An incredible 390 kilometres in one day, that's the new cape2cape record. Bearing in mind this is in Ethiopia and Djibouti we believe it is pretty amazing. The roads from early morning (7.00 AM) until well after sunset, we drove on perfect tarmac and as this was a detour, we didn't have time to rest much.

The border crossing out of Ethiopia and into Djibouti went smoothly without any mentionable delay and we are proud to present new countrypages on the web, now the seventeenth country since February 1st 2006.

We are now entering the dry arid landscape. The dense forests, evergreen hillsides and moist plains have disappeared, the new (although scenic) landscape has change into rolling masses of volcanic soil and dusty desert of sand and stone. Salt and reddish rocks give the first couple of kilometres of Djibouti a certain polka-striped touch. It is dry and arid, but intensely beautiful.

Ethiopia will be remembered as a friendly country that have so much to offer and will be recommended to other travellers as a destination not to miss. It is a pity that so many visitors have come to regard Ethiopia as unfriendly, dirty and a place with too much hassle. I think it depends on the will to adapt and recognize, and maybe the negative stories are accidental, for us it has been nothing but remarkable.