Boarding and tour of Saint-Louis

• Lunch at Hôtel La Résidence (or similar) around 1pm. Boarding and installation from 3:00 pm.
• In the afternoon, we’ll take a horse-drawn carriage tour of Saint-Louis. Here, you can feel the strange yet familiar atmosphere, admire the finesse of the balconies clinging to the beautiful colonial houses and follow the gradation of ochre-yellow hues that the streets offer depending on the position of the sun. The northern part of the island is separated from the southern part by Gouvernance and Place Faidherbe.
  Also on the island: the Town Hall and Palais de Justice (1st judgement in 1875), the hospital (1827) and the Ameth Fall girls’ high school, which since 1927 has occupied a former hospital dating from 1840. The famous Faidherbe Bridge (500m long), which, according to legend, was shipped to Saint-Louis in 1897 following a gigantic administrative error.
• The fishermen’s village, interesting in the morning and evening when you see the huge boats crossing the bar. The Muslim cemetery in the Guet Ndar district. The graves are stakes covered with fishing nets. The Ndar Toute market on the Langue de Barbarie.
• Dinner and overnight on board

Saint-Louis – Diama – Tiguet (Djoudj Park)

• We’ll follow the waters of the Senegal River all the way to the Diama dam. This dam is the limit to the salt water it prevents from rising. Pass through the lock and visit the dam during the delicate maneuver.
• Lunch on board, then sail upstream along the Diouling reserve, lined with reeds from which you can see many species of birds.
  Stop at the mouth of the Gorom bolong, which gives access to the Djoudj National Bird Park. You’ll reach the pier from the boat’s tender. This reserve was created in 1971. It is the third largest bird park in the world. It extends over 16,000 ha in the Senegal River delta. As a result, it holds an irresistible attraction for avifauna from Europe and Africa alike. From November to April, three million birds winter here, and there are also some twenty species of mammal.
• Depart for a pirogue excursion. With the engine idling, the canoe plunges into the heart of the Djoudj, while a fantastic ballet unfolds: pink flamingos take off in tight rows, pelicans take flight, cormorants dive. A spectacle both strange and extraordinary.
• Dinner and overnight on board in the Grand Arm of the River.

Tiguet – Diaouar – Richard-Toll

• Navigation. We continue up the river bordered by Senegal and Mauritania. The Senegalese banks are rice-growing land, with little cultivation on the Mauritanian side. We’ll spot a few warthogs, then pass Rosso, a border town between Senegal and Mauritania, where pirogues and a ferry take people, animals and vehicles across. The arrival and departure of these barges give rise to intense, colorful and particularly lively activity.
• Lunch on board. Around 2pm, you’ll arrive at Richard-Toll (Jardin de Richard), named after the French who, during the colonial era in 1822, used it as a testing ground for cultivation methods.
• Discovery of “La Folie du Baron Roger”, a French-style château, now closed, surrounded by banco buildings, traditional architecture of the region.
• Visit to the town and the CSS (Compagnie Sucrière Sénégalaise) sugar cane factory, which covers 10,000 ha and is the town’s main source of income.
• Dinner and overnight on board

Richard-Toll – Dagana

• Sailing from 8am towards Dagana. After breakfast, we offer a Senegalese cooking workshop.
• Arrive at midday at the mango grove bordering the village of Goumel, in a mouth of the Senegal River. Traditional lunch: rice with fish or “tiep bou dien” amid mango and palm trees.
• Depart with the boat’s tender for the Wolof village of Dagana, known as the “Capital of Walo”, a former colonial trading post where it was not uncommon to see the Banny or Ponty (colonial ships) loading gum or dropping off soldiers. We’ll visit the dye works, the market and the school. We’ll then stop off at the Fort de Dagana, now renovated as a hotel, where you can enjoy a glass of local juice in the magnificent pool on the banks of the river. Return to the boat at sunset.
• Dinner and overnight on board

Dagana – Thiangaye

• Using the boat’s tender, we’ll walk along the riverbank for a 2-hour round-trip hike through Goumel Forest. We’ll visit a traditional Peulh village with oblong huts built by women.
• Along the way, we’ll see various tree species. After returning to the boat, we’ll sail up the river into the heart of the Sahel and the Toucouleur Kingdom. The peaceful river will be broken only by children playing, women washing clothes, and animals drinking. We’ll have lunch on board.
• Next, we’ll take the tender up a small river arm to visit ancient Toucouleur villages built of earth on the steep riverbanks. These villages date back to the 13th century. In the evening, we’ll have a traditional mechoui dinner on the riverbank by lamplight.
• Overnight on board.

Thiangaye – Podor

• Navigation and lunch on board.
• Arrival around 2 pm in Podor, a former trading post during the French colonial period. Today, commercial activity is no longer on the river and its stone quays eagerly await your arrival. The trading houses that line the quays with their large courtyards and warehouses that once contained gum arabic, firewood, ivory, and slaves, are now the remnants of a not-so-distant past. You will visit its Fort built by Faidherbe, which is currently being rehabilitated, and relive a bit of this period of history.
• In the late afternoon, we will visit the old trading posts of the Cour du Fleuve and the Auberge du Tekrour, then we will go to the Fort of Podor. Finally, those who wish can take a tour of the market and stroll through the peaceful streets, or sit on the steps of one of these old houses to watch the sunset over the Mauritanian banks.
• Dinner and overnight on board.

Podor – Saint-Louis

• Breakfast on board.
• Transfer to Saint-Louis by bus. End of our services.