Begin Again. Day 109. Chami to Trarza

Описание: November 9, 2025 — Begin Again, Day 109, Trarza
My stay in Chami stretched to two nights
because of one person—Vayez.
He wasn’t the owner of the guesthouse,
but he managed the space with kindness
and a generosity of spirit
that made me feel at home.

We sat outside in the evenings and talked.
His English was good.
He walked me to a restaurant,
helped me order,
and stayed while I ate.
When I left,
he kept tracking my progress,
checking in as I moved deeper into Mauritania.
A brief meeting,
but a real friendship.

Beyond Chami,
the trucks were kinder
and the wind more cooperative.
A welcome contrast
after so many hard days on the N1.
I stopped at small shops,
restocked supplies,
and communicated with strangers
who quickly became friends—
language always a challenge,
but kindness never.

In one fishing village
I found lunch:
simple grains
with a bit of fish on top—
perfect fuel.
The colors of the houses—
bleached blues, grays, yellows—
glowed under the desert sun.
Goats wandered everywhere.
Children watched with open curiosity.
All of it felt like an unfolding gift
from a country I was just beginning to understand.

Farther south
I reached a point on the road
where I believed I needed to cross open dunes
to reach the coast.
The next day I learned it wasn’t necessary—
but at the time
it felt like the only way.
I pushed through the sand
and arrived at the place I had been searching for:
a cluster of small, abandoned bungalows
found first on iOverlander
and confirmed on Google Maps.

I set camp on the patio
of what must have been the admin building.
Then I walked a few hundred feet to the sea
and went for a swim.
The water was perfect.
A reset.

I scavenged material from the dunes
and the collapsing structure—
ropes, tiles, chunks of concrete—
and secured my tent to the patio
against the wind.

As the sun dropped into the Atlantic,
I sat on that empty patio
and considered what might come next.

I thought I’d reach Nouakchott the following day
to find a replacement screen
for my damaged Pixel 9 Pro.
What I didn’t know
was that I’d be staying there two weeks—
creating and publishing videos,
including this one.

Soon I’ll depart Nouakchott—on the twenty-fourth of November,
124 days after I departed North Cape—
and within two days reach Senegal,
then The Gambia a few days after that.
I’ve secured visas for both here in the capital.
Beyond that, my plans fade into the unknown,
stretching only as far as Guinea-Conakry for now.
Somewhere ahead are answers,
and my instincts say to wait for them.
In the meantime, preparations continue,
and the road beckons.