A lone stretch of track cutting across Mauritania’s desert becomes a moving outpost of light. Shot from the iron ore train at night, this moment captures motion, isolation, and the quiet geometry of the Sahara under a star-filled sky. We flew halfway across the world, almost got arrested twice, were fed bad information, and even missed the first train. Tourism had grown so fast that the train company and its guards were actively trying to keep travelers off the route. Three days after our ride, the journey was banned. We didn’t know it then, but we were among the last to cross this desert in complete freedom; on a train never meant for passengers, moving under a night sky that felt like it belonged to no one.