What surprises the visitor at the Toiles Maures guesthouse is the calm that reigns there. Away from the lively centre of Atar, the welcome unfolds gently. First there are the dunes surrounding the camp, and then a wholly original layout.
At the centre, a large open room crowned with the "sail", like a beautiful velum, a reminder that here the nomad lives above all at the whim of the wind. You eat there, you relax there, a glass of tea in your right hand and a good book in your left. Surrounded by 3 nomad tents and 4 traditional huts, each one welcomes the walker weary from a week's trek. Everything is comfort and cleanliness! No unnecessary frills: the individual mattresses are of good quality, the sheets are clean and — supreme comfort — you can slip a pillow under your head or under legs that never expected such treatment! And then there are the colours of the rugs that will gently massage your feet, for here there is no question of coming in with your dusty boots!
If you don't like hearing the sail flap in a strong wind, you will prefer the "tikits", those traditional river-country buildings with a natural stone base — a guarantee of great coolness during the day — topped with a roof of straw woven from date palm leaves, replaced after each season! Each hut has its own private terrace, from which you can watch the comings and goings of your ever-attentive hosts.
The sanitary facilities match the rest. The abundant water you need, and the cleanliness that is the hallmark of a good establishment recommended by various travel guides.
In the evening, the lights powered by solar panels come on one after another. The men set about watering the vegetation, drawing from the well with the ancient counterweighted mast "Echeyllal" — a sign that tradition is a work that travels through time!
You will have guessed: the Toiles Maures guesthouse is an excellent stopover for those who want to live at the gentle, friendly pace of Mauritania!