Descending from Mekele in the Ethiopian highlands into the Danakil Depression , one could feel like you were heading into the centre of the Earth. Parts are at minus one hundred metres and more below sea level, and it is a highly volcanic area surrounded by desert and dry salt plains. It makes visiting in the middle of summer all the more interesting. In a convoy of five vehicles, a slow descent was made from lush hills into barren nothingness.
With the heat slowly building, and the dryness touching the throat, we drove for several hours, still descending, until we arrived at a nomad Afar tribal village. A quick stop there to pick up a police escort for security, we continued further into the centre of the world, spotting camel caravans carrying salt from the plains.
Arriving at a makeshift camp for the night, a deep sense of being in the middle of nowhere was easy to feel. Dinner was served of freshly killed goat, killed in front of you, before being cooked up in their traditional way.
Soon that slight breath of fresh air disappeared, and one was engulfed in heat and sweat, and a peaceful night was abandoned.
Waking to the never-ending heat and taking a swig of warm water to moisten our mouths, we gathered into the vehicles and headed into the vast salt plains.
