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Africa » South Africa » Gauteng » Pretoria
June 16th 2010
Published: June 16th 2010
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So within two days of being in Cape Town, I had stomach problems. My die hard Travel Blog fans will remember I got a terrible case of the flu last time I was in South Africa. Admittedly, this time wasn't nearly as bad as last time, but it still kept me from eating for a couple days. Almost immediately after getting over it, I picked up the cold which I still have right now. I don't know what it is with this country, but I'm anxiously awaiting the day where I am 100% healthy.

I booked into a hostel on Long Street, which is party central in Cape Town, and is sometimes compared to New Orleans' Bourbon Street both for its atmosphere and its appearance. I chatted with the hostel owner for a couple hours. He was awesome and once played for the U-16 Namibian national team. I also met a Welsh guy in my dorm and we later set off to hike Lions Head, which is adjacent to the larger Table Mountain. I was happy to hike the shorter one because of how I was feeling, and because I hiked Table in 2008. We taxied up to the entrance gate and met up with an Australian who was waiting for someone to hike with.

The hike took an hour less than Table but the views were not noticably inferior. The trail winds its way completely around the mountain, giving you 360 degree views of Cape Town, False Bay, the Atlantic, and various surrounding areas. I consider Table to be one of the best hikes I've ever done, and this was comparable, further adding to my already sky-high opinions of Cape Town. It wasn't easy for me, as I thought I was going to get sick the whole way up, but I toughed it out.

The next day I went out to Robben Island, home of the prison where Nelson Mandela was held. It was about a 45 minute boat ride to the island, and we were treated to dozens of dolphins swimming across our path. Views of Cape Town, it's glorious new stadium for the World Cup, and of course the backdrop of Table Mountain and Lions Head got increasingly better as we approached the island. The island itself was a lot bigger than I expected. We boarded a bus and were driven around to see the guards' houses, cemetaries, churches, and a gift shop -- all before arriving at the prison itself. Our guide in the bus was incredible, a direct opposite to my Western Desert guides in Egypt last week. He could easily make a living as a stand up comedian. He made fun of many of my tourmates based on what countries they came from, no matter how obscure. All in good fun of course.

Finally we reached the prison itself. Contrary to my expectations of the island, the prison was smaller than I thought. From there, an actual ex-prisoner took over and walked us through, giving us his own personal accounts of life on the island. It was a great experience, and a must-do for any Cape Town visitor, but fell short of Alcatraz in my opinion.

I met a Swedish girl on the Robben Island tour with a weird name that I can't remember for the life of me. We talked a lot about our travels and decided to get some Thai food at the Waterfront once arriving back in the city. It was AMAZING, probably the best Thai food I've had outside of Thailand. We later saw "A Serious Man," the latest Coen Brothers film, and it could possibly be the weirdest film I've ever seen. This also continues a little trend I have going of seeing Coen Brothers films in foreign countries (I saw Burn After Reading in New Zealand).

That night was World Cup eve, so I went back to Long Street to party with what seemed like the rest of the world. The crowds that night and the previous two were RIDICULOUS. I've never seen anything close to it. The street, every single bar, and every single bar's second floor balcony overlooking the street, were packed shoulder to shoulder with people from all corners of the world. The vibe was amazingly optimistic and jam-packed with excitement. Aside from a few isolated, minor incidents, there was no violence or fighting. It was just pure happiness and excitement from everyone, as we have all been waiting for this for the last four years.

Then finally, June 11 came. I woke up early due to sheer excitement. I was lucky enough to be going to a match on the first day (though not the opening match). Dan (the Welsh guy) and I headed out to the fan fest in the center of Cape Town. We showed up over five hours before kickoff and it was already filled to its capacity of 20,000. The police turned us away so we went towards the Waterfront in search of more crowds. We stumbled on another fan fest, paid a small entrance fee and staked our spot.

Everyone was South African that day. South African jerseys and flags were absolutely everywhere, and thousands chanted in unison. There was beer, food, a 40 square meter TV screen, and no one would have rather been anywhere else -- well, except at the match. The first goal went to South Africa and the place erupted. Mexico ended up equalizing and it finished 1-1.

After the first match, I made my way with the swarms of others to the very impressive brand new Green Point Stadium for the France/Uruguay match. I managed to sneak a little farther down right near the media section. It was interesting to see everyone go about their business. It was a dull match, finishing 0-0, but in light of the event, I almost didn't even notice. I loved it. The stadium actually didn't end up being as great as its appearance suggests. First of all, there were no scoreboards inside, only two large tv screens. And from my angle, I couldn't even see the clock. The corridors were far too narrow to accommodate 60,000+, and I had to walk six sections to get to the bathroom. Deep breaths. This is Africa.

Between this trip and my trip in 2008, I spent a combined total of two weeks in Cape Town and barely saw any of the rest of the country, so I was excited to move on. I booked the Baz Bus, which is an overpriced hop-on hop-off bus that runs throughout the country. I went east down the famed Garden Route and stopped in a place called Storm River on the outskirts of the Tsitsikamma National Park. The drive, although long, was great. The scenery was great, and I saw lots of ostriches and a few elephants. Storm River is a small, laid back town, which is a nice change of pace from Cape Town. The morning after arriving, I set off into the park to do a hike. It was a great hike right on the Indian Ocean, offering great views down the coast. I didn't think it was as good as either Table Mountain or Lions Head in Cape Town though.

So being in Africa for a couple weeks now has reminded me of a few little things. The first is the mysterious "french fry spice." Africa really has some of the best fries ever and during my overland tour in '08 and we constantly ask what kind of spices are used. But funny enough, people always answer "french fry spice" and they never know any more than that. So I am still on a mission to find out what this spice is and where I can buy it. Secondly, I am reminded just how cold South Africa is during its winter. I've been absolutely freezing the entire time I've been here. These are normal temperatures this time of year, but none of my hostels have had any heat at all. I am definitely ill-prepared for this and I need to find a coat store soon.

People keep asking me about the vuvuzelas, which are those notorious horns that you hear buzzing at every second during the games. I don't particularly like them, but I don't hate them enough to ruin my mood. Somehow, although louder of course, they're a lot less annoying in the stadium. And I am against FIFA banning them during the matches, which I don't think will happen. It's part of their culture and, like it or not, I think that should be respected.

So I flew into Johannesburg last night and my friend Idali picked me up. We watched the Brazil match and she dropped me off at my hostel in Pretoria. Tonight I'm going to my second match (South Africa vs. Uruguay). I'm really excited to see the home nation, as I'm sure the crowd will be much better than that dull crowd at France/Uruguay. I'm not really a fan of Pretoria itself. It looks really nice but it's not the safest place, so I'm really limited to what I can do. I'm probably going to take the Baz Bus out of here on Friday and head down to Lesotho and the Drakensburg Mountains to do some hiking. There are a whole slew of games in and around Johannesburg the next two weeks, so I'm going to try to find some more tickets.


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Green Point StadiumGreen Point Stadium
Green Point Stadium

France vs. Uruguay


16th June 2010

Sigh of Relief!
It's always a sigh of relief to finally hear from you, I literally let out the breath that I hold until I hear that you're safe. Sorry to hear that you caught something, it's really not what you need when you want to do so much in such a short time (for you, anyhow, six weeks is a short time). Try to boost up your immune system with some Vit. C; try to get some Vit. C tablets somewhere; or drink big glasses of orange juice (if they have it there). As ususal your writing style lets us feel we're right with you, thanks for the adventure. I much rather see all these things through your eyes, rather than personally experience them. You didn't say much about the U.S match, I can't believe that it wasn't uneventful...keep us posted more frequently, if possible. Take care of yourself, STAY SAFE!! We love you!
16th June 2010

amazing!
I'm sad to hear you weren't feeling well but the look on your face in one of the pictures below your blog shows you are still having an awesome time! Don't freeze to death over there during your travels! I knew you should have packed/prepared for this earlier than the day of :-p. It sounds as if Capetown is one of the best places you could travel to, I would love to go but I doubt you would wanna go back there again seeing as if you've been there twice already. Anyways, I hope you feel better very soon and that you continue to have a great time. I miss you so much!
19th June 2010

Gald to hear form you again..sucks your sick again..a couple at work aasked me about your blog address..I went to my forst game thurs I think I did good except when I got put on defense ugh..I almost scored and vince scored the winning goal off his head..I'm havin my bday party 2morrow its suppose 2 b so hot but whatev and I believe the boys are comin..Its not gonna b the same without you there thou..Imiss u and Ill write 2 u again..I did good wit typing right??..BE SAFE and I love you

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