In Mopti, we boarded a pinasse, a typical Niger river transport boat. In three days, we traveled 250 miles until we disembarked for a short drive to Timbuktu. For two nights, we camped on the Niger river banks. It was one of the most relaxing and enchanting trips we have ever taken.

This is our pinasse. Usually used by tours of more people, we had it to ourselves!

Around the campfire of one of our camps. Besides Nianamou, our national guide for the entire stay in Mali, we had the ship’s crew: the guy in the red shirt is the cook, on his left Nianamou, next to him the captain and on his left the engineer who took care of the engine. We were a little bit embarrassed to have four people taking care of us. But it was wonderful.

Yvonne and Nianamou with one of the many delicious meals the cook made for us.

A picture of the captain from the roof above.

Our cook was a fun and a playful guy.

The engineer spent most of the time taking care of the noisy engine and kept it running flawlessly.

Typical small Niger boats.

We stopped at many villages and usually found iconic mud mosques.

Yvonne wore her desert outfit which we got in the Sahara in Libya.

Our pinasse during one of our many stops during the Niger cruise.

There are few tourists and whenever we stopped, we got a lot of attention from the locals.

This is one of the larger transport ships on the Niger river.

The number and architecture of mud mosques along the Niger are truly amazing.

We caught this kingfisher in flight. Another one is visible in the upper right hand corner. We are not birders by any means, but we really like kingfishers.

Herons along the river banks.

More relaxing and delicious meals to the right and below. Note how much room we had!

Our cook preparing the frequent tea offerings.

White herons on the tree top and many oriole nests hanging from the tree.

A cormorant on top of the tree with many oriole nests.

Those are the weaver birds responsible for the nests.

Preserving fish by drying and smoking. When we got off the pinasse in a village swarms of kids met us at the bank. Then they “led” us into the village calling something out. Nianamou said they were saying “White people, white people!”

Another Obama shirt, worn proudly.

Our first campsite on the river bank. A mattress and a mosquito net, that’s all. We were lucky and had no mosquitoes, so it was a precaution.

One of the guys carried our luggage out so we had something to lean on. Such wonderful treatment!

After dinner tea is offered.

Our camp – the boat guys slept on the pinasse. Nianamou had his own tent.

Our first night on the Niger river banks. The temperature was perfect. The cook volunteered to do some laundry for us. That’s it, hanging on the line on the pinasse.

This is our tour company. The owner, Karen, was amazing in helping us plan our trip. Her heart is in the right place in all her dealings, with us and with the guides, drivers, boatmen, and so on. She visited Mali with her mother and loved it. Her guide wanted her to stay and set up a tour business for him, so she’s been here ever since. As she was in business, it was a good fit. Later the guide died and now she has the company alone. She was born in the states, lived with family in Ireland and elsewhere before settling in Mali. She says the people are very nice here.

Local fisherman and his catch.

Yvonne bought a new turban in Morocco. It looked wonderful when the man in Morocco put it on her. The cloth is white with dark ends, and looks nice when only a bit of the dark shows. As she had no mirror, she couldn’t see how the dark part of the turban looks funny on this day.

It was quite hot but pleasant in the breeze and we spent a lot of time on top of the pinasse.

Another of the frequent tea offerings during the day.

Yvonne with her dress she bought in Libya blends in well.

Our cook prepares the fish we bought from a fishing boat on the river (right and below).

One of our lunches.

This local fisherman offered our captain fish he caught. We bought some and they were delicious.

This is our camp for the second night. Sleeping next to the river was a wonderful experience and it was very pleasant. We were really lucky and had no bugs.

The village of Farabongo had two teachers, guys from different places in Mali. They were very friendly but lonesome being so far from friends and family.

We had fun with the teachers and the children.

These stones are actually tombstones at a cemetery.

Nianamou bought a few of these mats for his home.

Niamanou liked this woman’s mats the best. She drove a hard bargain – it was fun to watch.

Our pinasse captain fell in love with our GPS and got used to it. For the first time, he knew his speed accurately. We were sorry when we got close to Timbuktu and had to leave the pinasse. It was an unforgettable trip.