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river, enclosed and protected by a barrier of rocks that made it a hidden and safe port.

Then we would have spent a couple of days there, the preparations were more laborious than usual and from the bustle of El Monstruo it seemed that the departure was not on the Pilar, but an ocean liner.

The navigation towards Escondido was very pleasant: smooth sea, clear sky, sweet and crisp air. El Monstruo pulled on board a barracuda which, when cut into pieces, served as bait because it was not edible. When I saw the teeth, I understood the reason for so much agitation on the beach of Varadero, when I had begun to swim out to sea. Attracted by signs and loud shouts, I smiled smugly remembering that someone spreading their arms had said that in those parts you could meet barracudas "this big," and the size did not seem particularly threatening. Now I understood that it was not so much the size that frightened, but that double dense row of sharp teeth.

After a long patient struggle, Papa captured a beautiful dorado that Gregario Fuentes immediately cleaned with skillful quick gestures and cooked in a superlative way. I too caught a fish which, although it was small, - about three kilos - since it was my first, looked very big.

Arriving at the barrier of rocks that closed Puerto Escondido, Gregorio skillfully piloted the Pilar through a narrow crevice. We entered a shiny green mirror that spread out between shores where sea grape and wild lemon trees stretched their roots between sand and stone. On one side, just behind the shore, rose a rocky peak above which the vultures, before settling, formed black concentric circles in the sky.

We anchored near the shore from where, passing between shrubs and boulders, we could easily reach the bay on the sea. I went there immediately, of course. Equipped with a mask.