I again find myself in awe looking out over the Egyptian and Nubian deserts from the right window of my Lufthansa Airbus, just as I did in 2007 en route to Nairobi. I decided for this leg of the flight I would take a window seat and chose the right one. The vast desert that stretches from just south of Cairo all the way to southern Sudan has so little to look at, yet so much to see. I gazed out over the sunset and was met with the overwhelming sensation that I’m back. Just as the sun went down I was able to catch a glimpse of the Nile twisting and turning hugged by city lights, the only sign of development for miles. The continent that has fascinated me for my entire life looks to be welcoming me once again. There must be a certain draw to this particular section of the Africa too. Whether it is hearing the tales of past travelers making the journey from Cairo to Khartoum or the mystique of overland travel in such an empty space.
I’m going to eventually do it myself, however for now I’ll be making my landing in Ethiopia in approximately an hour and a half and will set off on a different type of journey east towards the Gulf of Aden.