Nouakchott, Mauritania - Polarsteps

Everything was going quite well until I arrived at another police checkpoint 25 kilometers just outside of Nouakchott. First, I walked past it and they didn’t seem interested in me. But 15 minutes later, they picked me up and drove me back there. They took my passport and then I waited 5 or 6 hours until some officials and an ambulance arrived. I answered some questions about when I entered the country and how I got there. Then the ambulance drove me to a hotel in Nouakchott. I wasn’t explained what was going on until the next morning when some doctors knocked on the door. They checked my temperature and explained that I’m in quarantine for the next 14 days. I’m OK though, it seems it’s just a precaution. I am thinking to pause my walk until the corona epidemic settled down. The last week of walking wasn’t the most pleasant anyways. In the small desert villages, I didn’t feel welcome anymore. I was sent away from shops when trying to buy water, had kids run away from me and people yell at me. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, but now I’m sure they were scared that a westerner might spread the virus to their community.