Sunday, April 15, 2012
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Ripple After the Splash
July 12 - The World Cup is Over
Got up fairly early because the girls wanted to get back so they could shower and what not. Took them home and Jeffrey and I headed for Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. A nice little drive. Hiked out as far as we could on Cape Point. Pretty good view. Then hiked to the Cape of Good Hope which is not the southern most point in Africa for any of you, like myself, were under a false impression of such. Geography class was wrong! Headed back up the other side of the peninsula and stopped in Hout Bay to get some fish, calamari and chips at a place that was recommended. Went to stay in Stellenbasch for a free night.
July 13 - Out on the Road Again
Got up earlier than I would have liked, but Jeffrey is all about gettin goin. Made our way to the actual southern most point in Africa where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Cape Agulhas. Pretty decent drive. Did take the quickest way because we thought it would be more scenic. Ended up on gravel roads in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. Nothing around. Some how we found our way to the Cape. Got a call that the shark diving that we had booked for the next day had gotten cancelled due to inclement weather. We decided to head east a little further. Spent the night in Mossel Bay.
July 14
Got up early after an early night. Headed out for a run. Ran a little down the beach. I kind of miss that about living in Ireland. Was quite nice. After a shower and breakfast, we weren't quite sure what to do. Stopped in an internet cafe quick to try and find something. Found a skydiving place nearby. Gave them a call and said we could go up as soon as we could get there. Headed out into the country to airstrip surrounded by nothing. Dinky little planes. Some guy flagged us down to come to him. Very informal. They were makin all kinds of jokes about how they were inexperienced and were just winging it basically. Amusing. Luckily we had gone before. Hardly any paperwork to fill out. Just basically have to put your address and sign. They didn't even look at it before we left. They said they only had us do that to get our information for promotional purposes. Went up in a single engine Cessna with no door. Jeffrey was jumping first so he was right next to the door. Great view from above. The Indian Ocean to one side and mountains to the other. Beautiful day. When we jumped out of the plane, we did some tumbles before we stabilized. Didn't remember doing that before. Pretty cool free falling while spinning all around. Landed safely and all was well. Got back on the road after that and headed for Plettenburg Bay for the night. Just walked around town and hung out at the hostel.
July 15 - Adrenaline Day 2
Woke up and got on the road after a good breakfast at a French market place thing. The highest commercial bungee jump just happened to be right on our way. Of course we had to stop. It was an amazing rush! Unlike skydiving. It was pretty scary walking out to the spot. It is a little dinky platform that every time you step in between the beams the floor sinks. You can see through the floor all the way down and it was really windy. Once we got to the platform all was fine. Then they told me that I was going first. Got strapped up and walked to the edge. They make you put like half your feet off the edge. 5 4 3 2 1 Bungee and they basically through you off. It was AMAZING! I mean unbelievable. Don't even know what was going through my head, but I jumped as high as I could and spread my arms. Felt like you were seriously flying. A lot different that skydiving because you are racing towards the ground and you don't really feel the bungee cord start to tighten until you slow down. Just kind of hang out and oscillate upside until some guy comes to get you. For the first bit while upside down, it is a bit serene. Then you get to thinking.....what if my foot slips. I have been like this for awhile. Shouldn't someone be coming. It is a great relief once you get back up to the platform. Shake the guys hands and what not. Euphoria! We got the videos of the whole thing, so you will be able to see it. Were spending the night in Jeffrey's Bay tonight. Don't know what that will have in store.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
End of World Cup
Well, in case you missed it, Spain are the new World Cup champions. It also turned out to be our last night in Cape Town. We're currently in Mossel Bay heading up the Garden Route on our way up to Kruger. Since the internet access time is limited, the stories will probably be shorter but here we go.
July 6 -
Day of the Holland-Uruguay semifinal. Left Les' house and headed into Cape Town to check into our hostel. It was on the 6th floor of a building right on Long St. so it was a good location. Had an ostrich burger at a local cafe and then met up with the Brits to play some pool before the game. Made the walk to the stadium along the Fan Walk with a sea of Oranje to the stadium. Didn't seem to be many people from Uruguay and the Dutch came in force. Green Point Stadium was pretty impressive and we had good seats right behind one of the goals. The first goal from Holland, one of the best of the tournament, was scored on that goal so it was good crack. A good game but it felt inevitable Holland would win.
July 7-
Got up not knowing what exactly to do for the day or the night so went and got some breakfast. Checked out one hostel that didn't seem in best area/shape so we passed and found another one up the road. Pretty cheap and seemed like a good place. Squeezed a run in and then had a Caribbean Pizza for supper consisting of garlic, bacon, and bananas along with some of the best milkshakes I've ever had. Headed down to the FanFest to watch the Spain-Germany game and sat with some locals that recommended we try a Gatsby. This night in the hostel was home to the worst sound I've ever heard in my life. I couldn't actually call it snoring but it sounded like he was only breathing through 10% of one nostril. It will scar me for life.
July 8-
Figured we'd get up early and try and get a tour of Robben Island in but they were booked solid so we bought one for the 10th. Ate some curry for lunch and headed over to the District 6 museum. Learned about Cape Town's period of forced removal. Hung out at a cafe in Greenmarket Square for the next hour or two. Very chill day. Decided to try that Gatsby and could have had a heart attack afterwards but it was good. The main ingredients are steak, egg, cheese, chips, chili sauce and condiments. Prepared for the night with earplugs but he must not have been there again.
July 9-
Our intention getting up was to take the train to Stellenbosch and go on a wine tour. Got to the train station and they said there was a train heading that way at 9:54 so we decided to wait. As we waited, we noticed there was no train being boarded headed to Stellenbosch so Phillip went up to ask. It took them different route maps to figure out that there actually wasn't a train until 11. Grabbed some breakfast and boarded the train at 11. Got in to Stellenbosch about 13:30 and ended up deciding we'd just walk around to the close wineries rather than pay for the bus. The second place we went was closed but since it was Friday afternoon the lady working opened up for us and ended up staying there and chatting with locals for a couple hours. Met up with a friend from Montana and met a fellow Hoosier in SA for dinner and decided to crash in SBosch instead of taking the late train.
July 10-
Had to catch the 7:37 train to make it back to Cape Town in time for our Robben Island tour. Due to us not having planned on staying all we had on were t-shirts and naturally it was raining. We walked about 20 minutes in the rain and ran the last 10 to catch the train. Now I understand why the train (third-class) anyway was not advised. We definitely stood out and even more so that we were soaked and in t-shirts. Some of the people were friendly but there was one day doing flips on the handles for standing and punching the doors as his morning workout. Interesting experience to say the least but that early train wasn't even needed after our Robben Island tour was cancelled due to bad weather. Since it was raining there wasn't much to do but reschedule our tour and do a little shopping. Had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant and it was excellent. Figured we'd get to bed early for our hopeful RI tour in the morning. Side note for Papa & Gramma - I hope you see how much effort went into getting to that island!
July 11-
Day of the final and finally the Robben Island tour. Only snag was showing up for the 10 o clock and the guy asking 'didn't you get the text that it was pushed back to 11'? Had breakfast on the dock and then finally boarded the boat. I must admit that when we finally got there it was a good tour. First half was on a bus around the island with a very informative Capetonian that didn't beat around the bush. Second half was conducted by a formal political prisoner who had served 11 years on the island and was one of the last to be released. The ferry back was a little rougher. Picked up the girls in SBosch and settled on a pub to watch the game with a mixture of both sets of fans after the FanFest was full. Hard to believe the World Cup is already over.
Running out of time so will have to do the last couple days later. Hope it's warmer up there!
July 6 -
Day of the Holland-Uruguay semifinal. Left Les' house and headed into Cape Town to check into our hostel. It was on the 6th floor of a building right on Long St. so it was a good location. Had an ostrich burger at a local cafe and then met up with the Brits to play some pool before the game. Made the walk to the stadium along the Fan Walk with a sea of Oranje to the stadium. Didn't seem to be many people from Uruguay and the Dutch came in force. Green Point Stadium was pretty impressive and we had good seats right behind one of the goals. The first goal from Holland, one of the best of the tournament, was scored on that goal so it was good crack. A good game but it felt inevitable Holland would win.
July 7-
Got up not knowing what exactly to do for the day or the night so went and got some breakfast. Checked out one hostel that didn't seem in best area/shape so we passed and found another one up the road. Pretty cheap and seemed like a good place. Squeezed a run in and then had a Caribbean Pizza for supper consisting of garlic, bacon, and bananas along with some of the best milkshakes I've ever had. Headed down to the FanFest to watch the Spain-Germany game and sat with some locals that recommended we try a Gatsby. This night in the hostel was home to the worst sound I've ever heard in my life. I couldn't actually call it snoring but it sounded like he was only breathing through 10% of one nostril. It will scar me for life.
July 8-
Figured we'd get up early and try and get a tour of Robben Island in but they were booked solid so we bought one for the 10th. Ate some curry for lunch and headed over to the District 6 museum. Learned about Cape Town's period of forced removal. Hung out at a cafe in Greenmarket Square for the next hour or two. Very chill day. Decided to try that Gatsby and could have had a heart attack afterwards but it was good. The main ingredients are steak, egg, cheese, chips, chili sauce and condiments. Prepared for the night with earplugs but he must not have been there again.
July 9-
Our intention getting up was to take the train to Stellenbosch and go on a wine tour. Got to the train station and they said there was a train heading that way at 9:54 so we decided to wait. As we waited, we noticed there was no train being boarded headed to Stellenbosch so Phillip went up to ask. It took them different route maps to figure out that there actually wasn't a train until 11. Grabbed some breakfast and boarded the train at 11. Got in to Stellenbosch about 13:30 and ended up deciding we'd just walk around to the close wineries rather than pay for the bus. The second place we went was closed but since it was Friday afternoon the lady working opened up for us and ended up staying there and chatting with locals for a couple hours. Met up with a friend from Montana and met a fellow Hoosier in SA for dinner and decided to crash in SBosch instead of taking the late train.
July 10-
Had to catch the 7:37 train to make it back to Cape Town in time for our Robben Island tour. Due to us not having planned on staying all we had on were t-shirts and naturally it was raining. We walked about 20 minutes in the rain and ran the last 10 to catch the train. Now I understand why the train (third-class) anyway was not advised. We definitely stood out and even more so that we were soaked and in t-shirts. Some of the people were friendly but there was one day doing flips on the handles for standing and punching the doors as his morning workout. Interesting experience to say the least but that early train wasn't even needed after our Robben Island tour was cancelled due to bad weather. Since it was raining there wasn't much to do but reschedule our tour and do a little shopping. Had dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant and it was excellent. Figured we'd get to bed early for our hopeful RI tour in the morning. Side note for Papa & Gramma - I hope you see how much effort went into getting to that island!
July 11-
Day of the final and finally the Robben Island tour. Only snag was showing up for the 10 o clock and the guy asking 'didn't you get the text that it was pushed back to 11'? Had breakfast on the dock and then finally boarded the boat. I must admit that when we finally got there it was a good tour. First half was on a bus around the island with a very informative Capetonian that didn't beat around the bush. Second half was conducted by a formal political prisoner who had served 11 years on the island and was one of the last to be released. The ferry back was a little rougher. Picked up the girls in SBosch and settled on a pub to watch the game with a mixture of both sets of fans after the FanFest was full. Hard to believe the World Cup is already over.
Running out of time so will have to do the last couple days later. Hope it's warmer up there!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Great Game and New Place to Stay
July 2 cont.
The Ghana vs. Uruguay game was amazing. I don't know if you watched it but you should have. We were kind of between the corner and the goal on the side where both of the goals were scored and where the PK shoot-out took place. Pretty sweet. Luis Suarez is my new hero. I had always wanted to see a hand ball to save a goal in the dwindling minutes and have the guy miss the pk and the other team win the match. It was awesome to be there. We got in and out of the stadium with relative ease. Got back to our place 40 min after the game had ended. Didn't get back till one but planned to get up at 6 and on the road by 6 30 to Cape Town, we went to bed quite swiftly.
July 3
A day full of driving. We got on the road about 6 40. We surprised ourselves. There wasn't much to see on the drive. Pretty barren land. We probably spent about eight hours driving I suppose. Could have done more but tried to watch the Germany vs. Argentina game with no luck. Stopped at this kind of dive of a restaurant. Went in and asked if they had a tv for us to watch the game. Took us through the kitchen, down some back alley, around a dodgy turn and into this little bar thing with a tv. Turned it on and it had the right channel. Went back and ate. Came back to watch the game and the channel was not working. We missed the game. Life goes on. Stopped in Beauford West for the night. Nice little place. We each had our own bed, and we had our own bathroom. Quite nice after the last couple night's sleep in the noisiest beds I have ever spent a night and you could feel the bars of the bed.
July 4 - Not celebrated in SA......?
Made the final leg into Cape Town, not much farther as we covered a lot of ground the day before. Went into Cape Town to walk around for a bit because the people we were going to be staying with said they would not be home until about 4. A much different feel in the city. Seems a great deal safer. Wouldn't mind walking around here at night. Headed out to meet Les, Brendon and Dean. All nice guys. When we got there they started the coal and were making a little braai. Quite nice. Some chicken and steak. Hung out with Dean, Brendon and one of there friends. Played some poker and watched a couple of movies.
July 5
Woke up after a refreshing nights rest. Looked outside and it seemed a bit overcast. Kind of put a damper on our plans to hike Table Mountain. Headed into town to go to Robben Island. All the ferries were booked for the day and it cost R200. Could be opting out of that one. The day started to clear up so we headed for Table Mountain. Were going to take the cable car up but decided to go with the free option and hike up. Quite strenuous hike. Pretty much straight up, but doable. No real problems. A good work out none the less. Some great views from the top. Ran into the Brits once again at the top. Strange. Walked back down and headed back to Les' house which we are now hanging out. Don't know what is planned for this evening but going to the Uruguay vs. Holland game tomorrow. Should be a good match. Looking forward to the atmosphere and the game.
The Ghana vs. Uruguay game was amazing. I don't know if you watched it but you should have. We were kind of between the corner and the goal on the side where both of the goals were scored and where the PK shoot-out took place. Pretty sweet. Luis Suarez is my new hero. I had always wanted to see a hand ball to save a goal in the dwindling minutes and have the guy miss the pk and the other team win the match. It was awesome to be there. We got in and out of the stadium with relative ease. Got back to our place 40 min after the game had ended. Didn't get back till one but planned to get up at 6 and on the road by 6 30 to Cape Town, we went to bed quite swiftly.
July 3
A day full of driving. We got on the road about 6 40. We surprised ourselves. There wasn't much to see on the drive. Pretty barren land. We probably spent about eight hours driving I suppose. Could have done more but tried to watch the Germany vs. Argentina game with no luck. Stopped at this kind of dive of a restaurant. Went in and asked if they had a tv for us to watch the game. Took us through the kitchen, down some back alley, around a dodgy turn and into this little bar thing with a tv. Turned it on and it had the right channel. Went back and ate. Came back to watch the game and the channel was not working. We missed the game. Life goes on. Stopped in Beauford West for the night. Nice little place. We each had our own bed, and we had our own bathroom. Quite nice after the last couple night's sleep in the noisiest beds I have ever spent a night and you could feel the bars of the bed.
July 4 - Not celebrated in SA......?
Made the final leg into Cape Town, not much farther as we covered a lot of ground the day before. Went into Cape Town to walk around for a bit because the people we were going to be staying with said they would not be home until about 4. A much different feel in the city. Seems a great deal safer. Wouldn't mind walking around here at night. Headed out to meet Les, Brendon and Dean. All nice guys. When we got there they started the coal and were making a little braai. Quite nice. Some chicken and steak. Hung out with Dean, Brendon and one of there friends. Played some poker and watched a couple of movies.
July 5
Woke up after a refreshing nights rest. Looked outside and it seemed a bit overcast. Kind of put a damper on our plans to hike Table Mountain. Headed into town to go to Robben Island. All the ferries were booked for the day and it cost R200. Could be opting out of that one. The day started to clear up so we headed for Table Mountain. Were going to take the cable car up but decided to go with the free option and hike up. Quite strenuous hike. Pretty much straight up, but doable. No real problems. A good work out none the less. Some great views from the top. Ran into the Brits once again at the top. Strange. Walked back down and headed back to Les' house which we are now hanging out. Don't know what is planned for this evening but going to the Uruguay vs. Holland game tomorrow. Should be a good match. Looking forward to the atmosphere and the game.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Back In Joburg
To start, I changed the settings so you can now comment, Gramma. Also a few observations from South Africa:
- It seems the only law of the road is pay attention; well, and try not to get hit.
- Mostly people are incredibly friendly after you meet them but everyone walks down the sidewalks with a serious face.
- TIA (this is Africa) or 'it's South Africa' seem to find their way into conversation daily. This would be due to the fact that inevitably there is something every day that does not go according to plan. Oh well. TIA.
- In relation to Craven Week, there is a bar on site for high school sports. Can't say I've ever seen that at home or that it would fly with most people.
- There are people that show you where the parking spots are in parking garages. You also have to pay at a station before getting back in your car. Then, you put the ticket in the dispenser thing so the boom will open. Doesn't seem that efficient. Then again, TIA.
- If you don't ask for the bill at a restaurant, it will not come.
- Many places don't post prices. You are charged more if you're obviously a foreigner. Kind of sucks.
Back to the dates:
June 30 -
Gary picked us up about 11:30 and we went out to a taxidermy. Even though I see some of them all the time I've never actually been in one. Joe Regal gave us a tour of his place and said most of his customers are from the USA. While there, we met Tarlton who lives in Cape Town. Not sure who he was related to or how we people knew him but didn't matter. We went and grabbed some lunch at the club and then off to Craven Week. The u18 national rugby tournament was being held in Welkom. Rugby's actually pretty interesting when someone explains what's going on. Watched a game and a half. Back to the McComb's house and then to Siete's for supper. Herb Sirlioin was the best meal I'd eaten since we've been down here. Also, talked to Tarlton again and got some advice on Cape Town and said he'd phone his dad because we should be able to stay there a couple nights. Awesome time at the steakhouse with everyone we'd met in Welkom.
July 1-
Got up early to leave Welkom. Chris and Marilyn are headed to Joburg as well to catch a flight to NYC. Followed them up to Joburg and had a cup of coffee before heading our separate ways. We headed to the hostel and were debating whether to try and sell our tickets and drive straight through to Port Elizabeth for the Brazil-Holland game. Didn't seem to be hot tickets so we decided to stay in Joburg. You know you've been in a place too long when you run into three separate people that all recognize you. One guy from the first hostel in the mall, a girl selling stuff at a mall, and a few Brits we'd met a couple weeks ago. Seems like the Brits are on the same travel plan as us so we decided to caravan down to Cape Town together on Saturday. Went on a run and out to eat at an Asian place. Met a couple locals back at the hostel and called it an early night.
July 2-
Beds sucked but thats what you get when you're staying cheap. Went on another run this morning and got ready. At the internet cafe now before trying to find a place to watch the Brazil game. Then off to what is sure to be a mess of trying to get in and out of Soccer City for the Ghana-Uruguay game tonight.
- It seems the only law of the road is pay attention; well, and try not to get hit.
- Mostly people are incredibly friendly after you meet them but everyone walks down the sidewalks with a serious face.
- TIA (this is Africa) or 'it's South Africa' seem to find their way into conversation daily. This would be due to the fact that inevitably there is something every day that does not go according to plan. Oh well. TIA.
- In relation to Craven Week, there is a bar on site for high school sports. Can't say I've ever seen that at home or that it would fly with most people.
- There are people that show you where the parking spots are in parking garages. You also have to pay at a station before getting back in your car. Then, you put the ticket in the dispenser thing so the boom will open. Doesn't seem that efficient. Then again, TIA.
- If you don't ask for the bill at a restaurant, it will not come.
- Many places don't post prices. You are charged more if you're obviously a foreigner. Kind of sucks.
Back to the dates:
June 30 -
Gary picked us up about 11:30 and we went out to a taxidermy. Even though I see some of them all the time I've never actually been in one. Joe Regal gave us a tour of his place and said most of his customers are from the USA. While there, we met Tarlton who lives in Cape Town. Not sure who he was related to or how we people knew him but didn't matter. We went and grabbed some lunch at the club and then off to Craven Week. The u18 national rugby tournament was being held in Welkom. Rugby's actually pretty interesting when someone explains what's going on. Watched a game and a half. Back to the McComb's house and then to Siete's for supper. Herb Sirlioin was the best meal I'd eaten since we've been down here. Also, talked to Tarlton again and got some advice on Cape Town and said he'd phone his dad because we should be able to stay there a couple nights. Awesome time at the steakhouse with everyone we'd met in Welkom.
July 1-
Got up early to leave Welkom. Chris and Marilyn are headed to Joburg as well to catch a flight to NYC. Followed them up to Joburg and had a cup of coffee before heading our separate ways. We headed to the hostel and were debating whether to try and sell our tickets and drive straight through to Port Elizabeth for the Brazil-Holland game. Didn't seem to be hot tickets so we decided to stay in Joburg. You know you've been in a place too long when you run into three separate people that all recognize you. One guy from the first hostel in the mall, a girl selling stuff at a mall, and a few Brits we'd met a couple weeks ago. Seems like the Brits are on the same travel plan as us so we decided to caravan down to Cape Town together on Saturday. Went on a run and out to eat at an Asian place. Met a couple locals back at the hostel and called it an early night.
July 2-
Beds sucked but thats what you get when you're staying cheap. Went on another run this morning and got ready. At the internet cafe now before trying to find a place to watch the Brazil game. Then off to what is sure to be a mess of trying to get in and out of Soccer City for the Ghana-Uruguay game tonight.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
It began and ended in Rustenburg
June 24
After a great night out in Pretoria we headed up to Rustenburg to see what awaited the great Yankyland team. Got back to the town with nothing in it. Pretty must just hung out at the hostel and watched the soccer games for the day. However, that evening there were some guys in the bar who were up in Rustenburg for business. Got to talking to them and they invited us to come stay with them in Welkom in the Free State along with buying us many drinks. They kept insisting everything would be free and they would plan all sorts of stuff for us to do there. Got there numbers and planned to call them once we left Rustenburg. Got a good night's rest that night on the solid ground in our tent, partly to do with the free Jager.
June 25
Next day we had nothing to do, but Jeffrey as always was keen to get up. Slowly got moving and had the English breakfast that was such a great deal when we were at the Traveller's Inn before. However, this time it was no longer a deal. Price had gone up by 50%. Greatly bummed. Went for a nice little run after that. Bubbleboy as hurtin. He looked like death at the end of the run. Went back and got showered in the cool outdoor showers there again. They are pretty neat. Walked around town even though there was nothing new to see. Ate at Nando's which is a chian pretty popular outside of the States. The food was alright, but we had no clue what we were ordering when we went to the counter. Do to Jeffrey not feeling well and me not feeling the best and nothing to do but drink. We went to bed for an early night.
June 26 - Round of sixteen game day
Went for a run the next morning. The air up there is terrible because there are a lot of mines around and at night they just pump the air from the mines out into the atmosphere. Certainly was taking a toll on bubbleboy with no inhaler. Have to turn around and make sure he is still there every now and then. Got back and took possibly the coldest shower of my life. We must have just gone in after the rush or something because it was a first for the place we were staying. It was quite nippy though. Went back to Nando's to try something that we knew what it was. A half a chicken. Quite tasty. Got back to hostel and watched the Uraguay vs. S. Korea game. Made friends with a few people who were headed to the game as well. Quite a few cocky Brits who had bought tickets for that game assuming that England was going to win the group. Pretty funny. Anyway the ones that were there were pretty cool. Pooled together with three Brits and one other American. Walked to park and ride to get to the game that Jeffrey and I had ran by earlier that day. They had shut it down. We ran by at twelve and it was still open. Had to come up with a way to get to the game. Jeffrey and other American hopped in car to go somewhere. Can't remember where. The others and myself began to walk to see what we could find. Ran into where Jeffrey and the other guy had been taken. They had arranged a ride. We were waiting for a ride from someone then another guy showed up. We asked him to take us. The one lady was only going to take us to another park and ride. This guy ended up taking us to the closest bar just outside of the stadium which is actually something like 13km, 8 miles, outside of town. The whole way he kept talking about how we were going to have to find another way home, but we got his number anyway. Once he dropped us off, we gave him a tip and as he was turning around he shouted call me after the game and I will come pick you up. The tavern was pretty neat. Beer was cheap and we certainly stood out. They loved us though. One guy had us sign his jersey. There were some people there doing traditional dancing in some get ups. They were charging people if they saw them taking pictures. I snagged a couple when they weren't looking. Walked into the game for the disappointment I hope you all witnessed live since it was a Saturday. It was a pretty cool atmosphere to be in, but there where a lot of Ghana supporters who I am sure were not from Ghana. I guess life goes on, but now we have tickets to the Ghana vs. Uraguay game. At least it is in Soccer City. Looks like a pretty sweet stadium. Went back to the tavern after the game. Got a couple brews to console the loss. Called Ellis I think his name was and he said he was on his way. Picked us up right where he had dropped us off. Got transport to and from the stadium for R60. The hostel was charging R250. It worked out in our favor.
June 27 - Reality of the loss sets in
Woke up and due to the drinks the night before and the reality of the loss. We weren't feeling the best. Decided we should get on the road even though we had no clue where we were going as our planned trip had expired. Decided we would go to Jo'Burg to try and get tickets to the Mexico vs. Argentina game. Two of the British guys we were with the night before had two tickets they were trying to sell. Only wanted face value. Then told us to make them an offer. We hesitated because they were Cat 2 tickets and didn't want to pay that much. They sold the tickets shortly after. We regretted the decision. Didn't find any tickets although we didn't look all that hard, but we couldn't find a place to stay either so we had to reroute. Decided to call Chris who we had met in the bar at Rustenburg. Surprised he remembered us. He said sure no problem. Arrived at his house less then three hours later in Welkom southwest of Jo'Burg. They have a pretty nice house. Jeffrey and I had our own room with our own beds. First time in South Africa. Hung out and just talked to them while we watched that night's match. They ordered pizza and we devoured it. They didn't want but a couple pieces. They told us to set out our dirty laundry and the maid would have it cleaned by tomorrow afternoon. We hadn't done laundry in a couple weeks. They weren't lying.
June 28
They allowed us to sleep in our first day there because they knew we had been sleeping in a tent for the last three nights. All three of them work full time but Chris is a Director at Galison Manufacturing so he can pretty much come and go. He came and picked us up about eleven or so after a great night's rest. Best since we have been down here. He took us to where he works along with the other two guys we met up in Rustenburg, Gary and Johan. We went into Gary's office and talked to him for a bit. He is Managing Director for one side of the company and Chris is for the other. We got a full tour of Galison Manufacturing. They make mining equipment for people pretty much world wide. It was pretty cool for the tour. I actually got some practicle application of all the mumble jumble I had been learning about at Loras. I am sure that I found the tour much for interesting that Jeffrey. Got a full tour of all four of the factories and showed us what each one of them did. They treated us to some pretty good currie and then we headed out to go to a game reserve where Chris knows the owner. Neat tour. Got some up close shots of some of the animals. Went back to the house and met some more of Chris' family and then headed out to go to a local Rotary meeting which Chris is a member. They put us on the spot, but Jeffrey did most of the talking. The power went out of the place as the meeting was ending. The real South Africa. Then met up with the rest of the fam at Mojos for what I was told would be the best steak I've ever eaten. It was pretty good and certainly the largest steak I have ever been served. Watched the Brazil vs. Chile game there and tried some of the local drinks. Pretty tasty but I am sure not that strong. The dessert was great as well.
June 29
Had to get up early this morning so we could get in a round of 18. They had arranged us clubs and complimentary round of golf since Gary is the President at the local club. Great deal! Played with Chris' brother/son-in-law and Louie who was the chef/bartender at Mojos. A fun round of golf but not well played. Almost lost Gary's four iron. Left it up against a fence. Went back after about nine holes and it as still there. Thank goodness. He wouldn't have cared anyway. Spent the afternoon just hanging out. Chris and Madaline? had invited some people over for ox-tail and drinks. It was a good time. They ox-tail was great. Very tender. Felll right off the bone. Tired now and going to go pass out in my wonderful bed all to myself!
After a great night out in Pretoria we headed up to Rustenburg to see what awaited the great Yankyland team. Got back to the town with nothing in it. Pretty must just hung out at the hostel and watched the soccer games for the day. However, that evening there were some guys in the bar who were up in Rustenburg for business. Got to talking to them and they invited us to come stay with them in Welkom in the Free State along with buying us many drinks. They kept insisting everything would be free and they would plan all sorts of stuff for us to do there. Got there numbers and planned to call them once we left Rustenburg. Got a good night's rest that night on the solid ground in our tent, partly to do with the free Jager.
June 25
Next day we had nothing to do, but Jeffrey as always was keen to get up. Slowly got moving and had the English breakfast that was such a great deal when we were at the Traveller's Inn before. However, this time it was no longer a deal. Price had gone up by 50%. Greatly bummed. Went for a nice little run after that. Bubbleboy as hurtin. He looked like death at the end of the run. Went back and got showered in the cool outdoor showers there again. They are pretty neat. Walked around town even though there was nothing new to see. Ate at Nando's which is a chian pretty popular outside of the States. The food was alright, but we had no clue what we were ordering when we went to the counter. Do to Jeffrey not feeling well and me not feeling the best and nothing to do but drink. We went to bed for an early night.
June 26 - Round of sixteen game day
Went for a run the next morning. The air up there is terrible because there are a lot of mines around and at night they just pump the air from the mines out into the atmosphere. Certainly was taking a toll on bubbleboy with no inhaler. Have to turn around and make sure he is still there every now and then. Got back and took possibly the coldest shower of my life. We must have just gone in after the rush or something because it was a first for the place we were staying. It was quite nippy though. Went back to Nando's to try something that we knew what it was. A half a chicken. Quite tasty. Got back to hostel and watched the Uraguay vs. S. Korea game. Made friends with a few people who were headed to the game as well. Quite a few cocky Brits who had bought tickets for that game assuming that England was going to win the group. Pretty funny. Anyway the ones that were there were pretty cool. Pooled together with three Brits and one other American. Walked to park and ride to get to the game that Jeffrey and I had ran by earlier that day. They had shut it down. We ran by at twelve and it was still open. Had to come up with a way to get to the game. Jeffrey and other American hopped in car to go somewhere. Can't remember where. The others and myself began to walk to see what we could find. Ran into where Jeffrey and the other guy had been taken. They had arranged a ride. We were waiting for a ride from someone then another guy showed up. We asked him to take us. The one lady was only going to take us to another park and ride. This guy ended up taking us to the closest bar just outside of the stadium which is actually something like 13km, 8 miles, outside of town. The whole way he kept talking about how we were going to have to find another way home, but we got his number anyway. Once he dropped us off, we gave him a tip and as he was turning around he shouted call me after the game and I will come pick you up. The tavern was pretty neat. Beer was cheap and we certainly stood out. They loved us though. One guy had us sign his jersey. There were some people there doing traditional dancing in some get ups. They were charging people if they saw them taking pictures. I snagged a couple when they weren't looking. Walked into the game for the disappointment I hope you all witnessed live since it was a Saturday. It was a pretty cool atmosphere to be in, but there where a lot of Ghana supporters who I am sure were not from Ghana. I guess life goes on, but now we have tickets to the Ghana vs. Uraguay game. At least it is in Soccer City. Looks like a pretty sweet stadium. Went back to the tavern after the game. Got a couple brews to console the loss. Called Ellis I think his name was and he said he was on his way. Picked us up right where he had dropped us off. Got transport to and from the stadium for R60. The hostel was charging R250. It worked out in our favor.
June 27 - Reality of the loss sets in
Woke up and due to the drinks the night before and the reality of the loss. We weren't feeling the best. Decided we should get on the road even though we had no clue where we were going as our planned trip had expired. Decided we would go to Jo'Burg to try and get tickets to the Mexico vs. Argentina game. Two of the British guys we were with the night before had two tickets they were trying to sell. Only wanted face value. Then told us to make them an offer. We hesitated because they were Cat 2 tickets and didn't want to pay that much. They sold the tickets shortly after. We regretted the decision. Didn't find any tickets although we didn't look all that hard, but we couldn't find a place to stay either so we had to reroute. Decided to call Chris who we had met in the bar at Rustenburg. Surprised he remembered us. He said sure no problem. Arrived at his house less then three hours later in Welkom southwest of Jo'Burg. They have a pretty nice house. Jeffrey and I had our own room with our own beds. First time in South Africa. Hung out and just talked to them while we watched that night's match. They ordered pizza and we devoured it. They didn't want but a couple pieces. They told us to set out our dirty laundry and the maid would have it cleaned by tomorrow afternoon. We hadn't done laundry in a couple weeks. They weren't lying.
June 28
They allowed us to sleep in our first day there because they knew we had been sleeping in a tent for the last three nights. All three of them work full time but Chris is a Director at Galison Manufacturing so he can pretty much come and go. He came and picked us up about eleven or so after a great night's rest. Best since we have been down here. He took us to where he works along with the other two guys we met up in Rustenburg, Gary and Johan. We went into Gary's office and talked to him for a bit. He is Managing Director for one side of the company and Chris is for the other. We got a full tour of Galison Manufacturing. They make mining equipment for people pretty much world wide. It was pretty cool for the tour. I actually got some practicle application of all the mumble jumble I had been learning about at Loras. I am sure that I found the tour much for interesting that Jeffrey. Got a full tour of all four of the factories and showed us what each one of them did. They treated us to some pretty good currie and then we headed out to go to a game reserve where Chris knows the owner. Neat tour. Got some up close shots of some of the animals. Went back to the house and met some more of Chris' family and then headed out to go to a local Rotary meeting which Chris is a member. They put us on the spot, but Jeffrey did most of the talking. The power went out of the place as the meeting was ending. The real South Africa. Then met up with the rest of the fam at Mojos for what I was told would be the best steak I've ever eaten. It was pretty good and certainly the largest steak I have ever been served. Watched the Brazil vs. Chile game there and tried some of the local drinks. Pretty tasty but I am sure not that strong. The dessert was great as well.
June 29
Had to get up early this morning so we could get in a round of 18. They had arranged us clubs and complimentary round of golf since Gary is the President at the local club. Great deal! Played with Chris' brother/son-in-law and Louie who was the chef/bartender at Mojos. A fun round of golf but not well played. Almost lost Gary's four iron. Left it up against a fence. Went back after about nine holes and it as still there. Thank goodness. He wouldn't have cared anyway. Spent the afternoon just hanging out. Chris and Madaline? had invited some people over for ox-tail and drinks. It was a good time. They ox-tail was great. Very tender. Felll right off the bone. Tired now and going to go pass out in my wonderful bed all to myself!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
We are going to the round of sixteen!
Well we have done a fair amount since the last blog post. We left our comfortable home in Hartbeespoort and headed back to the hostel life. The hostel we headed to wasn't exactly in Jo'Burg, but we didn't have a problem getting to the game from there. The Slovenia game was a bit of a disappointment with the disallowed goal. We didn't see a replay or anything, but have come to find out it was bogus. We are continuing on anyway after finishing top of our group so all is well. We had a good time at that hostel. Hung out with some English guys for the France vs. Mexico game. Had a wager on first goal scorer to it made the game more interesting and good times followed. Needless to say a rough morning. The hostel was quite cold. It was warmer outside than it was where we were sleeping. Along with it being cold there was yet another bird to wake us up in the morning at this place. This time it was a rooster that sounded near death.
From there we headed up to Sabie. We didn't have a place to stay or anything, but were looking forward to doing some hiking and getting out of the city. Found a cheap little backpacker place. We went to our room and were the only ones in the building. We were looking forward to the good night's rest we were about to get. We went to bed early with the plan to wake up early, go for a run and get out and do some hiking. That was the plan. About 23:30 a rather large and loud group made its appearance. A bunch of Afrikaaners celebrating someones birthday. The good night's rest went out the window. We probably would have joined them had we not been recovering from a couple rough nights previously. We were mad all through the night, but in the morning when we talked to them they were pretty cool. A couple of them gave us their numbers and said to call if we were in their respective cities. We did our run and showered before we headed on a hike. We opted for the one that you didn't have to get a permit to do. We had no map and no real clue where we were supposed to be going. The lady said the trail was marked, ha. There were some markings but it was not clear where we were supposed to go. Had trouble figuring out which way to go, but eventually found the two waterfalls that we wanted to see. They were disappointing. After the run and a good hike we had worn ourselves down and thought that we might get a good night's rest tonight. No such luck. We pitched the tent in a campground and got a fire going. It was a little chilly but warm next to the fire that I was able to start with the strike of one match. I was impressed with myself because I was not expecting it to be that easy without Grandpa's special potion. The teepee method works. Well we climbed in our tent, got down to our skivvies and listened to the calmness around. Fell asleep, but not for long. It had to have been the coldest night since we have been here. Woke up freezing! Put on the jacket but that didn't help with my feet that I couldn't feel. Hardly got any sleep at all. It didn't help that we were sleeping on the ground with no pad because we opted to save space. It was terrible. The next day we had planned to do a hike that we read about that said it was for fit hikers only. Not the best idea after a night of basically no sleep. We had to pay to park the car, pay per person in the car and then pay for a permit to hike. An ordeal just to get some exercise. It was a great hike though. Some amazing views and finally an awesome waterfall. It was better labelled than the hike the day before. It was a pretty strenuous hike that drained the energy. We went and saw the Three Rondavels. They are pretty cool to see. Optimistic that tonight we were finally going to get a good night's rest. We slept in an old train car. It was pretty cool. Just the little sleeper bed with plenty of blankets. It was a great deal. R100 for the bed and breakfast. It was a pretty good night's sleep especially compared to the last two. Those beds just aren't that comfortable, but more comfortable than the ground and freezing cold.
The next day we headed up to check out God's Window. Understand why it was his window. A pretty cool view. Stopped at a few waterfalls that we could basically drive to. One of them was pretty cool. Still optimistic that we will find better because I like looking at waterfalls. Headed back to the city. A bummer after being out in the open in the mountains. The ride back saw more of the same view. They just have fires to burn the grass. Just wherever. No control. Just let it burn. Quite bizarre. Took picture of hijacking hot-spot sign. They have them all over. Made it to Pretoria no problems. Anticipating game verse Algeria. Apart of a cool pregame that turned into an American march to the game stopping traffic without a care. The game was quite intense if you didn't watch it. However, YOU SHOULD HAVE and YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS NEXT ONE! I was getting tired of putting my head down after what should have been a goal. Finally in extra time they did it. Thank goodness. We finished top of the group and then headed to Hatfield which is the party/bar area in Pretoria. Ran into one of the guys that we met up in Sabie that lived in Pretoria. The night turned out to be a good time. He was sure to show us a good time. Knew the owner of the bar where we were drinking. His brother was a bartender there. Ended up in VIP. Did hand grenades. Got a great night's sleep! Heading back up to Rustenburg. That is unfortunate because there isn't much there, but we will be watching the US so that is a great plus. Hopefully we can beat Ghana. Greatly looking forward to the game!
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