It has several rows of seats and a reed mat overhead for shade. After coating ourselves with sun block, we push off into the slow-moving water. After the Sahara everyone has a great deal of respect for the sun. River kids in Mali Fishermen with their nets smile and wave, children run along the banks shouting, and village women wash clothes and themselves. Only the cattle grazing near the shore are oblivious to us.
Dust cyclones whirl across the parched land beyond the river bank.
Occasionally we run aground on sand bars, forcing everyone over the side while the crew frees the boat. Other times the route of the main channel becomes so obscure, we must walk along on the muddy banks to lighten the boat. These worms can bore painlessly through the skin of humans and other mammals in less than five minutes. Once inside, most of the blood flukes take up residence in the intestines where they produce eggs for seven to 30 years. Anyone in the mud or shallow water along the edge of a lake or slow-moving river is vulnerable.