Why I had to leave Africa

After mastering the Ekok-Mamfe road I spent a week in Cameron’s Capital Yaounde to stock up on visas. I was relieved when realizing that I only needed 3 more visas in order to reach South Africa: Congo, the democratic republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, while Namibia and South Africa are visa-free for European citizens. I got my Conga visa without problems but was turned down at the DRC-embassy, reason given: “Visas are only given to residents of Cameroon”. In Africa you have to be patient so I tried it two more times, no luck. I found reports of people in forums who said they managed to get the DRC visa in Cameroon but were then turned down at the border when trying to enter DRC from Congo with a visa issued in Yaounde.
After an intense research on various traveler forums I found out that it is still possible to get a DRC VIsa in Gabon’s capital Libreville. Unfortunately people also reported that in the last weeks Angolan embassies refused to give visas for non-residents. It didn´t look very promising but I still wanted to try it and thus went to Libreville.

I got the DRC visa without problems but was struck by Malaria immediately afterwards. While shifting between chills and high fever I looked deeper into the Angola visa issue. Overland travelers reported that the common places where people got visas before changed their policies and the only place to get it in Africa was in Accra (Ghana), way too far away for me.I heard of two bikers who managed to get into Angola by getting in touch with the president of a bikers association who knows an ambassador, unfortunately he doesn´t help people traveling in a car.

To make a long story short: There was no way to get a visa for Angola and I had to end my Africa trip in Gabon. I printed a “To sell” sign for El Poderoso (my old Mercedes 300D) and put little ads in Libreville’s supermarkets.
Since Libreville is one of the most expensive cities in the world and old Mercedes cars are a rarity there, I demanded 2.5 Million CFA (around 3800 €) as a base for negotiation. Many people called, many came to test drive and after 3 weeks El Poderoso was sold to a guy called Gema for 1.9 Million CFA (2900 €).

Selling Poderosso felt like betraying my best friend. He was my protection shield, my way of transportation and my suitcase for more than 7 months. I realized how lucky I have been. I bought Poderoso for 1100 € without knowing anything about cars. I traveled 18.000 km, passing through 13 countries with the badest roads ever and faced no major problems. An amazing piece of German engineering I have to say.

And there he disappears in the streets of Libreville. Poderoso, I gonna miss you!

The next fundraising bet will happen soon, every € helps:

PS: Leave a comment to send me some motivation to Peru

Check out the new webisode and see how I travelled through Mali, Ghana and Nigeria, how two Nigerians sabotaged my car and how I had to face the biggest challenge of my trip.

The next fundraising bet will happen soon, every € helps:

PS: Leave a comment to send me some motivation to Central Africa

Chequeen el nuevo wepisodio y vean como viajé a través de Mali, Ghana y Nigeria, cómo dos nigerianos sabotearon mi auto y cómo tuve que enfrentar el reto más grande de mi viaje.

Dentro de poco la próxima colecta, cada € ayuda:

PD: Deja un comentario para enviarme motivación a Africa Central.

Necessary documents

All documents listed in my earlier post are required except the fiches, since after leaving Senegal the police or gendarmerie will hardly bother anymore to take the details of all passengers. I managed to enter Ghana and Nigeria without a carnet de passage, though there are people in different forums who say that they were asked for it and even others who report that they were not permitted to enter Ghana without having one. I personally think you can cross the complete west coast of Africa without a carnet. How will be explained later on.

The route

Gambia -> Senegal -> Mali

From Banjul you can catch a ferry every hour to Barra and then enter Senegal shortly after. In Senegal they usually wouldn´t let you in if your car is older than 8 years and without having a carnet. Though, if you explain to them that you only need to cross Senegal to enter Mali and that you won´t stay more than 24 hours in their country, they will let you in, sooner or later…
Just have patience and expect that they will first neglect your entrance, act as if your case is finished and care about other people. Just put yourself in the end of the queue again and insist, when it´s your turn again, that you only need to cross Senegal to enter Mali.
You probably need to pay something between CFA 2000 and CFA 7000 to obtain the laissez passer (I saw locals paying CFA 2000). You could try to use the strategies explained here (todo: link) to get around this fee, but considering that is normal to buy the laissez passer and that they already made an exception, why not just pay for it? The route I took was Kaolack -> Tambacounda -> Kidira -> Kayes -> Bafoulabé -> Kita -> Bamako

You can get a visa for Mali at the border near Kidira for CFA 15.000 and the laissez passer for your vehicle for CFA 5000.

Note that it is important to start your journey early in the morning for several reasons:

• the roads in Senegal and Mali have wide & deep holes and dead cows and bulls, which got hit by a truck, are sometimes lying in the middle of the road. Both, the holes and the cows are even harder to spot in darkness
• you will see people carrying big things on their heads, driving bicycles or donkey carts on the side of the road. In complete darkness, especially when there are cars going into your opposite direction and blend you with their lights, it is hardly possible to see anything else than the lights of the car on the other lane
• borders close at a certain hour and if you don´t want to sleep at a police station or in a hotel you need to arrive in time

Mali -> Burkina Faso

A visa for Burkina Faso is not anymore issued at the border but you can get it at the Burkina Faso embassy in Bamako. I applied for it around 9am and could pick it up around 1pm on the same day. A 30 day, single entry visa costs CFA 47.000.

Route: Bamako -> Bougouni -> Sikasso -> Koloko -> Bobo Dioulasso -> Ouagadougou

Crossing the border near Koloko was fairly easy, the only fee to pay is for the laissez passer for CFA 5000.

Burkina Faso -> Ghana

I got my Ghana visa at the Ghana embassy in Ouagadougou. There are reports from other travelers who say their visa application was declined with the reason given that visas are to be obtained in their home country before coming to Africa and are not anymore issued to non-residents.
After filling out the Visa application and paying CFA 20.000 (official fee is CFA 17.000 but everybody waiting in the hall payed 20.000 to “speed up” the process) to the lady at the entrance office I was ordered to see the assistant of the ambassador. He asked me why I had not applied for the Visa in my country, I responded that I couldn´t plan in advance when I am going to be in Ghana. “We are not issuing visas anymore, you should have informed yourself beforehand, please wait outside”. After 1 hours of waiting I got my visa. Note that the official waiting time is 3 days but all people at the embassy got it the same day because of the additional CFA 3000 to “speed up” the process.

Crossing the border at Paga without a Carnet de Passage
This wasn´t easy at all! Several overlanders reported that a carnet de passage is absolutely necessary to enter Ghana. I arrived around 6pm and the border was closed already, I thus slept beside my car and returned to the customs office around 8am the next morning. When the customs officer recognized that my car was from Spain I was asked for my carnet.
As he heard I had none he said I couldn´t enter Ghana by no means and asked me to return to Burkina Faso. I talked to several other people and finally found a solution.

Apparently there is an option to import a foreign car into Ghana with a temporary import bond from the Ghanian state insurance company (the SIC, slogan: “Our promises are sacred”).
The nearest SIC office is located around 40km from Paga, in a town called Bolgatanga. I convinced an officer to let me go to Bolgatanga with my car in order to get the import bond. He issued me a temporary 4 hour access to Ghana. Together with an declare agent I went to Bolga and got the import bond for GH$100, lasting 3 months. My original car papers were held in Bolga, I was given a photocopy and was advised to pick up the original papers when i would leave Ghana. I told them to send the papers to Aflau, the place where I planned to leave Ghana and enter Togo.
With the declare agent I returned to the border in Paga where my agent collected around 8 stamps and signatures and gave a little money to some officials here and there. He demanded GH$100 for me but I managed to get his services for GH$60. The whole process lasted around 7 hours.
My papers were send to Aflau where I picked them up about 4 weeks later.
Note that the Ghanian custom officers were very strict, I doubt that I could have bribed them to give me a laisser passer. It seems to me that getting the temporary import bond or having a carnet is really the only option to enter Ghana with a foreign car.

From Paga my journey took me over Tamale and Kumasi to Accra. About 40 kilometers before Accra the “road” was in terrible condition, I don´t know if there´s another one to take but these 40km took me about 2,5 hours.

Ghana -> Togo

A 7 day visa is issued at the border in Aflao for CFA 10.000. The laissez passer costs CFA 6000.

Togo -> Benin

A 48 hours transit visa is issued at the border in Aného for CFA 10.000. The laissez passer costs CFA 5950.

Benin -> Nigeria

Nigeria Visa: You can get a Nigeria visa in Accra. They ask for a letter of invitation, a statement from an organization that sends you to Nigeria and you have to proof that you are a resident in Ghana for over 6 months. I had none of these requirements. After explaining my mission (crossing Africa from North to South) they told me to bring my carnet, my ecowas insurance and my car papers. Even without the carnet (I told them in all other West African countries I didn´t need one) I got the Visa 24 hours after applying for it for US$100 + US$70 (non-resident fee).

I read several forum posts stating that it is impossible to get into Nigeria without a carnet, it is for sure not easy but here is how I managed it:
At first there was a Benin police lady who tried to make me pay CFA 20.000 for a stamp in my passport which is needed to exit Benin with my car. She said that without that stamp the Nigerian customs wouldn´t let me into Nigeria. This was in fact true, I though managed to find another friendly police man who gave me the stamp for free. The next step was the immigration office (two guys sitting at wooden table).

I was asked the following questions:

• What is your motive for coming to Nigeria? (Tourism and transit to Cameroon, and listing all the countries I already past)
• Why didn´t you get the visa in your country? (Cause I came overland and couldn´t plan in advance when I was going to enter Nigeria)
• Where are you going? (Lagos, I have a friend in Apapa, Point Road)
• Where are you going afterwards (Benin City then Calabar)
• Are you a journalist (No)

I then had to fill out a form and take it into an office and was advised to bring “something good” afterwards. In the office next to the wooden table my passport got stamped. After being asked for “something good” I gave them 400 Neira (N) and also left 400N with the guys at the wooden table. I moved on to the place where they issue the laisser passer. There I met a pastor in front of the office and engaged him in a long conversation about my trip, listing all the countries I passed which left him quite surprised. We then talked about the differences in the West African countries and the pastor asked me which country I liked most and which least. I told him that I could have normal relationships with people everywhere except in Ghana because I had the impression that everybody just saw me as a money source. After explaining my charity mission he said something like “I want you to have a good impression about Nigeria, I will talk to the people in the office, wait a minute”. After about 10 minutes he returned and told me to go into the office where they would issue my laisser passer. The office was full of people, with a lady at the desk being the boss. I actively told my whole story about crossing all the West African countries up to Nigeria which also left them very surprised. “You are a brave man”. Another lady past her phone to me, she knew somebody who knew German and wanted me to talk to him. I was then asked for N7000 which was quite OK already, as I was happy to see that I would really mange to get the laisser passer. I then explained my charity mission, telling them how I raised funds for Gambian orphans and that they should consider me and give me the laisser passer for N3000. The boss lady said that she really likes my project and that i should pay the 3000N. With my new laisser passer I wanted to start my trip to Lagos.
Now it got a bit crazy: About every 20 meter there was a stop: Immigration, Anti Drug Squad, Health control, Bomb Squad, etc. Each post blocked the road with some sort of chain and raised it up just when I wanted to pass, while other locals just went through. When being asked if I had something for them I said something like “Yes, a lot of love and a question How do I get to Lagos?”.
I couldn´t get around paying N1000 at an immigration post but that was it.
Two times people blocked the road and pretended to be police men, I then asked for their ID and if they couldn´t provide it I just took off.

Psychological tricks for dealing with the police and border posts

The main strategies about how to deal with local police men are covered in my previous post. I though have some few things to add: From the moment on I entered Ghana the police started to be a little bit more demanding. They usually ask you for your documents until they find any small problem and then ask you for “something good” you have for them. If all your documents are in order they might check you vehicle, trying to find anything which is not right. If everything is right, they might just say “So, what do you have for me?” out of the blue. You can either have some really cheap but exotic present (I had little tea packets from Gambia) and invent it has some special effect (increasing libido etc.) or say that you already paid the something at the last stop.

Human to Human communication and actively leading the interaction

This is by far the best strategy ever, in my opinion for any interactions between people, if you are good at this you can forget all the other strategies.
Quite often when being stopped by the police I did what I call “human to human” communication: Imagine a human being is like an onion with 3 layers. From the inside to the outside these layer would be:

1. Human (here we are all the same)
2. Nationality (German, Nigerian, etc.)
3. Role (police man, tourist, etc.)

When engaging into any interaction with anybody down here, I try to forget about layer 2 and 3 and only act on layer 1, from human being to human being. In this state I am totally centered, totally me and I perceive my communication partner as a human being, not as a police man. This is not a strategy, I do it naturally. If you act from your own center everything just “flows” naturally. Just think the police man is a fellow human being, a friend and treat him accordingly. A typical interaction would then be like this:

Police man gives you a sign to park at the side of the road, you park, police man approaches you, you roll the window down
Police man: “Good evening”
You: “Hey, good evening, how are you? (smiling, shaking his hand or even better doing the rastaman greeting by offering your fist and slightly putting it against his fist, then touching your heart with an open hand)
Police man: “Can I see your papers please?”
You: “Of, of course” (handing your documents to him)
You: “This is the road to xxx, right? You know I was coming from xxx but I want to make sure I am on the right road”
Police man: “Oh yes, you just go straight, always straight. What are you going to do there?”
You: “Oh, you know I came with this car driving overland from Germany to Ghana and…”
Police man: “With this car, are you serious, how did you manage”
You: blablabla

It is very likely that after this he or she will not ask for a bribe. You can use any moment to actively lead the conversation to a different topic. Let´s say he/she asks you to show him the content of your trunk, on the way to the back of the car you can then point out a little dent and tell the story how it happened, asking some questions or simply looking at him just being you, a human being. It will lead to a nice encounter for both of you and make it really hard from him/her to ask for money.

Surprise them and get some respect

Note that from Ghana on policemen are not used to encounter overlanders as they are in Morocco or Gambia. They thus have a lot of respect for people getting so far, especially when you do it in a normal car like mine. Just by naming the countries you crossed and telling some stories about difficulties you had will leave them surprised, making them shake your hand and being really friendly.

Phew, I was once again off with no more than a fright. The director and more than 120 students of the OLA Senior High School in Ho, Ghana, agreed spontaneously to sing the song “Waka Waka” for the orphans in 3000 km away Bakau, Gambia. …An unforgettable experience for all and a wonderful humanitarian act.

Donors are uniquely connected with the project and are in the position to determine my fate by selecting the song and the bet, and thus providing me with new challenges. This time the bet was to work one week in a clown costume in the children’s ward at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul, Gambia.

The higher the donations turn out, the more difficult it becomes for me to win the bet. Every donated 1 € increases the fun. This should be enough incentive for the donors to sky rocket contributions into astronomical heights.

Inspired by the success of Ho, I sat down to work on the concept for the new video, titled “What if your life were a movie – would you watch it?”. Music brings people together. One of my greatest passions connects people around the globe. What a great success! The Ghanaian girls prove that this is the case. Their joy of singing will allow orphans to attend school in Gambia and it also forced them to look beyond themselves. Every single one of us can use his or her skills and passions to contribute to something larger.

Live your dream.
Make your life a movie.
Make a difference.

Stay inspired and come with me on my journey through Africa. The adventure continues to take its course. In just a few days, the Nigerian border officials will put my patience to the test. Will I be able to convince them to let me and my loyal friend and vehicle El Poderoso pass through the country? Or will Nigeria turn out as my final destination?

Stay tuned, donate now. The project and the artist are happy to receive your donations.

Special thanks to Serena Epstein and Nadine Regel, who contributed passionately to the making of the video. As well as to Benedicta Afesi, the headmistress of the OLA Senior High School, and most of all the pupils, who made the performance possible in the first place.

We’re all one.
Fab

Puh, ich kam wieder einmal mit dem Schrecken davon. Die Leiterin und Schülerinnen der OLA Senior High School in Ho, Ghana, erklärten sich spontan dazu bereit, für die Waisenkinder im 3000 km entfernten Bakau gemeinsam mit mir den Song “Waka Waka” zu singen. Ein unvergessliches Erlebnis für alle und ein schöner Akt der Menschlichkeit.

Die Spender sind auf besondere Weise mit dem Projekt verbunden und bestimmen über mein Schicksal. Sie wählen Song und Strafe aus, können dem Spektakel über verschiedenste Medien folgen und mich vor immer neue Herausforderungen stellen. Dieses Mal blühte mir bei Nichterfüllung der Wette eine Arbeitswoche in Clownskostüm in der Kinderabteilung des Royal Victoria Teaching Hospitals in Banjul, Gambia. Umso höher die Spendengelder ausfallen, desto schwieriger wird es für mich, die Wette einzulösen. Der Spaßfaktor nimmt also mit jedem gespendeten 1 € zu. Ansporn genug, die Spenden in astronomische Höhen schnellen zu lassen.

Inspiriert von dem Erfolg in Ho setzte ich mich sodann an das Konzept zum neuen Video “What if your life were a movie – would you watch it?”. Musik verbindet. Meine größte Leidenschaft bringt Menschen weltweit zusammen. Ein sensationeller Erfolg. Dass dieses Konzept aufgeht, auch über Ländergrenzen hinweg, beweisen die Ghanaischen Mädchen. Ihre Freude am Singen ermöglicht Waisenkindern in Gambia den Schulbesuch und lässt sie ein Stückchen weiter über ihren Tellerrand hinausblicken. Jeder Einzelne kann durch seine Fähigkeiten und Leidenschaften zu einem größeren Ganzen beitragen.

Live your dream.
Make your life a movie.
Make a difference.

Lasst euch auch weiterhin inspirieren und begleitet mich auf meiner Reise durch Afrika. Das Abenteuer nimmt seinen Lauf. In nur wenigen Tagen werden die nigerianischen Grenzbeamten meine Geduld auf die Probe stellen. Werde ich sie davon überzeugen können, mit El Poderoso, meinem treuen Freund und Vehikel, das Land zu durchfahren? Wird Nigeria my final destination?

Stay tuned, donate now. Das Projekt und der Künstler freuen sich über Spenden.

Besonderer Dank gilt Serena Epstein und Nadine Regel, die mit großer Leidenschaft zur Entstehung des Videos betrugen. Besonderen Dank gilt Benedicta Afesi, der Schuldirektorin der OLA Senior High School, und den Schülerinnen, die die Performance überhaupt erst ermöglichten.

¿Pero estaba realmente preparado para enfrentar ese desafío, a pesar de la bruma del viento Harmattan
del Sahara? ¿o estaba condenado a rendirme y admitir mi derrota? Descúbrelo tú mismo:

La directora y más de 120 estudiantes de la OLA Senior High School de Ho, Ghana, aceptaron
espontáneamente cantar la canción “Waka Waka” para estos 14 huérfanos que estaban a 3000
kilómetros de distancia, en Bakau, Gambia. Fue una experiencia inolvidable para todos y un acto
humanitario maravilloso.

Los colaboradores están especialmente conectados con el proyecto. Tienen la posibilidad de elegir
la canción y apostar para proporcionarme nuevos retos. En el caso de Gambia, si perdía la apuesta mi
compromiso era trabajar una semana con un disfraz de payaso en la sala infantil del Royal Victoria
Teaching Hospital de Banjul.

Cuanto mayores son los donativos, más difícil se hace para mi ganar la apuesta. Así, por cada 1 euro
donado la diversión aumenta… ¡esto debería ser un incentivo para disparar las donaciones hasta las
estrellas!

Siempre he pensado que la música une a las personas y las chicas de Ghana probaron que tenía razón:
con la alegría de sus voces han conseguido que 14 niños huérfanos tengan la oportunidad de asistir a
una escuela en Gambia, cambiando su vida para siempre. Así, con la inspiración de la experiencia en
Ho he comenzado a trabajar en el concepto del nuevo video: ¿Qué pasaría si tu vida fuese una película?

Todos nosotros podemos usar nuestras habilidades y pasiones para contribuir a algo más grande.

Vive tu sueño.
Haz de tu vida una película.
Haz la diferencia.

Mantente inspirado y acompáñame en mi viaje por África. La aventura sigue su curso. En pocos días
los funcionarios de la frontera de Nigeria pondrán a prueba mi paciencia. ¿Seré capaz de convencerles
para que junto a mi fiel amigo y coche “El poderoso” podamos atravesar el país? ¿O se convertirá
Nigeria en mi destino final?

Dona ahora. El proyecto y el artista estarán felices con tu donativo.

Mi especial agradecimiento a Serena Epstein y Nadine Regel, que contribuyeron
apasionadamente en la realización del video. También a Benedicta Afesi, directora del OLA Senior
High School, y principalmente a las estudiantes que fueron quienes hicieron realmente posible la
actuación.

Somos todos uno.

Fab

Check out the fundraising bet hereWir haben gewetten, dass wir für jede gespendete 10€ eine Person finden, die mit uns am Dienstag, 10. Januar (bis auf weiteres nach hinten verschoben, da Verlust unserer Kamera), gemeinsam ein Lied singt. Die Spenden werden verwendet um es in Gambia lebenden Waisenkindern zu ermöglichen die Grundschule in Bakau zu besuchen.
Beispiel: Wenn Ihr 1000€ spendet, müssen wir 100 Leute an einem Platz versammeln und singen!
Wofür wir sammeln erklärt unser Video:

Das Beweisvideo:

Fragen? Einfach einen Kommentar hinterlassen, wir antworten sofort! (über Facebook oder Disqus).

If you like what I am doing, just click the LIKE button below the title:

The more people know about Fab&Vivien, the more donations will be generated for the projects I am going to visit.

PS: Leave a comment to send me some motivation to West Africa

Si te gusta lo que estoy haciendo, cliquea el botón de LIKE:

Cuanta más gente sepa sobre Fab&Vivien, más donaciones serán realizadas para los proyectos que voy a visitar.

PD:Deja un comentario para enviar motivación a Africa Occidental

You can reach Daddy Ghanja using this email: bigdriss@live.fr
Enjoy

Traveling West Africa by car is a real adventure! Just taking off without any prior knowledge may increase the adventure factor, but some basic information can make the voyage much more pleasant. Read on and save yourself a lot of annoyance and money.

I recently made the trip from Spain to Gambia over Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal by myself (video report here) and will now summarize my experiences in this blog post.

This article is for everybody who considers traveling in West Africa by car.

Necessary documents

• Passport (valid for at least 6 more months);
• Driving license (if you´re from the EU you´re standard driver’s license will do the job, otherwise you might need an international one)
• Registration document of the car (in french: “Carte Gris”)
• Car insurance (green card, in french “Carte Verte”, it´s a green double-sided page that you can request for free from your car insurer). The carte verte is only valid in Morocco, for the other West African countries you can purchase an insurance at the border of Mauritania.
• per country: 10 copies of a paper listing data of every passanger in the car (french “Fiche”, you will get stopped many times by the police and the gendarmerie – without the fiches, they will register all your passport details manually, thus the fiches will save you a lot of time). Be sure to include: Name and Surname, passport number, Date of birth, Nationality, Date of issue of the passport, date of expiration of the passport, a note about who the owner of the car is + license plate of the car)
• A visa for Mauritania (you can get it from the Mauritanian embassy in Rabat, Morocco, see below)

Note: I went with my own car. If your car is rented or you´re driving somebody else’s, it might cause problems. I have no information about this, but you should check this issue before you´re leaving to Morocco.

Communication and languages

• Morocco: In the northern parts nearly everybody speaks spanish. Down south you get along with french (second official language)
• Mauritania: French
• Sengeal: French, some also speak english
• Gambia: English

The route

Spain -> Morocco

From Tarifa or Algeciras, you reach Tangier, Morocco in just 40 minutes by ferry. A ticket costs 35 € per person, while for a car you will be charged 65 €.

There are several companies that operate regulary and a ship can be found almost hourly. On board, you must not forget to fill in the entry form and stamp it. Shortly after the start of the journey there is usually a queue lining up where you can get the form and also hand it in. You will also need to show your passport.

After leaving the ship you will pass the Moroccan border, there they will ask you for your passport, the carte verte and the carte gris. Under certain circumstances, your car will be searched too. There are a few assistants working with the border police. They will offer their help for filling out the required forms.

As as always in Morocco, the first question is “First time in Morocco?”. If your answer is “Yes”, prices will rise. I paid a total of 10MAD (11 moroccan dirham = approx. 1 €) at the border and I think I got away quite well.

Morocco

The roads and highways in Morocco are easily navigable. The highways often cost tolls, but it stays within limits. For the entire distance, I paid less than 30 €. You should absolutely respect the speed limits; the Moroccansdo a lot of surveillance (mostly during the daytime). The rule is: 10% faster than allowed is within the limit. If the limit is 60km, you can go 66km max. If they catch you on camera, it is not easy to get away without paying the fee or paying less. They argue that the photograph was recorded on the memory card and it is not in their power to delete it, so be sure to respect the limits. If you get caught with other things, like not wearing a seatbelt or not following driving rules, you can always try to negotiate and pay less, or give a souvenir instead of money.

Mauritania visa in Rabat

It is best to ask for the visa in Germany (note the start date of the visa, as the simple ones expire in 30 days from the granting date). Otherwise, the only way of obtaining it is the Mauritanian embassy in Rabat (6, Rue Thami Lamdawar, BP 207, Rabat-Souissi).

The embassy officially opens at 09:00 a.m. The schedule for applying for the visa runs only from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Around 7:45 a.m. a queue forms outside the closed door, while the embassy sometimes doesn´t open until 09:30 a.m. Expect to lose around 1.5 – 2 hours in line, while you will be able to pick up the visa the next working day between 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. (as of 11/23/2011).

Necessary documents:

• 2 passport copies
• 2 passport photos (either black & white or color)
• Approx. 340 MAD (31 €) for the Visa fee
• The form to fill out (you will get it from the entrance door of the embassy)

Tricks for emergency situations:

• If you arrive after 11:00 A.M. you may still be able to ´arrange´ the documents with the park rangers, for the right fee. He will take care that the completed form is submitted on the same day to the respective desk and that you can pick up the visa the next day
• If you arrive there in the morning and you want to take the visa the same day, the parking attendant may also help you, for the right amount of course.

Border Morocco – Mauritania

The border opens at 9 a.m., but cars start lining up the night before. We arrived around midnight. At that time there were more or less 50 cars ahead of us (shown also in our video summarizes the trip). When leaving Morocco, you pass three stations: the police, customs and the gendarms. How to not pay the demanded fees is described below (link). After the border, you continue through the no-man´s land, a 3km ungoverned road without asphalt. It is highly recommended to follow one of the trucks, as they can show you the way. Otherwise you might get stuck in the sand. Some stay there forever, as the numerous car wrecks testify. After no-man’s land the fun starts all over again: Mauritanian border, police and gendarmerie.

Overall the process lasted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you pay all the fees you might save an hour, the negotiating and acting takes some time, but with the right attitude you can have a lot of fun

In total, we paid 100MAD (8.75 €) to the Mauritanian police, but at that time we weren´t very practiced in bargaining yet. With more patience and by applying the tricks described in the next section you can for sure get away without paying this fee.

At the Mauritanian border, hustlers will try to sell you an insurance for Mauritania (3 days = 160MAD = 15 €). The police will tell you that, without an insurance, you must pay a fee of 20 € at each of the following police stops. We weren´t asked a single time for an insurance in Mauritania.

It is advisable to bring some euros to the border, they can be easily exchanged into the Mauritanian currency (1 € = 389 Ouguiya). Even better is to directly bring Ouguiya from Morocco. There are no ATMs at the border, only a Western Union office. Since we had no euros, we exchanged 400MAD into 14 000 Ouguiya, which was a fairly good exchange rate. In Nuakchott, the capital of Mauritania, there is a petrol station and ATMs.

Mauritania

In Mauritania, one should avoid driving at night, at least this is recommended by the local police and the Foreign Ministry. We spent a night on the roadside, sleeping in an abandoned hut. At night, a man with a flashlight illuminated the room, but we were left in peace.

There are not many gas stations along the way. You should keep an eye on the tank and use the few opportunities you find.

Border Mauritania – Senegal

The shortest route to Senegal is via Rosso. There you have to take a ship. On the other side, you pass the border to Senegal. Rosso is not the nicest place in the world. When you get out of the car, several Mauritanians want to help you with the necessary transactions to take the ship and to leave Mauritania. There is a lot off ripping off, cheating and, according to some Internet reports, also stealing going on.

We were already used to the hassle, but Rosso, after the long drive, was too much even for us. We decided to take a 110km road (the first 50km are OK, then it is bumpy) to Diama.

I bought West African car insurance in Rosso (about 15 € for 30 days). I can not remember if it was possible to buy the insurance in Diama, but since you have to pass Rosso anyway, you can also quickly buy insurance there.

However, it is impossible not to be harassed on the way to the insurance salesman. Someone will show you the way and try to charge for it afterwards.

Even though I was only asked for 0.50 €, I refused to pay because of the audacity of my “guide”.

He said that our car would have an accident, because we are bad people. Nothing happened to us

On the road to Diama you pass approx. 5 police stops + a stop at the entrance of a national park. At the border, the usual procedure: police Mauritania, gendamerie, Mauritania, border control, police Senegal, Senegalese police.

Important Note on car imports: If you go with an old car (older than 8 years) to Senegal, there might be problems. They want to ensure that nobody does business with auto exports. I’ve heard many variations about how they try to prevent it. A friend said they would charge 400 € for each car (older than 8 years) entering the country. This is something like a custom fee, because they assume that you will sell the car. If you only want to transit Senegal, you might be accompanied by an escort, which ensures that you really leave the country (very expensive). In my case, they wrote into my passport that I entered with a car and gave me three days to leave Senegal. Otherwise, I would end up in prison (they repeated that three times).

Psychological tricks for dealing with police, gendarmerie and border posts

If you add up all the stops, from Morocco to Gambia you will be in contact with the police and gendarms about 25 to 30 times. At the border, they will always ask for money. If we would have paid all the fees that were requested from us, we would be 300€ poorer.

We got away with paying a total of about 15 €. It wasn’t easy, but a lot of fun!

Here are some useful tricks:

The appropriate Look:

The fees are flexible and adjusted according to what the policeman estimates you can afford to pay. It helps to have a shabby look. My outfit consisted of torn jeans and a Jimi Hendrix-esque headscarf. I also hadn’t showered for a long time.

The other passengers sometimes walked around barefoot. The car adapted to our looks, after several hours of driving through the desert.

At one stop, I listened to an interaction between the police and an older, well-established looking French gentleman. He was asked for 30 €, while I was asked for only 10 €.

The right attitude – all the time in the world:

It helps to comeaacross as if you have all the time in the world. The police assumes that you will get fed up after a while and will just pay and leave. The longer you can stand, however, the greater the likelihood that the police will let you go without paying. A friend of mine who travelled through West Africa for 5 years said that, at times, he would cook himself a tea at the border, or even put his tent there and act like he would stay overnight.

I remember two situations in which, after some initial negotiating, the policeman said something like: “If you have no money, you must now go back, I’ll give you an exit stamp”. He then grabbed the remote control and watched TV. He wanted to signal: the interaction is over, now I’m watching TV, I have all the time in the world. Outside, there were already other people waiting. He wasn´t really planning to watch TV, but he wanted to demonstrate that he has time. I, however, had more: I waited, used the desperate look and the No-money strategy (see below), and after another 2 minutes, he let us go.

The desperate look:

“TEN EURO?”, a desperate look (as if it was an incredibly high amount) into the eyes of the policeman + stories strategy (see below) + putting your head on the desk of the police man, and he lets you go.

No money – who has no money cannot pay

My co-driver from Finland had perfected this strategy. He really had almost no money and then said things like: “How should we pay when we have nothing?”, “But I have no money”, “Yes, I understand, but I just have none”.

Have the right stories to tell:

In Casablanca, my windshield was broken, which had to be repaired, of course for a LOT OF MONEY. It was a true story and every policeman or gendarme had to listen to it. For sure everyone has a similar story he wants to share with the police to trigger a little compassion. Also, it helps to be on a charity mission: for sure you can come up with something good you are going to do in the country. If you however spea in too much detail about your charity plans, they might ask for a contact man in the country, which they will call and ask to confirm.

Gifts and souvenirs:

If the above strategies don´t work, you can offer a low-value gift. In Spain, one can buy 12 bottles of Rioja wine for 12 €. A bottle of wine can do wonders, but don´t try to offer wine in Mauritania.

At the border post in Mauritania, nothing helped anymore. I went to the car and brought 4 audio CDs to the police. The policeman chose 2  Duke Ellington CDs and Astor Piazzolla. “Two?” I said with a desperate look. “Yes, two.”

“Ok, well … I´ll leave then, let’s see what we listen to in the car now…” + desperate look

He gave the CDs back too me, smiled, and let us go.

Actively addressing the money issue:

Twice, this strategy worked very well. Instead of waiting for the police to ask for money, you bring up the subject yourself. Use the desperate look and say something like: “I know that many here pay fees when they pass, I just want to say that because of story 1 and story 2 + no money strategy, we want to ask for an exception.”

Your last money:

At one point, we had to cross a bridge at night. The crickets chirped and the river flowed below us. On the bridge, a one-eyed man asked us for 4000 Ouguiya. The Mauritanians passed without paying. After applying all the above strategies, especially the all the time in the world trick, he went down to 2000. It was a very hard case. In such a situation, it helps to have a lower amount of torn money in your pocket. You then reach deep into your pocket and take out your last money. Small bills and an assortment of coins are perfect. I counted the money slowly. When the bridge guard saw this, he let us go without paying.

Conclusion:

EVERYTHING is flexible here. So flexible, that we even got one of our fellow travellers into Senegal without a visa. Getting out of Senegal was more difficult, but after exchanging facebook names and a possible date in the future we got her out ;-).

Whoever has money, has no desire to wait a long time, and pays. Whoever has no money, inevitably negotiates more and thus pays less or nothing at all. We didn´t invent stories, just exaggerated a bit here and there. Everyone must know for himself how far h is willing to go. To leave a bit of money here and there doesn´t really hurt. I personally prefer to spend money inside the country and not at the border, but you have to do what feels right for you.

Dangerous?

Before departure, I heard many horror stories. The Foreign Office strongly recommends not to go on any trip to Mauritania (“Only when absolutely necessary”). Even the Moroccans told me that the people “down there” were not very friendly or welcoming.

Exactly the opposite was the case. We were welcomed with open arms, and often invited to stay and eat. Here you find genuine hospitality, usually without financial motives. I wonder why it doesn´t work the other way around. Imagine 4 black guys from Mauritania traveling to your country. Would they be received as we were down here?

This video shows our trip from Morocco to the Gambia.

Question? Just leave a comment using facebook or DisqusEndlos weite, löchrige Wüstenstraßen, Berber und Beduinenstämme, zahllose Polizeikontrollen und Grenzposten und das damit verbundene Feilschen und Verhandeln um Gebühren und Wege Zölle.

Mit dem Auto durch Westafrika zu fahren ist ein echtes Abenteuer! Einfach drauflos fahren kann den Abenteuerfaktor der Reise zwar noch erhöhen, ein paar grundlegende Informationen erleichtern die Reise allerdings erheblich und wer weiter liest, kann einiges an Ärger und Kosten sparen.

Ich selbst habe vor kurzem die Strecke Spanien->Marokko->Mauretanien->Senegal->Gambia zurückgelegt (einen Videobericht gibt es hier), meine Erinnerungen sind noch frisch und ich möchte sie hier zusammenfassen.

Dieser Artikel ist für alle gedacht, die vorhaben mit dem Auto durch Westafrika zu fahren.

Benötigte Dokumente

• Reisepass (muss noch mind. 6 Monate gültig sein);
• Führerschein (ein internationaler Führerschein war für mich nicht notwendig, der EU-Führerschein ist ausreichend)
• Fahrzeugpapiere (französisch: “Carte Gris”)
• Eine Bescheinigung für eine bestehende Autoversicherung (französisch “Carte Verte”, grün doppelseitige halbe DIN A4 Seite, wird auf Anfrage von der bestehenden Versicherung angefordert). Die Carte Verte ist nur für Marokko gültig, eine Versicherung für alle anderen westafrikanischen Länder kann man später an der Grenze nach  Mauretanien kaufen.
• pro Land 10 Kopien einer tabellarischen Auflistung der Daten eines jeden Passagiers dabei zu haben erspart unnötiges Warten. (französisch “Fiche”) Man wird unzählige Male von der Polizei und Gendarmerie angehalten, ohne fiche tragen sie die Informationen von jedem Passagier in ein Buch ein, die fiches sparen also erheblich Zeit. Die fiches müssen enthalten: Vorname und Name, Reisepassnummer, Geburtsdatum, Nationalität, Geburtsort, Ausstellungsdatum des Reisepass (Date of Issue), Gültigkeitsdatum des Reisepass (Date of Expiration), eine Kennzeichnung wer der Eigentümer des Fahrzeugs ist + Kennzeichen des Autos)
• Ein Visa für Mauretanien (erhältlich in Deutschland oder in Rabat, Marokko, später mehr dazu)

Anmerkung: Ich bin mit meinem eigenen Auto gefahren. Bei Mietautos oder Autos, die einem selber nicht gehören, kann es unter Umständen zu Problemen führen. Dazu habe ich allerdings keine Informationen, man sollte sich aber unbedingt vorab informieren.

Sprachen

• Marokko: Im Norden kommt man gut mit Spanisch und Französisch durch, im Süden dann meist nur noch mit Französisch (2. offizielle Sparache)
• Mauretanien: Französisc
• Sengeal: Französisch, manche Sprechen auch Englisch
• Gambia: Englisch

Die Route

Spanien -> Marokko

Von Tarifa oder Algeciras gelangt man in nur 40 Minuten mit der Fähre nach Tanger in Marokko. Ein Ticket kostet pro Person 35€, für ein Auto bis 3m sind 65€ zu zahlen.?Es gibt mehrere Anbieter für die Überfahrt, ein Schiff lässt sich meistens stündlich finden. An Bord darf man auf keinen Fall vergessen das Einreiseformular auszufüllen und abstempeln zu lassen. Kurz nach Fahrtbeginn bildet sich meist eine Schlange an dem zuständigen Schalter, benötigt wird das Formular (ein kleiner Zettel) und der Pass.

Nach Verlassen des Schiffs in Marokko passiert man einen Grenzposten, hier wird nach dem Pass, der Carte Verte und der Carte Gris gefragt. Unter Umständen wird das Auto durchsucht.

Es gibt einige Assistenten der Polizei, die versuchen einem Hilfe beim Ausfüllen der Zettel aufzudrücken. Die Hilfe ist sehr nützlich und jeder nimmt sie in Anspruch.?Wie so oft in Marokko ist die erste Frage “First time in Morocco?”. Sagt man “Ja”, werden die Preise ordentlich erhöht, am besten war man schon 4 mal dort. Ich habe insgesamt 10DH (ca. 1€) an der Grenze bezahlt und denke ich bin damit ganz gut weggekommen.

Marokko

Die Straßen und Autobahnen in Marokko sind problemlos befahrbar. Die Autobahnen kosten oft Mautgebühren, halten  sich aber in Grenzen. Für die gesamte Strecke habe ich unter 30€ bezahlt. Unbedingt sollte man die Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzungen beachten, die Marokkaner kontrollieren an jeder Ecke (tagsüber). Es gilt die Regel: 10% mehr als auf den Straßenschildern angegeben,  liegt im Rahmen (ist die Begrenzung 60km/h kann man also 66km/h fahren), alles andere kostet und zwar nicht wenig.
Wird man kontrolliert, kommt man nur sehr schwer ums Zahlen herum. Argumentiert wird mit dem TotschlagArgument, dass das Photo auf der Speicherkarte registriert sei und es nicht in ihrer Macht liege dieses zu löschen, also auf jeden Fall an die Begrenzungen halten.

Mauretanien-Visa in Rabat

Am besten ist es, bereits ein Visa in Deutschland anzufordern (Startdatum des Visa beachten). Ansonsten ist die einzige Möglichkeit beim Mauretanischen Konsulat in Rabat (6, Rue Thami Lamdawar, B.P 207, Rabat-Souissi).

Die Botschaft öffnet offiziell um 09:00 Uhr morgens. Das Visa lässt sich nur zwischen 09:00 und 11:00 Uhr anfordern.
Ab 7:45 Uhr bildet sich eine Schlange vor der geschlossenen Tür, die Botschaft öffnet dann manchmal erst um 09:30 Uhr. Kommt man erst um 09:00 Uhr wartet man locker 1,5 – 2 Stunden. Abholen kann man  das Visa am nächsten Werktag um 15:00 Uhr (Stand 23.11.2011)

Benötigte Dokumente:

• 2 Kopien des Reisepasses
• 2 Passfotos
• ca. 340DH (31€) für das Visa
• Formular zum Ausfüllen (bekommt man an der Tür des Konsulats)

Tricks für den Notfall:

• Kommt man nach 11:00 Uhr, lässt sich mit dem Parkwächter “reden” (*hust), er kümmert sich dann darum, dass das ausgefüllte Formular noch am gleichen Tag auf dem entsprechenden Schreibtisch landet und man das Visa am nächsten Tag abholen kann
• War man morgens pünktlich da und möchte das Visa am gleichen Tag mitnehmen, so kann der Parkwächter auch behilflich sein

Grenze Marokko – Mauretanien

Die Grenze öffnet um 09:00 Uhr. Vorher und die Nacht davor bildet sich schon eine Schlange. Wir sind nachts gegen 00:00 Uhr dort angekommen und haben neben dem Auto geschlafen. Zu der Zeit waren ca. 50 Autos vor mir (wird auch in meinem Videoreport gezeigt). Beim Verlassen von Marokko passiert man 3 Stationen: Polizei, Zoll und Grenze. Wie man hier vorbeikommt ohne seinen  Geldbeutel zu erleichtern wird hier beschrieben. Weiter geht es durch das Niemandsland, 3km unregiertes Land ohne Asphalt. Hier ist es sehr empfehlenswert hinter einem LKW hinterher zu fahren. Ansonsten bleibt man auf der buckeligen Piste leicht im Sand stecken, manche für immer, wie die zahlreichen Autowracks bezeugen. Nach dem Niemandsland geht der Spaß von vorne los: Mauretanische Grenze, Polizei und Gendarmerie. Insgesamt hat der Prozess von 09:00 Uhr bis 15:00 Uhr gedauert. Zahlt man, kann man sicher eine Stunde sparen, das Verhandeln und Schauspielern nimmt einige Zeit in Anspruch, kann mit der richtigen Einstellung aber sehr viel Spaß machen

Insgesamt haben wir 100DH (8,75 €) bei der Mauretanischen Gendarmerie gelassen, allerdings waren wir zu der Zeit noch nicht so geübt im Feilschen, sicher kommt man aber mit viel Geduld und den, im nächsten Abschnitt bechriebenen Tipps auch  um diese Gebühr herum.

An der Mauretanischen Grenze wird versucht einem  eine Versicherung für Mauretanien anzudrehen (3 Tage = 160DH = 15€). Angeblich zahlt man bei jeder Kontrolle eine Strafe von 20€, wir wurden allerdings nicht nach einer Versicherung gefragt.

Empfehlenswert ist es Euros dabei zu haben, diese lassen sich an der Grenze leichter in die Mauretanische Währung (1€ = 389 Ouguiya)  zu tauschen. Noch besser ist es direkt Ouguiya aus Marokko mitzubringen. Es gibt keinen  Bankautomaten an der Grenze, nur ein Western Union Büro. Da wir keine Euros dabei hatten, haben wir 400DH in 14000 Ouguiya getauscht, was sich für uns nach einem ganz guten Kurs anhörte. In der Hauptstadt Mauretaniens gibt es eine Tankstelle und auch Bankautomaten.

Mauretanien

In Mauretanien sollte man es vermeiden nachts zu fahren, zumindest wird dies von der hiesigen Gendarmerie und dem auswärtigen Amt empfohlen. Wir haben eine Nacht am Straßenrand, in einer verlassenen Hütte, verbracht. Nachts leuchtete ein Mann mit einer Taschenlampe durchs Fenster, hat uns aber in Ruhe gelassen.

Es gibt nicht all zu viele Tankstellen auf dem Weg, man sollte die Tankanzeige im Auge behalten und die wenigen Möglichkeiten nutzen.

Grenze Mauretanien – Senegal

Der kürzeste Weg  nach Senegal führt über Rosso, dort muss man ein Schiff nehmen und passiert danach die Grenze zu Senegal. Rosso ist nicht der schönste Ort der Welt. Steigt man aus dem Auto, wird man überlaufen von Mauretaniern  die einem angeblich helfen wollen die nötigen Transaktionen durchzuführen um das Schiff zu nehmen und Mauretanien zu verlassen. Hier wird ordentlich abgezockt, betrogen und nach einigen Internetberichten auch geklaut.

Wir waren schon einiges gewöhnt aber Rosso war selbst für uns zu viel, so dass wir uns entschieden  Rosso zu verlassen und eine ca. 110km lange Buckelpiste (die ersten 50km sind OK, danach wird es holprig) nach Diama zu nehmen.

In Rosso habe ich mir noch eine Westafrika-Autoversicherung besorgt (ca. 15€ für 30 Tage). Ich kann mich nicht erinnern, dass es die Versicherung auch in Diama zu kaufen gibt, da die Straße nach Diama allerdings in Rosso abzweigt, kann man die Versicherung auch schnell dort kaufen.

Es wird allerdings unmöglich sein, auf dem Weg zum Versicherungsverkäufer nicht belästigt zu werden. Irgendjemand wird einem den Weg zeigen wollen um später  ab zu kassieren. Auch wenn von mir nur 1€ verlangt wurde, habe ich aufgrund der Dreistigkeit meines “Guides” nicht gezahlt. Daraufhin  meinte er , dass sich unser Auto überschlagen wird, da wir böse Menschen sind. Uns ist nichts passiert

Auf der Buckelpiste nach Diama passiert man sicherlich 5 Polizei- und Gendarmerie Stationen + einen Eingangsposten zum Nationalpark. An der Grenze dann das gewohnte Prozedere: Polizei Mauretanien, Gendarmerie Mauretanien, Grenze, Gendarmerie Senegal, Polizei Senegal.

Wichtige Anmerkung zur Autoeinfuhr: Fährt man mit einem älteren Auto nach Senegal, gibt es Probleme. Sie möchten verhindern, dass man Geschäfte mit Autoexporten macht. Ich habe viele Varianten gehört, wie versucht wird, dies zu verhindern. Ein Freund meinte, sie würden jedem 400€ abknöpfen, der mit einem PKW  ins Land einreist, der älter als 8 Jahre ist. Es wird ein Zoll berechnet, weil davon ausgegangen wird, dass man das Auto verkaufen wird. Möchte man nach Gambia weiterfahren, wird man, nach Aussage des Zollbeamten von einer Eskorte durchs Land begleitet, die sicherstellt, dass man das Land auch wirklich verlässt (sehr teuer!). In meinem Fall haben sie mir in den Pass geschrieben, dass ich mit einem Auto eingereist bin und mir 3 Tage Zeit gegeben  wird ,das Land zu verlassen. Andernfalls würde ich im Gefängnis landen (wurde drei Mal wiederholt).

Psychologische Tricks zum Umgang mit Polizei, Gendarmerie und Grenzposten

Rechnet man alle Stops zusammen, so kommt man von Marokko bis Gambia um die 25 Mal mit Polizei, Gendarmerie und Grenzkontrollen in Kontakt. An der Grenze wird bei jedem Stop  Geld verlangt. Hätten wir alle Gebühren brav gezahlt, wären wir um die 300€ ärmer.

Wir sind mit insgesamt ca. 15€ davon gekommen, das war zwar nicht immer einfach, hat aber viel Spaß gemacht.

Anbei einige hilfreiche Tricks:

Der passende Look:

Die Gebühren werden flexibel, je nach Einschätzung der Polizei, an das Aussehen des Passierenden angepasst. Es hilft also ein bisschen heruntergekommen und ärmlich auszusehen. Mein Outfit bestand aus zerrissenen Jeans, einem Jimi Hendrix Kopftuch und gewaschen hatte ich mich auch schon länger nicht. Meine Mitfahrer sind teilweise barfuß herumgelaufen. Das Auto hat sich nach mehrstündiger Wüstenfahrt unseren Looks angepasst.

An einem Posten habe ich eine Interaktion mit einem älteren, etablierten französischem Herrn durchs Fenster belauscht. Er wurde um 30€ gebeten, ich hingegen nur um 10.

Die richtige Einstellung : Alle Zeit der Welt:

Es hilft so rüber zukommen, als hätte man alle Zeit der Welt. Die Polizei spekuliert darauf, dass es einem irgendwann zu bunt wird, man einfach zahlt und davon fährt. Je länger man jedoch aushält, um so größer die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass die Polizisten keine Lust mehr haben sich mit einem herumzuschlagen und abwinken. Ein Freund von mir, der 5 Jahre durch Westafrika gefahren ist, meinte mal ,er würde an machen Grenzposten seinen Teekocher raus holen und sich erstmal gemütlich hinsetzen. Um nicht die 400€ Auto-Importgebühr zu zahlen, hat er sogar mal sein Zelt aufgeschlagen.

Ich erinnere mich an zwei Situationen, in denen der zuständige Beamte nach einigem Verhandeln meinte: “Wenn du kein Geld hast, dann musst du jetzt zurückfahren, ich gebe dir einen Ausreisestempel”, um sich dann seiner Fernbedienung zu widmen und Kanäle zu wechseln.?Er wollte signalisieren: Die Interaktion ist vorbei, jetzt schaue ich ganz in Ruhe Fernsehen, ich habe alle Zeit der Welt. Draußen warteten schon die Nächsten, in echt war das natürlich nur eine Masche. Ich wartete und wendete den verzweifelten Blick und die Kein-Geld-Strategie (siehe Unten) an und nach weiteren 2 Minuten winkte er ab und ließ uns fahren.

Der verzweifelte Blick:

“ZEHN Euro?”, dazu ein verzweifelter Blick (so als wäre es eine Unsumme) in die Augen des Polizisten, Geschichten-Strategie (siehe unten) + evtl. noch den Kopf auf den Schreibtisch des Polizisten sinken lassen und ein wenig verharren, kann Wunder wirken.

Kein Geld – Wer kein Geld hat, kann nicht zahlen

Mein Mitfahrer aus Finnland hatte diese Masche perfektioniert. Er hatte wirklich fast kein Geld und sagte dann Sätze wie: “Wie sollen wir denn zahlen, wenn wir doch nichts haben?”, “Aber ich HABE doch kein Geld”,  “Ja verstehe ich, aber ich habe einfach nichts”.

Die richtigen Geschichten auf Lager haben:

In Casablanca wurde mir die Scheibe eingeschlagen, die musste natürlich teuer repariert werden. War wirklich so, und jeder Polizist oder Gendarm musste sich meine Geschichte anhören. Möchte man nichts erfinden, hat sicher jeder eine ähnliche Geschichte, die er mit der Polizei teilen möchte um ein bisschen Mitleid zu erregen. Auch hilft es auf einer Charity-Mission zu sein, irgendetwas Gutes, was man im Land machen wird, wird sich schon finden lassen. Hier ist jedoch Vorsicht geboten: Manchmal wird nach einem Kontaktmann im Land gefragt, der dann direkt angerufen wird.

Geschenke und Souvenirs:

Wenn es gar nicht mehr weitergeht, dann kann man auch ein, im Verhältnis zum Geld, geringwertiges Geschenk anbieten. In Spanien lässt sich ein 12 Flaschen-Kasten Rioja Wein für 12€ kaufen. Eine Flasche Wein kann Wunder wirken, allerdings auf keinen Fall in Mauretanien anbieten. Ansonsten gehen auch Orangen oder kopierte Musik CD´s.

Am Grenzposten in Mauretanien half nichts mehr, ich holte 4 Audio CD´s aus dem Auto und bot sie an. Der Polizist suchte sich 2 aus: Duke Ellington und Astor Piazolla, allerdings Kopien. “Zwei?”, sagte ich mit verzweifeltem Blick. “Ja, Zwei”. Verzweifelter Blick + “Ok, naja… Wir fahren dann mal weiter, mal sehen was wir jetzt im Auto hören” + Verharren.?Er gab mir die CD´s zurück und winkte mit einem Lächeln ab.

Aktiv das Geldthema ansprechen:

Diese Strategie funktionierte 2 Mal sehr gut. Anstatt darauf zu warten, dass der Polizist nach Geld fragt, einfach von vorne herein das Thema selbst ansprechen. Voher den verzweifelten Blick aufsetzten, dann: “Hallo, ich weiß das viele ,die hier durchfahren Geld bezahlen. Ich wollte aber sagen, dass weil Geschichte 1, Geschichte 2 + Kein Geld wir um eine Ausnahme bitten möchten”.

Verloddertes, letztes Geld:

An einer Stelle mussten wir Nachts eine Brücke überqueren, die Grillen zirpten, der reißende Fluss  unter uns, dann  auf der Brücke ein einaügiger Mann. 4000 Ouguiya wollte er von uns haben,die Mauretanier passierten umsonst.  Nach Anwendung aller obigen Strategien, besonders alle Zeit der Welt, ging er auch 2000 runter, ein sehr hartnäckiger Fall. Da ließ sich nichts mehr machen. In einer solchen Situation hilft es, einen passenden niedrigeren Betrag in der Tasche zu haben, am besten in zerfetzten Scheinen (gibt es viele von in Mauretanien). Man greift dann tief in die Tasche und holt das letzte Geld was man noch hat heraus und zählt es mühevoll und akribisch vor. Darauf hin  wurden wir direkt weiter gewunken.

Fazit:

Hier ist ALLES flexibel, so flexibel, dass wir sogar eine Mitreisende ohne Visa nach Senegal gebracht haben, raus war dann schwieriger, aber nach Austausch der Facebook-Daten und einem evtl. Date in der Zukunft war auch das möglich

Wer Geld hat, hat keine Lust lange zu warten und zahlt. Wer keins hat, wartet zwangsläufig und zahlt weniger oder gar nicht. Wir haben keine Geschichten erfunden, nur manchmal ein bisschen übertrieben. Jeder muss selbst wissen wie weit er geht. Hier und da mal ein paar Euro zu lassen, schadet ja auch keinem. In meinem Fall bevorzuge ich, dass Geld IM Land auszugeben und nicht an der Grenze, aber das muss jeder selbst entscheiden.

Gefährlich?

Vor Abfahrt habe ich viele Schauergeschichten gehört. Das auswärtige Amt (todo: link)rät dringend von einer Reise nach Mauretanien ab (“Nur wenn unbedingt notwendig”). Selbst die Marokkaner sagten mir, dass die Leute “dort unten” nicht so freundlich seien.

Genau das Gegenteil war der Fall. Wir wurden mit weit geöffneten Armen empfangen und oft zum Übernachten und Essen eingeladen. Hier herrscht echte Gastfreundschaft, meist ohne Hintergedanken und ich frage mich ,warum es so herum geht,  aber andersherum nicht. Wie ist es, wenn 4 schwarze Mauretanier nach Deutschland reisen. Werden sie so offen empfangen wie wir?

Dieses Video zeigt unsere Reise nach Gambia.

Fragen? Einfach unten einen Kommentar über Facebook oder Disqus hinterlassen

Words by Kenny Stanger
Sung by me (I had a cold!!), recorded with the awesome people from Groovestrasse, drums by Marino Colina

Enjoy: Hey Mr. Small Man by Fab&Vivien

Lyrics:
Hey Mr. Small Man, what did you dream last night?
You dreamt about a stairway that you can climb and see the light.
Your people’ve lived in darkness as generations slept.
Nothing ever changes, till someone takes a step.

(Refrain)
One small person with a big idea
And a small group of people with open ears
In a hundred different places all at the same time
Reaching hundreds of thousands of hearts and minds
Half a million people with a million hands
Rising up to better see the land
A pale blue dot seen from outer space
We can make our home a better place!

Hey Mr. Small Man, where you going with that stone?
The people say you’re crazy, you can’t build your dream alone.
But wait! A few approach, with stones and open hearts.
They say they share the same dream, but someone has to start. And it’s…

(Refrain)
One small person with a big idea
And a small group of people with open ears
In a hundred different places all at the same time
Reaching hundreds of thousands of hearts and minds
Half a million people with a million hands
Rising up to better see the land
A pale blue dot seen from outer space
We can make our home a better place!

Hey there Earth People, there’s work yet to be done.
You can light a thousand candles, with the flame of a single one.
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.
If you have the courage to take a step, I promise to lend a hand. Yes it’s…

(Refrain)
One small person with a big idea
And a small group of people with open ears
In a hundred different places all at the same time
Reaching hundreds of thousands of hearts and minds
Half a million people with a million hands
Rising up to better see the land
Each of us a part of the Human Race
We can make our home a better place!