now near-extinct people, related to the Bainuk people). They sent a couple of launches to land to open contact, but being told the king was absent on campaign, Cadamosto did not linger but decided to continue on. Sailing south, the fleet reached a red-colored headland they named Capo Rosso (Cape Roxo, , today marking the border between the republic of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau). In his account, Cadamosto names two large rivers beyond the Cape Roxo promontory – Santa Anna and San Dominico – which are a little confusing. It is believed one is likely to be the Cacheu River (, often indicated in later Portuguese maps as Rio de São Domingos) while the other river is probably one of the branches (Rio de Jatta or Rio das Ancoras) of the Mansôa River () A day later, Cadamosto discovered a great river (grandissimo fiume), which they named Rio Grande (the Geba River – more precisely, the wide estuary it forms together with the Corubal River, it doesn't seem they actually entered the river itself) (). After anchoring near the southern bank of the estuary, they were approached by a couple of long native canoes from the mainland (no identification given, probably Balantas or Biafares) A few trinkets were traded with the canoes, but they were unable to open communication, as their on-ship interpreters (Wolof and/or Mandinka) did not understand their native language. After a couple of days, they lifted anchor and made their way to some "of the many islands in the sea" (the Bissagos Islands), but found it just as impossible to communicate with the inhabitants there. Given the language barrier, they saw no point in proceeding further. Cadamosto, Usodimare and the unnamed Portuguese captain set sail back to Portugal. Achievement The record of Portuguese discoveries prior to Alvise Cadamosto did not seem to have gone beyond the Sine-Saloum delta. The furthest pre-Cadamosto seems to have been the singular expedition of Álvaro Fernandes in 1446, which may have reached as far as Cape Roxo, but this was not followed up. The 1447 expedition led by Estêvão Afonso did not go beyond the beginning of the estuary of the Gambia River, and thereafter expeditions below Cape Vert were largely suspended by Prince Henry. The principal barrier to the Portuguese seems to have been belligerence of the Niumi-Bato (Niominka) and the Niumi-Banta (Mandinka of Niumi (Barra)), both led by the same king,