Europe to Senegal over land took Juliette and me two months. The same distance back on a plane took six hours.
The trip down confronted us with the heat of the desert, the discomfort of sitting in the back of an overloaded pickup truck, and land mines. On the flight back we faced the difficulties of being stuck on a plane with maximum air conditioning wearing nothing but tropical clothes, twelve hours trying to hitch-hike out of the airport with no sleep, and discovering that the security of my backpack had been violated -- my pocket-knife, alarm clock, and two AA batteries were missing. I think the thief must have been disappointed that I didn't have anything more expensive.
Now I have time to rest, contemplate the trip, and decide whether I prefer crossing the Sahara to a six-hour plane ride.
Real journal entries coming soon.