The names of numerous islands and natural landforms in the Pearl River estuary are evidence of the Portuguese presence on the China coast. The rocky islands that stud the river entrance have been known on maritime charts for centuries as the Ladrones - an archaic Portuguese word for pirates or bandits. Other local reefs are known as the Pratas - 'prata' means 'silver' and the name, apparently, is derived from the silvery flash of hundreds of fish leaping briefly out of the water. Nowadays, of course, this poetic sight has vanished; thanks to overfishing and toothless marine-conservation policies, the local fishing industry is all but extinct.
One of the more unusual Portuguese-derived names - all the more so for being misspelled - is Adamasta Rock. This pillar of stone that rises from the seabed between the Chi Ma Wan peninsula on south Lantau and Cheung Chau becomes visible - just - at low tide. Until a fixed navigational beacon was installed, Adamasta Rock was one of the few significant marine hazards in Hong Kong waters. The Chinese name translates - prosaically enough - as 'north Cheung Chau rock'. But how did it get its Western name?
The name itself is derived from an inaccurate rendering of the Greek word for 'untameable' - adamastos. The adamastor is a mythological sea creature depicted in Portuguese poet Luis Vaz de Camoes' epic poem Os Lusiadas.
Even as I spoke, an immense shape
Materialised in the night air,
Grotesque and enormous stature
With heavy jowls, and an
