Senegal

Saturday October 21st, 2023

Early in the morning on Saturday we set off towards the border. On this day it was supposed to cross the Diama Dam to the border crossing to enter Senegal. The roads got progressively worse from then on. To say it in advance: it would take almost 2,000 km before we could get asphalt under our wheels again, with a few exceptions.

About 40 km from the border it happened: “ICEMAN”, one of our Ford Transits, initially had noticeable noises from the engine compartment and had to stop a short time later. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that “ICEMAN” was out of action for the time being. Since it was “only” 40 km to the border and then “only” another 70 km to Saint Louis, we decided to do a towing maneuver. And so our fighting machine “GOOSE” (Landcruiser) pulled the Transit over the dam or what was left of it. An incredible mogul slope awaited us. Wolfgang at the front and Sergej at the back… a dream duo had been found. While the off-road vehicles had fun on the dam and couldn't change drivers often enough, the two of them made it over the dam and to the border in record speed, but we got there late.

The procedure on the Mauritanian side was, as usual, tough, but still entirely acceptable. But what then happened on the Senegalese side was pure nightmare. At first everything was as slow and lengthy as usual, with no apparent system, but at least things were moving forward. But then it was about the vehicles. The end of the song was another 5 hour stay at the border, during which not only our guide Karl had to go to a hut in a village with all the passports and a few notes to take out further insurance, but also our two Ghanaian friends Ogidi and Sadick were treated extremely badly. The two are allowed to move freely across the borders in Africa with their passport, similar to the Schengen area. Here people saw things differently and wanted to have money again.

The end of the song was a paid escort at midnight from the border to the hotel, where they kindly waited for us with a cold beer. Sergej and Wolfgang completed the towing fantastically up to this point and were both understandably completely exhausted. First take a deep breath, sleep in and then take the next steps.

Conclusion of the day: Racism has many faces and again nothing happened with an arrival in daylight.

Sunday October 22nd and Monday October 23, 2023

The die was cast… due to the pending repairs we were forced to extend our stay in Saint Louis. While a mechanic and a welder had to be found, the rest took care of the other vehicles, shopping and were able to relax a little. The forced break came at the right time for everyone.

We were also able to explore Saint Louis with its 200,000 inhabitants a little. Great location, some corners definitely have charm and it was a very lively city; However, the incredible garbage problem that accompanied us the entire trip was omnipresent here too. In addition, there had been heavy rains shortly before and parts of the city were flooded by the Senegal River, which had partially overflowed its banks. Construction sites on the banks were full and the soup of water, plastic waste and leftover food created a completely different smell. But the people were very nice and helped us a lot.

The replacement part was welded and installed on Monday evening. We ended the recovery phase with a very good dinner together.

Tuesday, October 24th, 2023

The destination for the day was Tambacounda, a large town further east on our way towards Guinea. Shortly behind Touba, after about 180 kilometers, “ICEMAN” went on strike again and we stopped. Luckily, a friendly young man came out of nowhere to take charge of the matter and drove Karl, Flo and me back into town to get a strap. This one was obviously through. We found what we were looking for relatively quickly with our companion and drove back to the vehicle.

Unfortunately, when installing the belt, we discovered that the welded part had unfortunately broken again because the welding points were not sufficient. Karl then drove back into town to get a replacement part.

The first group had already driven up with 4 vehicles to find a hotel or to ask the hotel for rooms, which we had originally planned, but for which we were too late due to our stay in Saint Louis.

After a while Karl came back with spare parts and mechanics. Unbelievable…do it in Germany. After a one-hour repair, everything was done and after a little discussion about the appropriate remuneration, we continued. We reached Tambacounda without further incident…late in the evening. The route in Senegal was very scenic, but here too, poverty was omnipresent, especially outside the larger cities. And while we of course knew and expected this beforehand, it was a hundred times more depressing on site. This situation cannot be improved on our own. No chance. Mauritania, Senegal and parts of Morocco (far from the usual tourist enclaves) can no longer get their garbage problem under control on their own. This can't work.

The group that had driven up had already prepared everything when we arrived in Tambacounda and we were able to treat ourselves to a delicious Trek'n'Eat and a beer.

The hotel wasn't really good, but completely adequate. Unfortunately there was no water in the evening, but that didn't matter to us. Since we only got a few rooms, we put in camp beds so everyone had a suitable place to sleep.

Early the next morning we were supposed to go to the border of Senegal and the crossing into Guinea. After a short coffee and the discovery that the “ROOSTER” had been broken into, but apart from a few (very expensive) shoes, nothing was actually missing, we set off towards the border. The destination for the day was to be Labé in Guinea.