Sailing the Niger River

River Niger's flow (from wikipedia.org)

It was around 3pm when the boat had set sail and the first few moments were spent making myself comfortable onboard. The boat was loaded on the inside with bags of rice and on the roof it was loaded with bags of charcoal. The luggage was at the back. The rice bags inside the boat were the flooring as well as the cushion for the passengers. I was lucky to be offered a straw mat as cushion and even though it was hardly going to matter, it was a kind gesture nonetheless.


Bozo Fisherman



Loading charcoal



After getting myself comfortable the next few minutes were spent familiarizing with my co-passengers. On one side was Mussa who was a very friendly, voluble and devout Muslim man maybe in his 60’s. On the other side of me was a group of young men who were friendly but less talkative perhaps because they had never experienced a foreigner at such close quarters and were not sure how to take me. Behind me was a group of four kids who where accompanied by their grandfather and were a comparatively quite bunch. All the men were situated at the front half of the boat while the women were at the back. Between the partition of the men and women was a section which looked like a kitchen that had to be constantly drained The engine was further back and behind it was the common toilet which was essentially a hole in the boat with direct access to the river. Most of the boat crew where located at the back above the engine.

Hamlets like these were dotted the banks

Hamlet with the Sudanese style mosque

So we were now all set…about forty or so of us and either they were going to learn some English in a hurry or I was going to pick up on their French or indigenous dialect or just maybe were would get along just fine communicating in sign language for the next 3 days! The way I looked at it, either way it was going to be one hell of an experience!

They loved posing for the camera

River Niger is the 3rd longest river in Africa after the Nile and Congo River. The river is the life blood for the population of the western sahelian countries of Mali and neighboring Niger. It rises in the mountains of Guinea not too far away from the Atlantic Ocean where Liberia is situated but then heads straight for the Sahara rather than emptying into the Atlantic Ocean right there. As the river passes through Mali it produces a massive flood plain called as the Inner Niger Delta due to the extremely flat and dry terrain in central Mali. As the river approaches Timbuktu close to the Sahara Desert it bends right and then flows to Niger and then to Nigeria finally emptying into the Atlantic ocean through the famous Niger Delta, now infamous due to its oil reserves and the related social unrest there.

Sight before the sun set...

...and the sight when the sun came back up the next day

River Niger is actually a romantic’s dream come true as the river was a mystery to most of the world till the 18th century. It was a widely accepted belief in those days that the river was actually a tributary of the Nile until a Scottish explorer going by the name of Mungo Park identified the true course of the river. There were several expeditions, mostly unsuccessful, that were commissioned in the 18th century to either identify the true course of the river or to reach Timbuktu via this river and that’s probably the reason why there was (and still is) a certain amount of mystique associated with the River Niger as well as the legendary city of Timbuktu.

Stuck

Final push to get out of the shallow bank

Back on the boat, as the sun started to set the first evening, I moved to the roof of the boat to take is the tranquil view of the river and the birds skimming the surface of water.

A few hours after setting sail from Mopti and we encountered a shallow patch. Since the boat was over laden with cargo the captain decided that they would park the boat that night rather than try navigating the river.

Another public pinasse waving at us as we cross path

Kids in the corner behind me

I returned back down slightly disappointed that we won’t be sailing the night and since there was nothing much to do as there was no light, no space, and no entertainment, I figured that the best thing would be to call it an early night. Little did I know that it would be one of the most uncomfortable nights of sleep I have had. All through the right, I twisted and turned trying to find a good angle to rest either my back, my tummy, my sides all to no avail. I was left with waiting out the night as I lay on the rice bags hoping for the sun to come out as soon as possible so that the boat would be moving again and I would be able to head back up the boat.

Windy Lake Debo...as far as the eye can see

Mussa...snapped as he was staring at my camera 

Sand dunes indicating the changing landscape

The next morning, we hit a few sand banks where the boat stalled upon which part of the crew jumped in the waters with logs to push the boat while the rest of the crew used long poles to push the boat out of the sandbank.

My bed...on the roof of the boat

On the inside



Sandy streets of Dire


In contrast to the first day when the river was placid, the second day it shows the wavy and unruly side. The waves were a welcome sign as it meant that were not far from Lake Débo. The lake along with several others in the Inner Niger Delta is formed due to the seasonal flooding and even though it’s spread varies greatly with the seasons, it is the biggest lake in that region. The lake was about 80kms downstream from Mopti and was the first milestone that I could identify. Timbuktu was still 200 odd kilometers away and I still had to pass through the river villages of Iwaru, Niafounké, Dire and finally Danga.

Food on the boat was not a problem, they prepared some on the boat which was basically lots of rice with small pieces of fish and some tomato based sauce. I preferred buying fish and other fresh produce that were sold by women who used to surround our pinasse in their dugout canoe’s as we approached small bozo fishing villages.

Bozo women selling fish and bread

Kitchen...hmm.

Even though the scene used to be quite chaotic during these layovers I did fair well in my purchases not because of my excellent communication skills but due to Madou. Madou was a humble guy in his mid-thirties and was a crewmember tasked with the job of loading and unloading goods from the boat. Over the course of my journey he became a wonderful companion even though we did not speak the same language. Over the course of the three days, we chatted on topics ranging from our families to our pursuits in our life.

Can't wait for Timbuktu...!

That night, I wanted to do anything that would prevent me sleeping on the rice bags. Fortunately, one of the items that the boat was hauling was mattresses. I took my sleeping bag and thermal wear to the roof of the boat where the mattresses were tied and slept there watching the moon and the stars and listening to the boat gently lapping the waves…perhaps my most serene sleeping experience ever!

We bought this water storage unit to the village

Unloading at the village of Danga

Niafounké was passed that night and the third day was passed the same way as the previous as I headed to the roof of the boat during the morning and seeing various birds wading through the waters, Bozo fishermen at work, Fulani herding their cattle on the flood plains, and passing several adobe hut hamlets propped up by a mosque and a few palm trees.

There goes my comfy bed...:(

Playing or practicing for future?

As we approached Dire, the flood plains on the banks had given way to intermittent dunes. Dire was reached mid afternoon where we had a longer halt so I took the opportunity to set foot on land for the first time in two days and wander about the streets and buy some mangoes. The streets where sandy and dusty which meant that Timbuktu was surely not too far!

Sunset opposite the village of Danga

Returning home

The last milestone was the village of Danga where I had one of the best moments of the three day journey. We approached the village of Danga just as the sun was setting. A lot of our passengers were disembarking at this village and it seemed as though the whole village had come to greet the arrivals. On one side was the tranquil sight of the sun setting behind the horizon of placid waters while the other side which was a village lit up by the evening glow of the sun with all kinds of chaos. Boats were being loaded and unloaded, some people saying goodbyes and some others welcome, kids splashing around in the water or riding donkeys, while the village elders were observing all of this from their vantage point in front of the mosque.

Madou...awesome dude!

At Danga, I said goodbye to a few companions and also to my beloved mattresses. Next stop was Timbuktu which we was supposed to arrive anytime during the night and which meant that I had to probably sleep atleast half a night on the dreaded rice bags.