Our host Stephanie says that we must have breakfast before we leave. We say we’ll just have coffee and juice and take something with us and thought she had packed us breakfast to go. She takes her daughter to school, before returning to take us down to the dock. We see one breakfast beautifully laid out on the bar. Coffee, juice, fruit, eggs and toast. It looks delicious, but as there is only one plate we do not think it is meant for us. Big mistake! It was meant for Paul. Stephanie returns and says “Are you both fishing? I thought it was just Paul. Oh, so sorry, I made that for Paul and was going to make you something when I came back.”

Bother – it looked so great and now we have to go out all day with nothing to eat. Hopefully the boat taking us out will provide something. We arrive at the dock. The gangway is steep and wet with condensation. This makes it exceedingly slippery but somehow we both remain upright – though a close call.

Mist sits over the river and the sun starts to burn through the ethereal haze.

Water hyacinths float on the surface looking like some type of alien life form…

and the mist rises and blankets the tops of the hillsides in a white shroud.

Although this is a fishing trip, the guides realise that I need some decent photographs. Wildlife abounds and they are eager to spot anything that moves and slow the boat down so I can capture the action.

And what a lot of action there is. Crocodiles and parrots. Every type of wading bird. Monkeys galore – howlers, squirrel monkeys and capuchins.

We slowly traverse the river in this fashion for an hour or so and then power up out to sea in the hope of primarily catching rooster fish. This involves riding the surf on our way out. The boat is sturdy and well up to the task. I am relieved to find the sea moderately calm just with a rolling swell. We stop close to beaches and rocky outlets. I am delighted. So much for me to shoot.

Incongruously we spot a pig on the beach. No idea if it was wild or domestic.

The bird life is wonderful. Pelicans plop into the sea and sandpipers rise in shimmering flocks as waves break over their roost.

Suddenly there is action. Paul has hooked a rooster fish. They are big and a ten minute battle ensues. It is hard work. Sadly in the end it gets away but I think Paul enjoyed the fight though might have appreciated standing in the shade. He was exceedingly hot in the searing heat. Personally I am struggling to see the appeal in sitting in the sun for hours, continually casting and trying to catch something huge that will knacker you further….

I do however love any excuse to be out on a boat. There is definitely something about being on the water. Our guides were fishing for smaller stuff. They caught a sardine and large jack then hooked a snapper. I was handed the rod and reeled it in.

We kept moving location and held off by a wonderful set of rocks with frigates and boobies circling overhead.

It is mid-day and scorching. We race in across the incoming surf, picking a route through the rollers before they break on us. Very exhilerating. We anchor on a sheltered little beach and sit in the shade for an hour or so. There are buildings so we think there must be a bar. Unfortunately not. This is clearly someone’s home. Not to worry, we have iced water and it gives me the opportunity to find a welcoming bush for a loo break. Our boat is the smaller one on the left. I take my shirt off and hang it on a palm tree. I think to myself that there is a a high chance of my forgetting it and guess what? That’s exactly what I do.

After our break we make our way back up the Sierpe River. This time in search of snook. We actually see snook and rooster fish chasing prey but unfortunately the fish are just not biting today.

This in my view is the advantage of photography as a hobby. You will always go out and capture something to take home with you.

I am so pleased with my camera. I cannot believe how good the photographs are today considering they were all taken form a moving boat, mainly between 600mm and 800mm. It should not be possible to capture such sharp results handheld. Thank you Olympus!

This was an incredibly long day – 10.5 hours out on the boat. We were pretty exhausted and the prospect of a 1 km walk from our hotel to find a mediocre dinner was less than appealing. I popped into the minimart across the road from the jetty and bought rolls, ham and juice. Stephanie met us and took us back to the hotel where we were delighted to discover that air-conditioning had been installed. The room was blissfully cool. We collapsed on the bed, plonked slices of ham on the rolls. Oh my word. They tasted good. All we had eaten on the boat was pineapple and watermelon and having missed breakfast we were ravenous.

I reviewed my day’s photos and was pretty pleased with the results. Then exhaustion took over and although only 19.50 we turned out the lights and crashed for the night.