Today is the most important day of the trip. Because either I'm on time for the train, or why was I dragging clothes with me to throw away? However, with a good guide, it is almost impossible to miss the train.
We left at 06:45, it was still cool. Not far from Atar, we again drove through "Monument Valley". We continue to separate the myths about Mauritania from reality. Indeed, there is a law to stone for treason, confirmed by four witnesses. Moreover, male traitors are on a par with women. In practice, the guide has never encountered such an execution. There are gays in the country, they live "together with people", according to the guide. At gas stations, our driver shakes the car so that more gasoline enters the tank. At the market in Atar, I bought a white coat especially for the train. It's nice when everyone around you nailed it like hell, you alone are all in white, like d'Artagnan. On the way from Zuerat to Shum, the train "cuts a corner" through Western Sahara. During the conflict between the AP and Mauritania, trains were constantly blown up on this 10-kilometer stretch. From Atar towards Zuerat, an excellent highway began again. Suddenly, huge rain lakes appeared on both sides of the road. In general, it is very beautiful to go from Atar to Shum.
At Noise we met the previous train. It is really endless, the heaviest and longest train in the world. There was no passenger car in the train, and it did not stop at Noise.
At the campsite we crossed paths with an expedition from Lithuania. They travel in two cars from Norway to Sierra Leone. We were presented with a loaf of Lithuanian bread. Since Allah alone knows where my trip will end, maybe we will meet them in the queue for some kind of visa.
From Shum to Zuerat the desert is rather monotonous. A good highway runs mostly parallel to the rails. Train departure time is one of the main mysteries of Mauritania. We are in touch with the head of the station in Zuerat, but even at noon he did not know what time the train would leave. Maybe in an hour, maybe at two in the morning. That's where the mats prepared for the train, sleeping bags and that car of patience that I took with me to Africa came in handy.
Everything predictably went wrong with the train, from the daytime it turned into the night before our eyes. It’s good that I suggested a non-trivial solution to the guide, and we managed to take pictures on the wagons with ore in the last rays of sunset, and ride under the stars. Now I feel sorry for throwing away a disposable white coat. It's so comfortable in it. Yes, wet wipes work wonders. A cold shower and Lithuanian bread are waiting for you at the campsite. And yes, life is amazing. Even in the city of Noise, forgotten by the Mauritanian authorities, where electricity is cut off from midnight to 8 in the morning.