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.