This train is 100% secure

"As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal." Robin Sharma

The no mans land between Morocco and Mauritania is odd. A kilometer stretch of dirt and rock, with no real discernable road between the two borders. Old burnt out and striped car frames are everywhere. Broken televisions and washing machines litter the desert. A United Nations truck sits on the hill, the driver just watching the cars go every which way in the space between countries. Don't go far off the main drag though, it is heavily mined, a reminder of the ongoing conflict and partition of a people being quietly displaced from their homes and families divided along newly created lines.

"You are 100% secure here", says the chief of the border outpost. "You can go anywhere you want in our country, there will be no problems, welcome to Mauritania". That is quite the promise.

In Nouadhibbou, we rested, and prepared to ride the iron ore train. The train, 2-3km long, is a metal beast, running empty from the coast, to the hot dry interior iron ore mine at Zouerat, some 15-20 hours away. There is one passenger car, but many locals simply climb into the empty carriages and ride for free. This sounded awesome, and it was, just not in the way we expected.

We bought a blanket, some head scarfs to keep the dust out, some food, and cardboard to shield us from the vibrations of the empty carriages. Five of us crammed into a tiny taxi to the train station. We waited inside the small concrete building along with the ticketed passengers, but soon went out to wait along the tracks. The outside of the train station proclamed the train, "The Way of Iron". You could see black plumes of smoke before you could hear the train. The two engines roared by, metal smashing against metal, car after car passing. The ticketed passengers made a mad dash to get the good seats. We found an empty ore car and climbed up.

The cars were wide and surprisingly clear of ore dust. We set out our cardboard beds and waited. You could here the chain reaction of train cars pulling against each other as the engines started moving. The cars crashed forward, a tremendously loud bang followed, a sound we would be all too familiar with by the end of the ride. We rolled out of town, slowly gaining speed From time to time a loud crashing sound would rip through the train, and the cars would lurch violently. We watched the desert roll by, enjoying the novelty of it all.

Sand and dust blew constantly in our faces, you breathed it in, even with the head wraps. Small abandoned villages would appear occasionally, every so often you would see one person still there. What are they doing so far from anything? There is more there than I can see with my western conditioned eyes I realize. The natural beauty and solitude alone was incredible, but it seemed a harsh life. As the sun set, the first sandstorm hit.

Our home for the night

View from the train

Sunset before the storm

The sun disappeared. The air turned hot, very hot. As we left the coolness of the coast, the sun baked interior radiated heat into the night. Dry hot air blew the sand every where. Chris asked jokingly, "Is this the train to hell?". Could be, but I think we are just going to Choum. I fell asleep, an old suit jacket I had bought over my face.

I awoke in the dark, the sky clear, the moon shining brightly, a small respite from the storm. I awoke again, we were stopped. It was 11:30pm. Hot air still swirled. How can it still be getting hotter, and.....is that children laughing I hear? We were 2km outside of a village, waiting for a full train to pass on the tracks in the other direction. Local kids walked out with drinks to sell, very enterprising, but they were cheaper than normally in the stores. Maybe that is why they sell them at night, away from the village? The full train passed, our train lurched back to life, I fell asleep again. I awoke covered in dust, the wind blowing violently, the second sandstorm hit. I curled up and tried to sleep.


5:30am. I'm awake. The air thick with dust. Its hard to even see across the train car. We were stopped. I looked over the edge, and a minibus was waiting in the blowing dust, the driver yelling. We were in Choum. I tried to dust off my blanket...no use. I threw everything into a bag, all I can smell is dust, my head hurts. I climbed down the ladder and into the bus, unsure of anything other than I needed to get off the train, we had arrived.