Impossible Journey

In 1986, explorer Michael Asher and his wife Mariantonietta Peru spent 3 months at Chinguetti Oasis, Mauretania, preparing for a record-breaking camel-trek across the Sahara from west to east. Setting out in the hot season, August, they crossed the desert of Waran (Ouarane) and passed through Tijikja, Tichit and Walata before crossing the Mali border. Both were fluent Arabic speakers, but learned the local dialect, Hassaniyya, before setting off. They found that Mauretania was one of the most interesting and least spoiled countries in northern Africa.