Described as a model for low-volume, high-value post-pandemic adventure travel, A Journey off the Map sees Catherine Fairweather and partner the photographer Don McCullin’s Eritrean odyssey include Asmara, a visit alongside the Rashaida on the coast, and sailing among the islands of the Dahlak archipelago.
Wowed by the faded grandeur of modernist Asmara, they ride the now revived steam train to Embatcala, stop off in Massawa – ‘the imagined treasure trove of Arabia’ – on the way towards the Red Sea Hills of Sudan, before wild camping on the islands of Dur Gaam and Dur Ghella. Off the map, indeed.
Do have a read. It’s fantastic – as are Don McCullin’s images. And please do get in touch if you fancy doing something similar – either in Eritrea or elsewhere far off, miles from nowhere.