I am a ferengi (foreigner) and my lungs are on fire. I must look as if I'm under the influence of some drug — I'm coughing and wheezing and have no appetite. And yet I have a permanent, beatific smile of wonder on my face. We have finally arrived at our campsite in the Simien Mountains of Ethiopia, more than 3,000 metres above sea level. I have been walking with the local baboons, called geladas, and I'm as high as a kite.

Just a few short days ago, my outlook was far more fatalistic and the future looked rather hopeless. Without the help of long-time Ethiopian friends in Addis Ababa, I am not sure how we would have escaped the city at all. To obtain a car, legal status within the country and amendments to agreements ad infinitum, we had to get signatures, stamps and approvals from a group of friendly but rather particular individuals spread across this large city. Small mistakes and misunderstandings would take days to correct. Escaping the city became an obsession. But nothing happens fast in Africa. Everybody but you has time.

Two long weeks later, we managed to head into the highlands. Now, with the shortage of oxygen to my brain, and panoramic views that make the Grand Canyon look like a dusty little upstart, I am experiencing a kind of euphoria. Bring on the monkeys, bring on the research questions, bring on the quest for scientific excellence! Nothing can bring me down — except perhaps gravity.