The rainy season is well and truly upon us now. It snuck up slowly in July, the occasional pitter patter in the night, and the humidity creeping up. Then it truly broke - crashing downpours, lightning jagging down onto the choppy sea, and lighting up the plants and trees as they thrashed around in the darkness (lights off, all power cut). And the thunder - just incredible, when it erupts overhead, it makes you cower down, and the earth vibrates beneath your feet.

Storm is coming...

During these displays I am generally to be found with my nose pressed up against the windows, trying to catch the lightning forks, and watching the rain swirling in the howling wind. It's exhilarating, and quite frankly, slightly scary. When it all ceases, as suddenly as it starts, there are fragrant smells and the air is fresh. The next morning there are clouds of dragonflies and insects that seem to have swollen to unnatural proportions, including some chunky-looking cockroaches in my bathroom, and colonies of ants that have taken up residence in the apartment. The cockroaches are pretty gross, but at least they scuttle off and hide in dark places where I'm unlikely to see them. The ants on the other hand seem to have a military operation going on and treat the place quite like their own. Woe betide the stray crumb of cheddar or biscuit on the countertop...Sugar now lives in the fridge, as does anything else of even mild interest. 

...the cows head for shelter..

The trees and plants are so green and lush now, and they seem to grow at an unnatural speed. It's good news for the farmers and the country, who have - along with the entire Sahel region - been on the verge of starvation following a drought caused by last year's poor rains. Of course, this year there has been so much rain that it brings a fresh set of problems: people's houses are collapsing or are simply washed away, and some villages have been completely cut off from everything. The roads are flooded in places even here at the coast, and the sandy banks bordering the roads have been washed away by fast-flowing water, leaving little two-foot drop-offs from the tarmac - a nasty scenario for the unwary driver, and as it happens, my car's suspension. When I visited Banjul at the weekend, entire streets were flooded out with deep water. In true Gambian fashion, people didn't seem to mind; they waded through in flip flops, the women with large packages balanced easily on their heads, and one guy knee-deep in water, standing still, chatting on his mobile. I still can't work out why he didn't find higher ground... 

Fresh and calm after the rains

Who else thinks this looks like Mordor?!

Specimen A, lurking in my cupboard

It's about 27 degrees most days, but the humidity cranks up the heat - and it's not just bugs that seem to thrive on it: I've been discovering a nasty green fur on various leather items, and even on  clothes!

Work has been pretty busy since I got back from a fortnight in the UK. The President's decision to execute 9 death row prisoners a few weeks ago, after a 27 year moratorium, sparked international outcry. I'm working hard on that, and although it's a disturbing topic, it's been very interesting.

I've been doing some communications work too - attending an event to hand over a 5000 tonne contribution of rice to the World Food Programme's Emergency Response Operation in The Gambia, donated by Brazil, and supported by the EU. It will be distributed to about 140 000 people across the country, many of whom are under 5 years old. The rice, along with vegetable oil and micronutrient-fortified cereal, should provide food for three months, until the harvest from this year is in.

Funky lorry used to transport the rice

Warehouse storing the rice and oil, to be distributed across the country

I'm going to break with tradition and not report on the bumsters to finish off this post - I haven't had any encounters of late, which is no bad thing. I'm sure they'll all be flocking back to the coast in October though, when the tourist season starts picking up again. Instead, I want to leave you with this photo, which JT took on a trip up-country in June. I think it's possibly my favourite photo ever: a goat in a bag. On a car. Genius!

Just chillin...