Interestingly, it wasn’t cold at night in Nouadhibou. I mean, out there on the street, the moment the sun set, chill set in and I began to wish I had long sleeve on me. But there in the room on a mattress that served as bed it was alright. I only used a single linen sheet to cover myself, only in the morning I put a blanket on.
The auberge I stayed in was actually quite busy. Seems like all the rooms were occupied. Certainly it was difficult to reach the bathroom. And the shower had a water heater and after a while the shower was quite hot!
I am typing this while waiting for the famous iron-ore train to take me East, to Choum. There is precious little information about the train except for single blog entries from last year and before. The train is supposed to leave between 2 and 3pm. It’s 3:10pm and in fact only now passengers start arriving. There is now 5 of us and even 2 ladies are in although not sure if they’re here for the train or just a chat with the local buvette. Buvette suggests alcohol but I guess the best you can get is a soft drink. Fun fact: looks like Mauritania is coke and pepsi-free! I saw some mountain dew bottles in a shop fridge but that’s it.
The train is very long: about 2kms and I read somewhere it’s pulled by 20 locomotives. It’s used to carry iron ore from Zouerat in the East of Mauritania. It’s also famous because you can ride it for free if you jump into one of the iron ore carriages which are empty going East. I am probably not brave enough but I’m not sure there is proper passenger space. The guidebooks mention a passenger carriage, there is even mentions of sleeping berths but there is also a note here on the wall saying that there is a new passenger carriage now, with 50 spaces and it’s going every Wednesday for 300UMR. No mention of time. My Rough Guide mentions 3 trains per day, 12hrs to Choum, and only one, the one between 2 and 3pm with a passenger carrier. The ticketmaster here claims the train leaves between 4 and 5pm, so there is an update. I’ve been here since 1:30pm and I think I’m the only one who bought the ticket. Will they all ride in the ore carriages? Can’t be.
The station is getting busy. The buvette serves fantastic tea, sweet and strong. Even the ticket office has opened! I paid 250UMR for the ticket. It’s a bit confusing with prices here, 2 years ago a zero has been removed from the prices but everyone still continues talking old prices and the money is only of the new kind. Now to hear a number in French is difficult enough, then to translate it to the new price and then to work out whether it’s a rip-off or not?
The station itself is in the middle of nowhere, North of town, along the N2 route. I took taxi here, 200UMR, 14kms ride, along with the taxi driver’s boss who wanted to know everything. My 55m2 flat is too small for him. I got the boss’ phone number, I was reassured that Mauritania is safe for visit all over the country. Then I got Muhammed’s – the taxi driver – phone number, he even wanted to connect with me on Facebook but the network at the station was too slow to even look him up.
I had also found coffee in Nouadhibou! Proper espresso! Hunting for espresso is my favourite pastime in places that are not natural coffee drinking dens. My more favourite pastime could be beer hunting in places where it’s available but difficult to find but that doesn’t happen often. It’s often either illegal or only found in upmarket places. The exception is Northern Nigeria where it’s a good thing to do in the evenings if you’re a drinker (hint: ask for Mamy Market, it’s army barracks selling the drinks, often very social places full of thirsty Nigerians from all over the country; hint 2: don’t go to Northern Nigeria at the moment, it’s unsafe.)
Back to coffee. I wanted to find the port and see the ship wrecks dotting the shore. I didn’t reach the port and I’m not sure if the ships I saw were the wrecks or just rusty but fully operational ships but I did find a café! Yes, there is espresso but there is a problem with the machine so maybe I could drink capsule coffee, er, Nespresso? I normally ignore all things Nestlé but here I am in the Sahara and the drink is calling. I ignored my rule and took it. It was rather bland, too much water in it and it wasn’t hot. Then I looked at the menu and they also have food, though it’s expensive. I took jus gingembre and it was fantastic. The cafe seems nice and it’s on Google Maps (which otherwise still don’t allow adding places in Mauritania).
I kept walking and I hit yet another café. With espresso, from a proper espresso machine! Cheaper than the previous one. I indulged myself.
I also tried to get some cash from ATM. No ATM allowed me to do so, even Société Générale, which normally works well everywhere. SG in fact kept telling me I was typing incorrect pin number. The banks closed early because it’s Friday, I managed however to change money in one of the Muslim shops not far from general market (there is a trilingual change sign, easy to see) for 42UMR to a euro.
Then I bought enough food to last me for days, and probably enough water to last me till tomorrow and here I am on the gare des voyageurs with quite a crowd now.
The train left at almost exactly 5pm. It’s long but I only saw 4 locomotives, 2 in front and 2 in the back. The passenger carriage is the last one and the train stops where all people stand. It’s a stampede to get to the train and it’s not easy to get into it, the metal stairs are quite high up. I used my size (hint: not even L) to make my way through the crowd but I had to throw the bags in first. The security personnel pushed me into one compartment. It’s brutally basic. It’s 2 low benches where there were possibly cushions before. All glass windows are gone. Instead some windows are boarded up, there is already an awful lot of dust in. In my compartment there are 6 people. The carriage seems full. I can see German and Spanish signs warning you not to look out of the windows and I can also see Dutch and French signs for no smoking. There is a toilet at the and of the carriage. It’s 12 hours to Choum now.
Coming back to Maman 