|
Disembarking on the coast of Mauritania from a small fishing trawler, Odette du Puigaudeau and her friend Marion Sénones began a year long trek through the Sahara. Leaving Nouadibhou (Port-Etienne) in 1933, they arrived in Kayes in 1934 after completing a 5500 km journey, including 2900 km on camelback. Travelling independently, with little money, minimum luggage and no official commission, they navigated their way between nomadic tribes and French colonials who were still finding it difficult to stamp their authority. French colonization and nomadic tribes' aspirations had been put on a collision course and while the narrator's loyalty remains with the country of her birth, clearly her heart has been captured by the proud warriors she befriended throughout her journey.
|