The Iron Ore train - Mauritania

This was not an authorised train journey. Finally, an adventure!

Eleven of us had to temporarily sign off our trip to go on this adventure. Logistically, it was a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure it would have worked out if it wasn't for one of the group meeting a guide by chance at a market.. It involved leaving at 3am, driving for several hours, finding the right jump on point, hiding/waiting for several hours, the 6 hour train journey, followed by a couple of hours driving back.

We had to hide in the bushes for hours before jumping on. The train was filled with iron ore, and we needed to jump on while it briefly stopped. This was because the authorities were cracking down on tourists doing this. We've heard now that it's totally been stopped. We were so lucky to do it.

We had an amazing group and an awesome time. We were lucky to experience day, sunset, and nighttime.Read more