If not for these unnerving roadblocks all the time, Egypt could be really enjoyable. A boiling hot ribbon of tar takes us through the densely populated Nile Valley. Palm trees lining the shores of the mighty river rush by. The lush green sugarcane plantations are dotted with workers dressed in luminous colors.

With a disdainful smile, the Libyan frontier official hands our passports back. "You go back to Tunisia," he sneers. Uwe and I exchange stunned glances. This cannot be...

Just a fortnight ago, when launching this five-year trip around the world, all of our friends and family members had serious doubts about our prospects. "Two greenhorns like you will never make it through the desert," and "You'll be home, defeated, within a month" were among their milder assertions. Stuck here on the border, we couldn't help considering the embarrassing possibility that these bitter predictions might come true much sooner than anyone had thought.