The port city of Mopti



Place where i was put up


After a day of admiring the unique architecture of the city of Djenné, it was time to move on. The place where I was put up by Mama Africa was actually a very charming one. It was about 12kms away from the city of Djenné and the buildings were all constructed keeping in line with the traditional architecture of the region and was smack in the middle of a farm. It was nice to wake up and have my tea watching the tender rays of the sun hit the side of the banco huts.

Mama Africa drove me on his moped to the Djenné junction (the same spot that I had to sleep a day earlier) and along the way we stopped by a Bambara village. Bambara are the ethnic group from Mali that are chiefly farmers and they constitute the majority of all the various ethnic groups in Mali.

Due to Mama’s connection around the village it was very easy to walk about the village as the villagers were all very welcoming. The architecture was again all made of mud and the striking feature was the central mosque. In fact over the course of my journey through Mali I have figured out that there is almost always a beautiful central mosque dominating every village. The village also had several one room huts with roof looking like a witch’s hat which is used by the villagers to store their prime crop, Millet. Another interesting feature of the design of the granaries was their elevation from the ground by stones which prevented access to the grains for pests.




Waiting for the ferry to be filled

 

My destination that day was to reach the port city of Mopti. This city lies at the heart of Mali and in essence is the city that is the melting pot rather than Bamako where the various ethnic groups of Mali come together presumably due to the city’s central location. As with Bamako and all other major cities of Mali, Mopti lies on the banks of the River Niger. In fact, the location of Mopti is of even more importance since the city port is situated at the junction of two rivers, Niger and Bani.



On Ferry across River Bani





With that being said, when I arrived in Mopti 3 hours after leaving the Djenné junction and after a bus breakdown where we had to get down and push the bus, I headed straight to the port to check on any boats leaving for Timbuktu. Given that there are other ways of going to Timbuktu and one of the most common methods is to take a 4X4 for about 10 hours to drive through dirt track, I really wanted to take the boat. After all that was the way that the early explorers reached the fabled city of Timbuktu.

Precious commodity...water

I was hoping that when I go to the port, I might meet some other tourists who were planning or have already booked a boat to Timbuktu. I was hoping to see if I could get a ride in a prearranged trip. Renting a boat all by myself was going to cost me a fortune so that idea was a no go.

When I got to the port, I did not see a single tourist but instead met a guy who I think was a guide for Mopti and neighboring Dogon Country (more about it later). My intention that day was really to take my time and see my options in Mopti especially since I was not certain when I wanted to proceed towards Timbuktu. Hence, I was trying to avoid the guide but since I did not want to offend him by dismissing him, I continued speaking to him as I walked. When I casually told him I was planning on going to Timbuktu he told me that there was a pinasse leaving shortly and I decided to check it out more out of curiosity rather than any real intention of taking it, especially since it was a public pinasse. I had read a lot of stories of how uncomfortable and long the journey would be on a public pinasse so I was not really keen on it.


Woman carring millet from the granaries

 

A Fula woman with Calabash

As we got to the river side, I was whisked onto a dugout canoe and was transported to the pinasse to check it out. The public pinasse was actually a medium sized cargo boat and people traveling on it as if they were an afterthought, seeming as though whatever space is left on the boat after loading it with goods can be filled with people. As I checked it out, my first question was how long was it going to take and the answer was 4 days. I still remember cringing as I turned around to the guide to tell him I was not going to do it.

Hustle and Bustle at the port of Mopti

As we returned close to the bank the guide asked me if it was the price that mattered and I said no, the problem was the amount of time on the pinasse. He soon corrected me and told me it would take two nights and three days instead. I turned around to look at the pinasse which at that time had cranked the engine ready to set sail and asked the guide to confirm the time once more. He nodded in agreement, and then I don’t know what happened by I changed my decision in a split second and told him to ask for the pinasse to wait. I was going to do it!

Puel man with the typical pointed hat

Soon I got on the pinasse and was given a place close to the front of the boat. The guide told me I will need a carton of water as I won’t get any for the next 3 days. I gave him some money and he said that the water will arrive in about 5-10mins as we wade out of Mopti. Sure enough, right as we were exiting the city of Mopti, I saw a boatman with a carton of water trying to intercept the pinasse. Now that I look back, I think the reason that I made the decision was the probably since the travel time went from 4 to 3 days or maybe the fact that was not going to wait around in Mopti as the pinasse was leaving at very moment meaning I would save at least half a day.

Buddies



The boatman bringing my water


Perhaps the real reason I decided to do it was because I questioned myself, “Peenak!...when else are you going to get an experience of going to Timbuktu the real way…with real Malians…the closest way possible to experience the way it must have been in the glory days”.