asks . “ We ’ ve lost all the touring and accompanying fans who no longer make the stop in Mauritania .
“ There , where you parked , we used to have European motorcyclists and tents everywhere ,” he continued . “ Now there ’ s no more . Kids prefer mobile phones to a scooter .”
We left after a few hours of chatting , the days heat had diminished as we reached Tambacounda from the north of the Lac de Guieres ( Lake Guiers ) following the course of the Ferlo river , so beautiful with its soft sand banks , as yellow as the desert and stretching far into the distance .
From low hills you occasionally see a bend in the dry water course that only flows for three or four months per year . I imagined a lot of water flowing in the dry , wide riverbed .
The tracks around Lac de Guieres are beautiful , gentle rolling sand hills where you often come across camels with their drivers and apprentices . The camel drivers spoke Wolof , lucky for me as I can speak a little of the native language .
We were in the region of Yang Yang and asked the camel drivers if they knew where we could purchase a butchered goat . The meat , roasted in the savannah , is exceptionally good and lasts for two or three days kept in ice .
We could find no ice but were invited to eat with a family in Payar on the second day . We spent the night and learnt so much about the area . We were told over lunch , that Payar is a sort of milestone as it is the geographical centre of Senegal .
From Payar we took a dirt road to Koumpentoum and luckily came across a petrol station , we were running low and perhaps wouldn ’ t
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