Things to Do in River Number Two Beach

Paddle to the estuary mouth

From the main bay, borrow a wooden dug-out and follow the brown river inland until the mangroves close overhead. Blue crabs scuttle into mud tunnels. Cicadas and kingfishers layer jungle surround-sound. A monkey splashes. The channel narrows until leaves brush both shoulders, then opens into a mirror-calm lagoon where the water smells almost sweet against the salt outside.

Sunrise fish market on the sand

Show up at 6 a.m. Painted canoes nose onto shore. Crews tip out buckets of snapper, grouper and the odd barracuda that still flaps. Women in bright lappa cloth gut the catch, flicking scales that catch the sun like tiny mirrors. The smell is part ocean, part iron. Laughter and Krio bargaining crackle overhead, half song, half argument.

Cook-your-catch barbecue lesson

Several shacks hand you a stick grill and a bowl of spice paste if you've bought fish from the morning haul. You pound chili, ginger and country onion into a rough rub, slap it onto snapper skin, then balance the fillet over coconut coals until the edges blacken and curl. The taste is fierce, smoky and citrus-sharp, eaten with fingers while the tide licks your ankles.

Lagoon horseback canter

A string of calm ponies waits behind the dunes. At low tide a guide leads you along hard-packed sand where hoofbeats echo like muted drums. You pass crimson cliffs, wheeling terns, and football games that pause so kids can shout greetings. The breeze tastes saltier on horseback. Kick into a trot. The beach stretches another mile.

Beach football with the locals

By 4 p.m. the sand is cool enough for barefoot five-a-side. Goals are sticks, the ball half-flat, yet the pace is serious. Shouts fly in Krio, Mende and English. Fine grains spray during slide-tackles. Dust clouds pop off the ball. Joining is expected. Declare your team. Someone tosses you a faded jersey that smells of sun-dry soap.

Beachfront guest cabanas at the palms' edge - fall asleep to surf and wake to fishermen dragging nets

Up the lane toward Tokeh, small eco-lodge built from driftwood, solar showers, communal bonfire pit

Family-run concrete rooms behind Mama Aminata's cookspot. Shared bucket-flush, cold beers on demand

Backpacker hammocks strung between almond trees. Pay for the spot, mosquito net included

Mid-range lodge on the headland with private balconies overlooking both river mouth and sea

Camping patch inside the coconut grove. Caretaker collects a nightly fee and keeps the sandflies down with smoky husks