River Number Two

River Number Two is the beach that appears on every postcard of this coast, a curve of pale sand where a clear freshwater river meets the sea and a wall of forested hills rises directly behind it. Fishermen still launch dugout canoes from the same sand the sunbathers use. The river can be paddled a short way further upstream into the trees. This is the most internationally known beach on the peninsula, and weekends bring a mix of visiting foreigners and better off Freetown families. The current at the river mouth genuinely needs some care.