Yap! I made a plan and actually seen it happen. Unbelievable! I know. Strange feeling. But feels good to see a plan go trough. Even as simple as renting a boat for 3 days and enjoying it.
To be honest 3 days is a long time if you are on a boat alone with the driver and his brother. So I figured I seriously need to find additional company to keep me from going mental. And where else to go catching innocent passengers-to-be than hotel bar? I was staying in a hotel called Y a pas de probleme in Mopti that has this rooftop bar most suitable for such purpose. Besides they have a pool and they serve chilled beer. So you can imagine where have I spent most of my time. Pool during the days and rooftop in early evenings before heading for a 20-25 minutes walk to Bissap café in “central” Mopti.
So I tried with a few people that seemed interesting enough. There was a Basque guy going around Europe, Middle east and Africa for a year but unfortunately had a visit to Dogon country planned and paid for. Then there was a MSF nurse from Bordeaux that was ready to join me instead of going to Djené. And few others that either weren’t interested or I happily skipped them.
Monday morning was the day to set sail but before that we have organized ourselves a thermos box full of ice and some assorted drinks to go along. A man can not survive 3 days on the river without cold beer you see… 😉 You just can’t imagine how good it feels a nice chilled bottle of Castel during the calm afternoon hours of easy riding on the Niger river. Grab a bottle and hop on pinasse roof for the joy like no other. A bit of wind, occasional word or a photo and a dose of sunblock and you are all set for experience you can dream off. An experience that gets enhanced by an occasional stop and a well merited swim in the river while the slow life on shores goes on. And if you are real lucky you get to watch hypos in the distance while you swim. A feeling really hard to beat.
The 3 days skipped past us like a breeze. My intention was to find, make and take as much of river life photos as possible. And for that the only really good moments are early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The rest of the time the photos are only conditionally usable as the light is too harsh. Now I have this slight problem with getting up early but surprisingly I had no such problems on the river. Maybe because it was so freaking cold that I could barely wait for the first rays of sun to show up! 😉 Anyhow, despite some heavy dust in the air, really low water levels and surprisingly little amount of boats and people on the river (which might be due to the fact it was really bad time of year to be going on such a ride) I believe I have managed to get a few keepers. But more importantly I had great time enjoying the slow pace of the Niger river thanks to Sophie, Tidjani, beers and general good mood flowing all around.
So next time there is a chance to hop on for the ride do not hesitate no more. Ok? Do we have a deal? 🙂