After all this time, and all the flights I've  taken, flying still amazes me.  If you told people 200 years ago, that someday there would be big metal vehicles that weight thousands of tonnes and could carry 300 people many kilometres above the surface of the earth and cover distances that 'normally' take days or weeks, and on top of that you could get a hot meal and a cold drink, they just wouldn't believe you. Even now I don't believe it, especially when I'm standing in some farmer's field where they are barely scratching out a living next to a mud hut--well, it just doesn't seem possible that perhaps a few hours before I was on one of those giant metal  birds.

Just a practical note for those of you who travel to Burundi. I've discovered Brussel Airlines. Direct flight from Brussels to Bujumbura. Eight hours, no transfers, not waiting in some other random Africa airport. Plus the meal comes with all things Belgian.