gG DAHLAK 



The guitar-fish splashed around and floundered on a flourishing 

 bank of madrepore. Cecco started hopping along in a way that 

 nearly killed us with laughter. He shouted with pain (madrepore, 

 as you know, is fakir territory) but kept on running. We could not 

 assist because he was on the other side of the tidal channel. All of 

 a sudden he slipped, went head over heels and landed with his 

 back on the coral. The guitar managed to get afloat and cleared 

 off; it was at least four feet long. It seemed that Cecco must be in 

 shreds, but he got up painfully. We went to get him, going the 

 long way round. He was covered with blood but did not say a 

 word. On the way back we got five new birds (for our collection). 

 *The San Pellegrino (mineral water) is all gone, the Formica will 

 pass by in two or three days and go on to Massawa. All we can 

 do is boil the water from the tank and say amen.' 



'Monday. Drizzly, with a high sea, the Formica dancing the 

 samba, I went into the hold with Gigi to fill two flasks with 

 formalin (the chest filled with fish had been overturned by a wave 

 and we had to do all the work again). I got splashed with the 

 formalin and just managed not to faint. Choking, I somehow 

 managed to get on deck and felt wicked until the evening.' 



'Wednesday. Nocra Channel. We collected coral and echino- 

 derms to-day and filled the boat. Suddenly I discovered the head 

 of a fine moray peeping out of a crack at the bottom of a rock. I 

 drew close with my camera and took two shots. At the second 

 shot the moray came out of his hole for the length of its neck 

 and looked menacingly at me. I called Cecco, showed him the 

 beast and he went down with his gun and harpooned it. I photo- 

 graphed the struggle. Then I took the gun and found myself with 

 Cecco in front of a kingfish of at least forty pounds. I fired and 

 hit it full on, but it broke the harpoon clean in two in an instant. 

 The harpoons will have to be welded at Massawa (on to the 

 arrow, that is, to eliminate the constant breaking point — where the 

 harpoon is screwed on to the arrow). We came across three eagle 

 rays. The biggestwas the female. The two males were courting her. 

 They fluttered behind, flapping their wings, touching her and 

 pushing her, but not annoying each other. All this happening in 

 a foot and a half of water. Such nice people . . .' 



'Friday. We have been seeing the 'cefaloni' (those fish with the 

 clear fins) for two days. We shall have something to say if we 

 don't get at least one. Cecco got near one to-day, fired, got it 



