The Oasis at Chinguetti

We eventually pulled into a small car park, found the entrance to a small encampment and were met by the owner. He told us that he had been gradually planting the date palms, tropical fruit trees and building traditionally thatched accommodation huts for the last 7 years. Offering a tranquil, cool and shady setting for those visitors who wished to have a pleasant weekend break, or a few days of peace and quiet to recover from the rigours of desert travel, before continuing their journeys.
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The dates were in season .. the best time to visit. There were so many on the palm trees that their branches were bent under the weight. We made sure we didn't miss the chance to sample them !

The entrance to the encampment, next to the car park .. with a large well in the foreground and one of the traditional thatched huts and a selection of citrus trees giving much needed shade.

Gabriel taking the opportunity of sampling the succulent dates whilst being given a guided tour.

A selection of dates were available from yellow through bright red to black ....

.... these were high up, whilst these ....

..... bright red, succulent dates, 'dripping' off the trees, were just at the right height for sampling.

A beautifully thatched accommodation hut .. nearly 50 degrees C outside, but cool inside.

The interior with floor-level 'windows' to encourage cool air flow.

Well used to having unexpected surprises when travelling in Africa .. the next sight we saw was totally unexpected .. but a very pleasant one !