Mauritania.

[Nereus]

Nope..... Booked on a flight back to Mauritania.

Hey young fellow, I guess your didn't finish that job as you thought?

Very much off the beaten track for most of us, so how about a bit of a report about where you have to go, and what you find when you get there? There has been a couple of documentaries on cable TV recently which I have found very interesting, but a "hands on" view would be good.

[pharvey]

Nope..... Booked on a flight back to Mauritania.

Hey young fellow, I guess your didn't finish that job as you thought?

Very much off the beaten track for most of us, so how about a bit of a report about where you have to go, and what you find when you get there? There has been a couple of documentaries on cable TV recently which I have found very interesting, but a "hands on" view would be good.

It's a job that's turned into a long('ish) term service contract. I'll be on a 2 month on 2 week off site basis, bringing in other engineers and and when required. It's on an iron ore processing plant and mine operated by SNIM

In all honesty I've not got many photo's outside of site, but will dig through and put somthing together. Can't say there's a great deal to be seen where I'm based in Zouerate, and working a 6 day week doesn't lend itself to getting out and about. I have a "visa run" on a monthly basis to Nouadhibou which is somewhat larger and a bastion for the fishing industry - largly controlled by the Chinese. Hoping to get a couple of days in Nouakchott this time around, which is the capital and my route into Mauritania.

[Nereus]

Ok, thanks very much! 8 weeks on and 2 off is slave labour these days!

Found the following about the ore trains. I think this was the subject of a TV documentary recently.

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpic ... 17874.html

[pharvey]

Ok, thanks very much! 8 weeks on and 2 off is slave labour these days!

Found the following about the ore trains. I think this was the subject of a TV documentary recently.

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpic ... 17874.html

Thanks for the link Nereus - the train is quite a sight I must admit. By all accounts it's the one and only train line in Mauritania - and single line. Have never seen the "passenger car", but assume this is added at the Zouerate station - I've only seen the train at the site/plant. Very rarely empty with iron ore going out, parts and supplies coming in.

Perhaps a less wanted (but interesting) claim to fame for Nouadhibou is the fact that is the "Largest Ship Graveyard in The World" - see https://sometimes-interesting.com/2013/ ... auritania/ I got close to it on my last visit, but was told less than politely to go about my business elsewhere by the local security!

[Nereus]

There was a documentary on cable TV recently about removing the old hulks and also the old steam era railway system:

https://www.teamhazardridesagain.com/sh ... ts-part-1/

Shipwrecks to Camel Treks – Mauritania Part 1 – From Immigration to Nouadhibou

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[Nereus]

On a caravan, with one of the Sahara's last European explorers

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/19293 ... -explorers

IN THE SAHARA, Mauritaania: Climbing into the saddle, he adjusts the scarf protecting his head from the sun and, with a tap on the camel's back, the caravan sets off.

Thierry Tillet is again off to explore the vast Saharan desert, at the head of a nine-camel convoy with three other riders.

At 68, the Frenchman is one of the last European explorers since the end of the 19th century to dedicate much of his life -- 47 years -- to crisscrossing the Sahara.

This expedition, which began before the coronavirus epidemic, starts and ends at two desert jewels in central Mauritania.

From Tichitt, the convoy is headed east to Oualata, 300 kilometres away, travelling in single file over a sandy, rocky landscape.

long article at the link...…………………………………………>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

French archaeologist Thierry Tillet has spent nearly 50 years exploring the Sahara.

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