Matador Travel is a pretty incredible sight for spotlighting travelers all around the world, helping to make this world of perpetual movers a much smaller place. So when I feel particularly alone like now - in a downtempo bar off an alley in a fly-away hotel in central Dakar, Senegal, I like to check out the map to see where everyone is actually congregating.

Well, they're not here. Not in West or South or North Africa by a long shot. What's going on? Okay, perhaps it is cheaper to go to Spain (which is a brilliant place I'll admit), but where are all those people wanting a new adventure off the beaten track? I promise that you won't get eaten by lions, captured by rebels or taken hostage by militants. Okay, I can't promise that, but travelers calculate their risks and then throw away the figures. Senegal is an amazing country, particularly because the people mix animist lore with Muslim faith, drink tea that resembles petrol, ooze music from their pores and can hold you rapt with their debating skills on world politics while navigating four way traffic with a cell phone. I've hung out at Baaba Maal's old hometown, bribed dodgy officials, rocked out to Daara J, walked in the Sahelian desert, sat with village elders on the Mauritanian border, had a run-in with a Nile crocodile and almost got deported. I've been here 10 days and I love it immensely.

I guess my point is this: enjoy your time wherever you are, but don't forget the places that might be all too easy to avoid. You may surprise yourself with an experience that defies every reference point you've ever had. So come out to Africa - it's nothing like you've heard, and better than you could have ever imagined. Besides, it gets lonely as that solitary arrow on the map.