So ends the side quest… I’ve finally returned to the path of the Virtual African Loop (VAL) after a quick sidebar on the map into Israel and Jordan.
Not only am I (virtually speaking) back on the African continent — I’ve finally about to start covering new ground, after a long stretch of backtracking.

So that means I can continue on through virtual Egypt and on to the remaining countries of Northern Africa.
And it means that if I want to sync my trek across virtual Egypt with the Conqueror’s Giza Pyramids challenge, I need to get myself going.