July 18, 2003
Low Tide in Mopti
Today's adventure was a day trip to Mopti, a bustling city about 20 km from Sevare at the confluence of the Bani and Niger rivers. In addition to being a major port, Mopti is also the tourist capital of Mali, with tour groups leaving by boat for Segou and Tombouctou, by bus for Douentza and Gao, and by SUV and bashe (covered pickup truck) for Dogon Country.
Hassini, our guide, lead us on a tour of the city. Our first stop was the port itself, where from the elevated roadway we could look down the cobbled ramp to the river's edge and the collection of slender pirogues (small, flat-bottomed punting canoes) and bulky pinasses (30-40 foot, motor-driven cargo boats, like long canoes with arched awnings made from grass mats). The air was thick with flies and reeked of dead fish--which reminded us, it's time for lunch!
To get to the restaurant, we had some kids pole us across the mouth of Mopti's small harbor.
From this vantage point, we could see into the boatyards on the riverbank where carpenters were constructing pinasses using hand-made nails and gigantic planks from the coastal rainforests. The river was wide and calm, a sort of cafe au lait brown, and the mud huts of the villages on the opposite shore wavered in the heat.
The Bar Bozo, so named for the Bozo ethnic group who fish the Niger, was built on a promontory overlooking the Bani. As we dined on rice, french fries and omelettes, we could watch the boats passing on the river and attempt to guess the nationalities of the other tourists in the bar (a collection of mostly scruffy Europeans).
After lunch, we plunged back into the sunlight for a tour of the city. We walked through the fish market with its baskets of dried, smoked, flattened and generally unappetizing-looking river fish.
We climbed up on a friendly rooftop to get a better view of Mopti's Grand Mosque, a smaller cousin of the massive mud mosque in Djenne.
Having seen the sites, we turned to the artesenal market, where we attracted hordes of salespeople pushing everything from blankets to necklaces to swords to pajama pants to model Harley-Davidsons made from Coke cans. It quickly became exhausting to have to pass up on so many once-in-a-lifetime deals. Our new friends were sad to see us go, and even as we walked away their sales pitches (and in many cases the vendors themselves) followed after us with promises of unbelievably low prices that would beggar their families for generations.
We piled into our rental four-by-four for the short drive back to Mopti, our driver honking at every moped and donkey cart lest they suddenly decide to swerve into traffic. From the raised roadway we could see out over the endless flat acres of green ricepaddies blanketing the flood plains on either side.
Ah, the wonders of 'cafe au lait' brown water. Made me to think, what is the health of the river? Are there many human waste related issues or nasties such as Bhilarzia or Cholera around? What are the effects of population on the fish resource - are fishermen having a harder time catching big fish these days? Many interesting questions and so much to learn. I wish I was there with you guys taking all these experiences onboard! Take care & best wishes.
Posted by: Metro at July 22, 2003 05:04 PM
