On the Rails

Mauritania, in the Sahel desert is trying to develop after fighting terrorism. A source of pride is the 'iron train', which transports ferrous ore, providing income for most of the country, which is 90% desert and independent since 1960.

Sicily is an island that keeps reinventing itself and it's people want to forget its mafia past to better reveal its treasures. Taking the railroad is the ideal way to examine riches, and volcanoes, including Etna and the Aeolian Islands.

Mexico will always have secrets. In the Western Sierra Madre, which runs from the highlands to the Pacific Ocean, El Chepe is a legendary train, and still one of the most spectacular rail journeys in the world.

An essential train ride in the American West, it is the California Zephyr. On this railroad which descends from Denver to California, with a simple train ticket, you can relive the conquest of the west to the shores of the Pacific.

Prague is often the first city in the Czech Republic to come to mind. Examine the riches of its great eastern province, Moravia, and spend a few hours in the capital, of this this little known region.