St Louis is very close to Senegal’s border with Mauritania. One afternoon we rode our rented bikes to where we judged the border to be. Locals pointed us in the right direction and confirmed that this was the actual border. As this was not an official crossing, you would never know it was the border between two nations.

Here is a border marking along the sandy track that leads into Mauritania. Other than that, and a few people waiting for a truck for passage into Mauritania, the area was completely devoid of human presence. It was strangely moving to be there, especially knowing that the vast Sahara desert lay just a few miles beyond.

A lone truck follows the sandy road from the border. I’m not sure where it was headed, because my map doesn’t show any villages in Mauritania for miles around. The only thing visible on the horizon was the stand of trees in the background.

I love the endless, open spaces. There was a certain peace to it.

The distant trees were enticing, so we rode up to them along the sandy track and snapped these pics.

Mauritanian sunset.