MOPTI – DIRÉ; 2 days / 1 night 

An early start in the morning – at sunrise we embark the pinasse to set sail to Diré.

It is also a nice trip to take along your books, magazines or a crossword puzzle; an ideal time to relax and enjoy the scenery at the same time . 

Different tribes live along the Niger, like: Bozo, Peul and Sonraï.

The Bozo are the fishermen; you will encounter them regularly when they cast their nets, balancing in their pirogues; the Peul are the herdsmen, who lead their cattle along to the pastures; the Sonraï are the cultivators, the farmers; you can see them with their tools to work in the mango-orchards, their vegetable gardens or the rice fields etc.; along the shores you see the special water pumps, used to irrigate the land. And they are also the merchants/ the piroguiers, who glide their loaded boats over the water  

Hardly a mile without a village – everywhere you can see the red-ochre colours of these villages with their own, characteristic mosques; and women who are pounding the millet , children waving enthusiastically.

Along the shores and on small islands you will see the encampments of the Bozo; their huts of reed with palm leafs are easy recognizable. In the rainy season they leave their islands to higher grounds.  

We will stop ever so often to visit a few of these villages, like Kotaka , Togonrogo, Aka and Youvarou; do not be surprised if you will be met by a welcoming committee of children.

You have time to meet the villagers and get to know a little about their daily life. The guide can help you overcome the language barrier.  

We will cross the Lac Débo; it is considered to be the most important and the largest fishing area  in Mali  ; you will see a lot of fishermen, casting their nest and hoping for a good catch of capitaines (Nile perch), carps or catfish. All around you will see small Bozo villages. The lake is a special Unesco zone for migratory birds; and birds you will see many. Numerous and colourful are the cormorants , which are standing on the sand banks, drying their wings; or the king fishers, eagles, large flocks of herons etc.

The roof of the pinasse provides a perfect place to watch the landscape go by; at the banks more and more dome shapes huts of the Bella appear; they are a nomad tribe, which trade  wood and charcoal.  

After crossing the lake we will sail via Attara to Niafunké (the birthplace of the famous artist Ali Farka Touré, where he also lived until his death in 2006) .

Not far from Niafunké, the village of Tondidarou is, which is an archeological site, with a certain number of big and small megaliths; comparable with the megalithic sites in Europe.

In the language Songhaï " Tondi " mean stone and "Dari" means to stand.                  

After visiting Niafunke we shall leave for the last part of this trip; we shall stop in villages as Kati, El Oualadji and Korongoy Beri before we shall arrive at Diré to late in the afternoon.

During this trip we will spend the nights in tents at the shores and all meals are included; they will be prepared by the co-traveling cook.

Lunches will be picnics  and the dinners are served at lamp light on the shores.