Under the Net

It's like sleeping inside a cloud, all this mosquito net business. Sometimes the nets are suspended from hooks in the ceiling or walls, turning the bed into a circus tent. Other times, they are draped over four posters reminding me of the canopy bed I slept in as a girl — only with gauzy netting instead of a frilly top.

Though I'm visiting Benin in the dry season, I've used a net most every night. It keeps other bugs away, too, especially those three-inch roaches that thrive here.

Besides, the mosquito net is evocative; it's humid tropical nights, Graham Greene novels and ceiling fans. It's far more than a way to keep the bugs away.