Yes, I know that’s a dolphin, not a fish. Just a cool pic and a great metaphor for what life is like in the Foreign Service.

A Sunday morning trip to the beach yielded an amazing opportunity to see a dolphin pod hunt a large school of fish, and we were treated to a wonderful show. Apparently Mauritania has a large untapped biomass of fish off the coast, and it is a popular destination for whales, dolphins, a variety of birds, and Chinese fishing boats. What it has meant for us is the opportunity to see and experience a lot of things we definitely never would have in El Paso, TX. Here are a few more fun scenes from that trip (credit to our amigo M.S. for having an eagle eye/lens):

Door to beach takes us roughly 25 minutes and the pictures don’t really do it justice. It’s just miles of pristine beach, interesting characters, large waves, and warm water. It’s a welcome retreat from the chaotic nature of the city, and it’s sort of a mind trip to reconcile that such a beautiful place exists so close.

Another fun oasis has been the old embassy compound swimming pool. If you aren’t aware, worldwide, the U.S. government has gone to great lengths to update their embassies and consulates. What this means in Nouakchott, is we have an Embassy that is only a couple of years old seen here:

It’s a very cool place to work everyday, but perhaps just as interestingly, the government still owns the old embassy location in Nouakchott. Most of it has been handed over to the American International School of Nouakchott, but a few things are still open for our use, one of them being the old embassy pool. The new embassy pool has been undergoing some updates/repairs, and although it is a wonderful pool, there’s something about the old pool that I love. See for yourself:

It’s nothing really fancy, but it gives off some 1970’s old school country club vibes. Maybe another thing I love is just how much vegetation there is in the old embassy compound. When you are here, you definitely don’t feel like you’re inside a city that’s perched on the Saharan desert, where you can see sand dunes in the heart of an urban area. It’s a literal oasis.

Elsewhere, we finally got notification that our vehicle made it on a boat, and should be arriving sometime next month. One of the reasons most of my “out and about” pictures have been of the pool and beach is because we are fairly dependent on the Embassy motor pool, so exploration in the first month or two is fairly limited (plus c’mon, kids love to swim). Once we get the Nouakchott Battle Cruiser back on dry land, it’s going on a lot of adventures. From trips to the dunes to a trip down to St Louis, Senegal, she’s got some activity earmarked.

I can’t begin to express how excited we are to get our car. Although the motor pool is nice (and we made good use of our loaner Defender for a couple of weeks), it is annoying that if we want to do something as basic as go to a grocery store for a loaf of bread, we need to call them. It takes around 20-30 minutes for them to pick us up, and you sort of have to plan your activities days in advance, since sometimes they’re all booked up. Spontaneity has gone out the window, and although we are grateful for the service (and likely will still use it when our car arrives for other activities), it will be incredibly freeing to be able to run to a restaurant or store without the rigmarole.

With all that gibberish out, I want to close today’s post with a huge shoutout to the 165th Specialist Class, and specifically to the MED folks that just finished their general orientation. I’ve gotten to know and chat with a few of them over the last several months (camera pans over to Laura, Cameron, and Twila), and the Foreign Service couldn’t ask for a nicer bunch of folks (except for maybe the 164th MED class :-P). Cameron also writes a blog about his experiences and is headed off to Bishkek. I thoroughly recommend following along here for a great read and the perfect amount of Lord of the Ring’s references. Best of luck to the 165th as they embark on their first assignment, I’ll close with a favorite Tolkien quote of my own: “The Road goes ever on and on down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, and I must follow, if I can” – J.R.R. Tolkien

Happy Adventures! — Nick