Carlos Perez Marin

JOURNAL

The aim of Project Qafila was to walk through old caravans routes but due to conflicts in the Sahara desert, we had to focus only on Moroccan soil. Since 2016 we have travelled from Tissardmine (Errachidia) to Tighmert (Guelmim) in four stages.

In 2020, just before the pandemic, I had the opportunity to visit Mauritania with two friends (Ahmed Dabah and Younès Rahmoun) and we were very lucky to meet Zaida Bilal, the owner of Auberge Vasque in Ouadane. During our stay, she explained to us that she used to organise hikes for tourists around Ouadane, so I thought she could help me if I decided to carry out Qafila Khamisa in Mauritania, taking advantage of the first edition of Caravane Ouadane that we were going to organise with her, Zeinart, Teranim, Caravane Tighmert and Marsad Drâa.

The south shore of the Sahara desert has always been in our horizon since the first encounters with Mokhtar in M’hamid el-Ghizlane (Morocco), telling us the routes he used to follow when travelling with caravans to Mauritania and Mali in the 80s, also because of the heritage shared between Morocco and Mauritania, and specially between the regions of Noul Lamta (Tighmert) and the Adrar. Moreover, the researches led us to historical cartographies showing these routes (most of these plans are from David Rumsey Historical Map Collection). That is why, once we saw the opportunity to come to Mauritania to enlarge our routes, we decided to organise Qafila Khamisa.

There was another important factor that encouraged us to come to Mauritania, Théodore Monod. After reading some of his books (specially Méharées), articles on his work and watching some documentaries, it was clear that we had explore, in our own way and with our means, this part of the Sahara desert.

Comparing the old caravans routes that appear in the old cartography of the 19th century and the routes that Monod followed on his expeditions, I thought it would be possible to go from Tichitt to Ouadane and I asked Zaida if she knew someone that could guide me. Some weeks later, she told me she found two nomads from Tichitt, from Nemadis tribe, they even sent her the name of the wells through which we would have to pass:

1. Tichitt / 2. Zig / 3. le Gouia / 4. ouad Ilge / 5. El Moumediya / 6. Toieserdemte /7. Ajrawa / 8. Echgeitim / 9. Tewenchret / 10. Ouadane

Two days before departure, the mother of one of the nomads got sick with COVID and could no longer come with me, when everything was ready, the two nomads and the three camels to travel the 480 km that separate Tichitt from Ouadane. Zaida tried to find someone else to replace him, but in that short time, it was not possible. She also tried to find someone from Tidjikja, but again, this kind of journey requires some time to prepare, overall to find appropriate camels.

One day later, Zaida told me she talked to a guide in Chinguetti that was almost ready to leave with me, he already had a camel, but he needed to find another and it could take him a couple of days to find it. I was a little bit disappointed but in fact, what I wanted was to walk in the desert and I had learnt that sometimes it is the desert that decides for you where to go and how.

Finally, we were going to walk from Chinguetti to Tidjikja, 280 km that needed 13 days. The caravan was organised by Marsad Drâa with the collaboration of Auberge Vasque chez Zaida and Zeinart.

What you will find here is the story of this trip through an archive composed by textes, drawings, plans (analog and digital), pictures (analog and digital) and videos. As far as the texts are concerned, they should be considered more like notes, and not a narrative text, besides, the translation of my notebook into English is not necessarily literal, allowing me certain details and corrections with respect to the original in French.

< qafila rabiaa

Credit videos, pictures, texts and drawings: Carlos Perez Marin