Delta Flight 34/35..

As some of my colleagues retrace the flight I made a few weeks ago (Delta flight 34/35, which flies between Atlanta-Dakar-Johnannesburg), I couldn't help but google it because I found it to be such an odd journey...Sure there were the little differences like the fact that by doing the round-trip flight to Africa you earn enough miles for a free domestic ticket or that the alcohol was again free of charge (Delta waived it's "free alcohol on international flights" policy years ago), but what was really strange was the fact that we were flying transatlantically sans Europe in the equation. Never have I ever done that. Also, the flying is a particulary grueling process as you are not allowed off the plane during the refueling in Dakar. That's about 18-19 hours on a single plane--and not the type of plane you would expect for such a long haul flight, it's actually pretty basic. I found a Salon article chronicling the rise and fall of US airlines' flights to Africa, and it turns out that this was the first direct-flight from the US to sub-saharan Africa by a major US airline in 15 years..starting in Dec '06. 15 years! I guess that kind of rings home to what really struck me about my trip to Africa, just how "forgotten" the place seemed to be. It truly is a place we keep "out of sight, out of mind", but a place that is bustling with activity--unless you're in Maputo..then people are just chilling out (Time is not money in Maputo)..Thank you, Portuguese:)

At any rate, the author concludes..

"I imagine the sunrise touchdown in Senegal -- the smell of tropical humidity stewed with kerosene as the doors are thrown open to a set of drive-up stairs. Then, the second leg, south to JoBurg. The precise routing will vary, but imagine the possibilities: over the dry Sahel of Mali and the great Niger River; across the continent's great central bight; over saw-toothed mountains and some of the planet's last stands of untouched jungle; over the scarred battlegrounds of Angola, the skeleton coast, the primordial emptiness of the Kalahari. All in daylight, no less! How many people will be looking out the window with the contemplative awe such sights deserve? How many will have their shades drawn?"

--Well, I'll just say I had my window open the whole way on the way back, but it was dark for entire 19 hour journey:)