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longed for death. Then, once again, I changed my mind. I fought on and on and found myself inexplicably out of the bog. Some unseen hand had freed me. I myself hadn’t the strength. I was convinced that a miracle had taken place.

I came to a steep wadi, about ten feet deep. It seemed familiar, but I couldn’t recall why. I fell while climbing down the wall, plunging to the water, scraped and bruised by rocks on the way. Climbing back up the other side was easier. I found myself crawling past the wadi and got up to walk. I was certain that Jaguar Beach couldn’t be far away, probably just around the bend. Distracted by that thought, I almost stepped on a large turtle. It took a quick glance at me and then pulled its head inside its shell. It was a tortoise and must have weighed ten pounds. I was starved and stood there staring at it. Now and again it poked its head out of its shell to see if I was still there and then drew back inside. I considered tying it to my pack and carrying it with me to the beach, but it was too heavy. Perhaps I could hit it with a large rock, break its armour and eat it raw. The turtle stuck its head out again, meeting my gaze with eyes that struck me as sad. I recalled how my own life had only a short while ago been miraculously saved.

‘You’ll live, turtle,’ I pronounced magnanimously, and continued on my way.

Around the next bend I did come upon a beach, but it wasn’t Jaguar Beach. It was quite wide and