In 1858, Punch magazine published a cartoon showing the figure of Death rowing along the River Thames in London, claiming the lives of cholera victims.
King Cholera no longer has a court in the English capital. But here in Luanda, an overnight thunderstorm heralded his coming as the streets were turned into a muddy quagmire.
"Streets" is something of a strong word to describe the red-dust lanes that weave through the slums of Angola's first city.
Even the main artery that links the port to the civic harbour is little more than a straight country track, paved in a few places, and today choked with cars and lorries pressing for every available bit of space on the slippery mud.
Next to the lunging vehicles, people pick their way past huge mounds of rubbish that mingle with the silt. A few wear Wellington boots. Most are in Brazilian chinelos, or flip flops.
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