"Where is better, Nigeria or Senegal?" is the question an airport taxi man will always ask when he drives you away from the infernal mess that is Dakar airport. "I hear Nigeria is hot," meaning hard-going, "they don't have peace like we do here."

I was surprised at how hot Dakar was when I got back here. Perhaps I have become too used to air-conditioning, but I slept the first night bathed in sweat on top of the sheet, wishing it were morning. I sit here now in much the same way, wishing it were November.