Saturday 20th April

Off in 4 wheel drives across a salt lake & into the Atlas Mountains, very close to the Algerian border to see 2 oases which were quite fascinating. The villages were on gorges & had both been evacuated & re-sited after severe flooding in 1969 so that the stone buildings were gradually falling into ruin. In the first the water from a very clear creek falling down about 5m into a beautiful pool with weed & rushes, where frogs were croaking loudly & tiny fish were swimming. As usual the vendors were trying to sell all sorts of souvenirs at "very reasonable prices" but they tended to be quite friendly & are nowhere near as pushy as the Egyptians. The second oasis was again in the hills & we walked along a rocky path along the creek to find another pool where the source was. On our return by another route we climbed up & had great views of the country & the small village en route. After lunch, back in Tozeur, we visited the old Medina which is quite small & then set off across the desert