Boxing Day on the beach

We ate what could be described as a 'passable' meal at Bambou, in a lovely garden setting but with very dodgy sauces and chicken that looked 'suspicious'.

Gianni asked us to wake him so he could get to the Mali Embassy for 9am. I woke just past 9 and looking across the room saw him still asleep. I discovered that Julian had woken him earlier but Gianni couldn't move, his back was in excruiating pain.

Julian & I left for breakfast and I decided to see if I could find some drugs for Gianni. We ended up back at Ali's for breakfast and found a couple there who had flown in the previous day from Italy. Carol & Sokol, an Albanian/Italian couple were squeezing in a trip prior to emigrating to Canada, we started chatting and I explained the problem with Gianni and asked if they could help as he might find it easier explaining in Italian rather than French. They agreed to come later prior to a trip out to the beach. During the conversation Sokol wanted some Ougiya and of course Ali, the Iraqi with lots of contacts went off to get a good rate for him, just as Julian was telling Carol & Sokol he was American - wow, Ali's eyebrows raised and I quietly chuckled!!! Not a great time to be telling someone your nationality when you'd lied about it the day before!

Arranging a time to meet them later, I went off to find Gianni some drugs and was handed the most enormous book of drugs - an interesting read but I could have been at the chemists counter all day. I described the problem but as Gianni wasn't sure if it was muscular or not, the chemist wasn't sure what to prescribe. I left with directions to a doctor and the main hospital in Nouachkott, I wasn't going to take him to hospital he could end up with something far worse but resolved to get him to the doctor. I bought some sardines, bread & bananas, Gianni's staple food, and we headed back to see how he was getting on.

Julian asked if I could take him to the large souq Gianni & I had visited the previous day so that he could also buy some pipes. On arriving Ahmed was nowhere to be seen, being approached by touts I wondered whether I'd see him again. Someone called him on their mobile phone and Ahmed reappeared thrilled to see me with another customer as I'd promised him a day earlier. An hour or so later, Julian left very happy with no less than 17 Mauritanian pipes which I'd managed to get for him for 9,000UM - a lot cheaper than the prices in NBD where they wanted 2,000 per pipe! We got backto the Auberge to find Gianni sitting outside but still in pain. Julian suddenly offered some ibruprofen, better late than never, and we discovered later that they were making a difference to the pain ... he was now determined to go to the Mali embassy the following day!