James has recently completed an advanced off-road riding course in Wales with one of the Dakar riders, but will be asking for his money back when he returns to France. He had hoped that this extra training would have prevented the three tumbles that he took today. All at relatively low speed and in heavy sand, so nothing injured except pride and a few bent components.
Speaking of 'bent'; the Mauritanian border officials take top prize for the most avaricious that we have yet encountered. The Mauri-Senegal border crossing required saintly patience and deep pockets to navigate successfully. Matters were not helped by our bikes overstaying their welcome by twelve months in the country. Eventually, money was passed, handshakes all round, and we were on our way.
The environment changes almost immediately in Senegal, with darker skins and much more wildlife. It feels like the 'real' Africa, with warthog families darting across the unsealed road and wide wetlands bordering either side of the road. People are also markedly different in Senegal. Many Mauritanians had warned us about the Senegalese, claiming that they were robbers and dangerous. So far, precisely the opposite seems to be true and the Senegalese that we have met being generally friendly and approachable. We have settled into a hotel in St Louis for the night, with drinks on James this evening as recompense for today's handlebar gymnastics.
Dakar tomorrow ...
