Upon his return from his first expedition, Antoniotto Usodimare wrote a famous letter, dated December 12, 1455, to his creditors back in Genoa, informing them of his recent journey - albeit laced with great exaggerations and half-truths. He does not mention Cadamosto in his letter, and instead gives the impression he sailed alone deep into the Gambia River. He says he reached within a few days of the seat of the Mali Empire and within traveling distance to the lands of Prester John (Ethiopian Empire). Usodimare claims to have come across a man of Genoese descent along the shores of the Gambia - ostensibly a descendant of the survivors of the 1291 expedition of explorers Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi.