Toco Lenzi and the Portuguese in Nouakchott

Toco Lenzi its a Brazilian man well known in Mauritania. Wanting to cross by foot from the Atlantic sea to the Mediterranean he keeps coming back every winter since 2005 and doing stretches of 400 km to 600km each time. The first year he brought a small cart that he pulled himself and where he kept all is material. In his second trip he substituted the cart for camels and went in to areas where there where no roads. Following the tracks that once belonged to the great caravans of the Sahara.

We'all met at the house of Antonio Araujo, a Portuguese ornithologist that works for the National Park of the Banc d'Arguin and that has lived in this country for the past 10 years.

 José Fachada that owns an aluminium business has now been in Mauritania for over two years.

 Frederico Esteves and José Branco had just arrived to Nouakchott each on his own 4 whell drive after spending twelve days on the road from Portugal to Nouakchott. I believe they thought they where doing an amazing adventure venturing in a country considered today dangerous. It came as a surprise to them to find all those compatriots that lived in Mauritania for love of the country and thought that there where more dangerous places to live in the world. As Toco says its a lot more dangerous to cross S.Paulo in Brazil than the desert.

 Toco next trip that starts tomorrow is to cross from Bir Moghrein, North Mauritania to Tindouf in Algeria by foot. Wishing him a good trip and hoping to see him soon.

Bechir Malum, Mauritanian painter

Bechir Malum a Mauritanian painter will be having an exhibition at Galerie Sinaa next week.

For Sinaa he prepared a small collection of drawings in ink and watercolor where he explores the graphic symbols and signs he uses in his large paintings.

waiting for the caravan

christening

small coffee in the oasis

an old sketchbook