of exact costs, but I think I paid 400 Ouguiya twice on the Mauri side - one for passports and one for motorcycle documents. There may have been one more payment, but I can't recall it. All more or less straightforward. The fixer (young lad named Ghoulame), steered me through it. He was easy to work with. 

On the Senegal side, I think two payments of €10 - visas and vehicle - and, I think, €80 for four months insurance for Senegal, Mali and Côte d'Ivoire. (I just looked at the certificate and can't see the payment recorded, so maybe I paid over the odds.)

The motorcycle 'permission' is for five days in the country. We intend to be here for three weeks and I'll have to go into Dakar to have it extended - perhaps more than once, since it may be the case that the maximum extension is a fortnight. 

Given all of the above, and bearing in mind the horrible reputation of the alternative Rosso crossing, it didn't seem too bad.

Ghoulame, made things easy, leaving us sitting in the shade while he sorted the vehicle registration and the insurance - and organising a taxi to take Angelika on to the hotel. I gave him €20. He may have made a mark up on one or two other items, but at that point I was past caring.

That's how it works, I suppose. But we got though reasonably easily and quickly.

Côte d'Ivoire visas in Nouakchott

On iOverlander

18,09185, -15.98210

Forbidding iron gate. Calm compound within.

Lovely, slightly bumbling tall, greying chap deals. His secrerary was ill when we went. Perhaps she is normally in control. He never seemed totally sure of what to do and we ended up completing the paperwork for him - his ledgers as well. We think his eyesight may be going.

We got it done but it took patience and tact. He was happy for our input.

Two, three month, multi-entry visas, 1000 (€25) ouguiya each.

2 hrs 30 minutes.

Mali visa in Nouakchott

Super simple and straightforward.

Malian embassy is on iOverlander.

18.108877,-15.979233

Short application form, 1,600 ougouiya each (appx €37), two hours later returned to collect passports complete with three month, multiple entry visas.

Pleasant, dignified and helpful official.

Western Sahara to Mauritania

Leaving Morocco

All fairly straightforward and efficient. Officials are friendly and helpful.

Took 60 minutes or so.

No Man's Land

For a not-very-experienced off-road biker on a big, heavy bike it was intimidating. About two miles of undulating mixed surface (forget any notion of a road) - rock, soil, sand. There is no one actual track, but a variety of possibilities which you'll choose according to your vehicle. Motorcycles will avoid the sand, while trucks will seek even terrain and 4x4's do what they want. There's lots of activity, though, and you're unlikely to get lost or be ignored if in trouble.

Entering Mauritania

We didn't use a fixer, but wondered afterwards if one might have made things quicker.

The process is fairly straightforward and there are many people willing to give advice. The various processes take place in offices in sequence.

1) Get passport stamped

2) Apply for Visa. You have to queue outside the Visa office, waiting for them to take your passport inside. After a while (90 minutes in our case) they call you into the office and put you through a computerised application process. €55 per person- they don't like old or soiled notes. This whole stage - including a break for midday prayers, took the longest. They don't operate on a first come basis. You just have to live with that.

Waiting for visa application

3) Customs clearance for your vehicle. Leave the visa compound and there is another compound on your right. Find the right room and there is a 15 minute form filling exercise for this process. €10.

4) Opposite this compound is a shop selling motor insurance. We paid about €6 for 10 days.

We took about five hours from arriving at Morocco border to leaving Mauritania customs/insurance area.

The road leaving the Mauritania compounds is mayhem with trucks crowding in on each other. It was difficult to find a path through - but we did! 🙂