On arrival at Alcoutim we had met Tom originally from Cullen, just one of the Scots semi resident on board a boat. He allowed us to copy some hand drawn maps of the river further north and advised of where we could see the terrapins. Our charts had long since lost any useful detail this far from the sea, but armed with these drawings we set of upriver for about six miles just past Pomarao.
We anchored in 3 meters overnight and then made our way north again by dinghy early in the morning.
The birdlife all along the river is intensive and varied. The fish have a party jumping and splashing, especially in the wee dark hours. As it got quieter up river this all seemed all the more intense. We were probably the most Northerly cruising boat on the river that night and had seen only one loan fisherman.
So it was we started whispering to each other, once the outboard had been cut. Here we were among the birds paddling through overhanging trees and soon saw the shy terrapins plop into the water as soon as we were seen. We mastered watching them in peace swimming and sunbathing like rocks on the banking…. Hope you can make out one of them swimming with his head up in the picture above.
A perfect morning was completed when we noticed a heavily laden orange tree which was shedding its fruit into the river so I scrambled up the bank to collect a dozen fresh oranges. No doubt about it, the best tasting oranges are those you pick yourself!