A dusty square
After not seeing a single camel in Azougi the previous day, our trip to the Atar camel market was accompanied by high expectations. I’m not sure what Bill or Lenny had in mind but I was imagining a bustling marketplace with perhaps a hundred camels on show and buyers and sellers haggling with each other on all sides.
We walked with Hakim towards the outskirts of Atar and eventually came to a dusty square next to a rubbish dump by the side of the road. Funnily enough, we had walked past the same spot a few days ago on our way to watch the Paris-Dakar rally. There was a collection of maybe 30 camels hobbling around and one owner, but nothing was happening. There were no buyers and no trading.
“As-salaam alaykum”, we greeted the owner.
“Wa-alaykum as-salaam” he replied, not appearing too excited at the prospect of making a sale. We then followed the custom of exchanging further greetings until we had exhausted our Hassaniya vocabulary. At that point we left Hakim chatting with him while we set about trying to assess the camels.
Camel inspection
Our first five days in Mauritania had been quite laid back but now this was it, time to get serious. We were faced with some camels that we might actually want to buy.
This was our first close contact with camels and the first time I had ever looked at one in detail. It was quite a revelation. There were all sorts of features perfectly evolved for life in the desert, including a thick pad on their chests to support them when sitting on the ground.
We worked down our checklist, casting our eyes over the camels while being watchful not to stand behind any in case we got kicked. Getting kicked would not only have been painful, it would also have made it obvious that we were complete amateurs.
No ribs showing…ok.
A fleshy hump…sort of.
Head held high…maybe?
Clueless
We were utter novices and it must have been clear to anyone watching. For all we knew these camels could have been for eating instead of walking.
Given that we didn’t know how much a camel was worth and couldn’t really tell a good one from a bad one, how were we ever going to haggle with a seller over how much to pay?
We really needed to see more camels so we could start to compare them. We also needed to try leading and riding them. We basically needed to go and see Hakim’s nomad friends with all the camels beyond Taouaz.
Next stop: Taouaz
Our Hilux breaks down in the middle of nowhere and everyone gets out to take a look.
So later that day, having not achieved a great deal at the camel market, we found ourselves in the back of a Toyota Hilux heading out across the barren landscape to the northeast of Atar.
There were no obvious markings to indicate where we were. Various tracks crisscrossed the stony plain and now and again everyone lurched as we swerved onto a new track.
We didn’t know where we were going, just that we were heading towards Taouaz (which we couldn’t find on our maps) to see some of Hakim’s friends who owned around six hundred camels and could sell us a few.
Breakdown
The journey was a good introduction to the pace of Mauritanian life. In the middle of nowhere the Hilux ground to a halt and all the passengers got out. We had broken down. No one seemed too bothered. The bonnet lid came up and everyone crowded around. About an hour later the engine started, everyone got back in and we continued.
Late in the afternoon we pulled into Taouaz. It was tiny compared to Atar, nothing more than a loose collection of small concrete huts with no streets or obvious structure.
The huts turned out to be people’s houses. Hakim showed us to one where we would spend the night and told us we’d continue our journey in the morning. It was bare and had just enough space for the three of us to lie down.
Unlike Atar, there was no electricity and as night fell we realised it was difficult to get anything done without light. We put our maps and books away and lay in the darkness chatting about all the camels we were going to see the next day.
Early start
Hakim makes a quick stop just outside Taouaz
The next morning Hakim woke us at 6am with instant bread mix (boiled water added to dried bread powder) which was quite tasty. We thought it could be a quick and easy breakfast option for our trip.
He told us to get ready as we’d be leaving in an hour.
Since yesterday’s Hilux needed repairing we didn’t end up leaving until midday, but just like yesterday’s breakdown, no one seemed bothered by this.
Salek
We made a stop outside Taouaz at the house of a man named Salek, one of Hakim’s acquaintances. He proudly showed us his irrigated garden full of carrots and parsnips. He also seemed condescending and sceptical that we could walk across the country with just some camels for company.
Hakim helps Salek pull some carrots for dinner.
None of us really knew why we were there at Salek’s but sat on the floor drinking tea and chatting for an hour or two before setting off again.
Finally, another two hours later and far from the last of the huts dotting the landscape, we arrived at a solitary black tent, home to a family of nomads.