Flying Home

Finally we’re home, after our very long journey. No stop-overs - I don’t think I could have coped with that, and thankfully we managed to avoid a 21 hour layover in Doha, but it’s still over 31 hours from boarding in Auckland to landing in Manchester. 

I think I actually cried when we got into the first plane - however fabulous this trip has been, it’s definitely time to go home - exactly nine weeks since we left home last December. The journey’s comfortable of course, and we are wined and dined to inevitable excess  - but I find it impossible to manage more than a couple of hours sleep. 

I anticipate posting yet  more shots of Doha airport today, but I’m rescued by some spectacular views from the final section of the flight. It’s luck I have a window seat - a result of a last minute aircraft change  - and with clear skies the views over both of the Zagros Mountains (a 1,600km long range running through Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey) and of the more familiar alps are wonderful, so I’m able to find something which I hope is a little more interesting! 

My main’s a shot of the Alps, with extras of the very different ridges of the Zargos range.