Some Mauritanian info:

[armadillo]

Salam!

- Back from RIM 3 weeks a-go with a 93 model , no problemas yet at the new Ndb - Western Sahara border. We arrived at the RIM border at night and the RIM officers were nice and very polite. They used our torch to search (lightly) our very loaded car. Next time I may carry a carnet, RIM is changing rapidly in some aspects.

- Renewing the 3 day visa at Ncktt was a real pain, tourist had to wait in the funky S.N. building for much longer than expected, some even had to pay more, specially if you don't speak french properly.
If you can, get the 1 month visa at your country of origin, or anywhere else.

- More: a friend who works in the new gov showed me the dossier with all maps and data for the construction of a tar road from Kiffa - Tidjikja - Atar (near the oasis) He said it will be finished in about 3 years. They want to keep tarring til Tindouf

- For Richard K.: We only did see 1 vehicle in the piste (local) bet Tichitt and Oualata. All 5 wells bett Tichitt and Oualata very easy to find with good water at less than 10 meters. Water consumption was about 7 liters per person, temperatures (Jul-August) about 43 C. some more in Tichitt where temperatures did not drop at night and the air was hot like a hair dryer.

Price for Diesel in Tichitt 300 oog (they asked 350-400) There was no petrol but we left 150 liters at the ouberge next to the check point.

Finding the piste bet after Aratane wells and 60 km before Oualata was difficult, there was no traffic for long time, not tracks and lots of wind. About daily dust storms and extreme rain in the Nema area, the piste with Oualata became a 150 meters wide impassable (for us) oued

We meet Matt, --an american solo biker with a new Kawa 650-- in Nktt and help him to carry his water and fuel to Tichitt. He fried the clutch 40 km's near Ganeb wells, after 6 days of very soft sand. The bike did not overheat. About two years a-go, in March, we meet in Tichitt an experienced german biker with a broken KTM. Is the Tidjikja - Tichitt- Oualata piste so demanding for a bike?

Let me know if you need any more info of this track for your bike trip

Sidi Jose Brito, thanks for the info --and the w.p.'s you did send me!--