Driving slowly through this picturesque village with its superb background scenery ......

.... we could see a marvellous selection of traditional housing styles ....

.... built on the soft sand at the bottom of the valley. Everywhere was immaculately clean.

Heading further on, I realised why Gabriel had said it was important to have sturdy four-wheel drive transport, as we drove down to cross a rock-strewn river bed with steep sides.

At the end of the track was a small circular car park .. with a collection of modern vehicles.
We followed a group of Mauritanians carrying picnic accessories along a winding path
and through a grove of palm trees, at the base of some very steep and spectacular cliffs.
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Bearing in mind that although we were then nicely shaded from the direct sunshine and the open desert upper 40c degrees temperatures .. we were also in the middle of a mountainous, barren, poor and sparsely populated area, hundreds of kilometres away from most types of European 'civilised comforts' .. in one of the world's hottest and driest countries.
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The incredible sights awaiting us at the end of the path were truly amazing !