I'm writing to you from Saint Louis, Senegal!
The journey here as been phenomenal.
To get here we had to cross one of the harshest environments on earth: the Sahara desert.
In my mind I always thought of this leg as one of the more difficult parts of this year. And it wasn't easy. It required quite a few miracles and a lot of prayer.
Let me summarize the challenges of this journey:
1. Between Dakhla in the Western Sahara and the Mauritanian border there is a 320km stretch across the desert without public transport.
2. Getting your visa for Mauritania on the border is always an insecure business. One week you get it- the next for some reason not. And you can't buy it in Dollars- only in Euros.
3. Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, is not only slap bang in the middle of the desert but its also deserted. There are no ATM's in Mauritania! So you have to
make sure you have enough Dollars, or as we learned the hard way Euros, in the wallet.
4. No public transport between Nouakchott and the border with Senegal. Or none that we could find.
5. Crossing the border to Senegal requires a lot of patience and wit. After exiting Mauritania you have to take a crowded ferry across a big river to Senegal. After you arrive there you give your passport to a shaky looking policeman as you get of the boat.
Then you move to a small building with a small window where you fight for a front spot. Once you get in there it's up to the policeman whether he feels like stamping your passport just yet. I stood there for almost 30 minutes.
6. Then we bargained for a good price on a shaky bus to Saint Louis and after 3 hours and 90km we arrived. Late at night and tired.
From Tiznit in Morocco to Saint Louis in Senegal we traveled about 2100km in 4 days. With a days rest in Dakhla.
It's been incredible with God supplying every need that we have. From food to shelter.
Our next stop is Dakar. Here we need your prayers as we are applying for our Mali, and Niger visas.