Butterflies fill the air like snowflakes

THE first night in this tropical land of The Gambia in West Africa we ate in the company of hundreds of white butterflies.

I noticed that one had alighted on our candlelit table and settled there. Admiring its beauty and lack of fear, I pointed it out to the waitress.

Instantly, she brushed it away with a sweep of her hand. “I love butterflies”, she said, smiling the sunniest of African smiles.