Sorry its been so long since my last update. Well, I have been doing what most Alaskans do during our short summers: frantically enjoying every minute of warm weather that I can!
Here are more photos from Mauritania. What a colorful country that was, with lots of new sights! Nothing was more colorful than the fish market near the capital, Nouakchott.
About 4:00 every evening the small, brightly painted, wooden fishing boats begin coming back to beach, loaded with fishermen, and hopefully, fish. After dragging the boats ashore, men in rain gear begin running back and forth with crates of fish balanced on their heads, dodging small boys along the way who jump up and try to snatch a fish or two from the overflowing baskets. The boys are not the only ones who try to get a meal to bring home; the runners themselves often try to hide a fish, or two, or three by stuffing it into the papers lining the bottom of the crates.
The beach itself is lined with a few thousand of the tiny, gailey painted boats. Muscular men and boys play in the surf without shirts, while women wade out fully clothed in long, flowing traditional dresses. Nearby is a small fish market; long covered benches piled high with the days catch are the focus of attention for hundreds of people shouting and bargaining. All around colorfully dressed people wander, work, shop, fish, and play.
Nouakchott fish market
Bringing a boat to beach
A man takes a quick break, leaning against a boat.
A woman watches over her families fish at the Nouakchott fish market
A truck loaded and headed for other markets
A fish runner
A man bringing home some fish from the beachside market
This little boy is in the midst of the fish market action, tied by his ankle to a pole by the red cloth you see in the right of the photo.
Men in the traditional long flowing blue robes.
Baskets of fish atop a car
Beach Side Fish Market
Playing games beside the beach
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