'The Choum Railway Piste

For both Sanna and I, one of the great "must do's" of this trip was driving the 500km alongside the great Choum railway (above pic.) in northern Mauritania. Recently made famous by Michael Palin's 'Sahara' series we thought "well, if he can do it......"
His trip was on board the 2.5km train - the longest in the world, carrying ore and phosphates from the mines deep in the Sahara to the coast. Ours, however, was in Jemima who loved and hated the two day desert crossing. She did her best to follow old tracks which frequently disappeared beneath the moving dunes and to find her best route through the 101 different types of sand without getting stuck. Only once did we need to get out the sand ladders, shovel and jack to ease her onto firmer terra firma.
Our night spent in the desert was breathtaking. The sunset, stars, eerie sound of the train during the night and our setting beside an outcrop of rocks (2nd pic) made for what will remain one of our most memorable lifetime experiences.
17 hours of dune and sand driving later and we're in the relaxed, friendly town of Atar planning very little for the next couple of days before our 450km drive south to the capital Nouakchott.