Exploring deserts and atmospheric cities on a leisurely version of the Dakar Rally
The tour that transported Nick Redmayne through Senegal gave him a vivid set of impressions – and a taste for African rosé
A man collects salt on Lake Retba
Under the bare metal steering wheel, I wound two wires, eliciting a crackling blue spark. Yaya lifted the Land Rover’s bonnet and pressed a dangling lead to the battery. Painted yellow and emblazoned with the original Dakar Rally logo, the truck hesitated, then rattled into life. Yaya jumped in, settled his quasi-Rastafarian frame into the passenger seat and adjusted the petrol tank, a plastic oil can, with his foot. We were off, the front wheels vaguely following my line, keeping to the beach’s firmer sand just above the surf. A door flapped open … and shut. Then the knob fell off the gearstick. I silently handed it to Yaya.