I figured my body was not going to appreciate the 24 some odd hours of flight and airport time to get to South Africa so I was pleasantly surprised to feel limber and energetic while waiting to clear the passport queue at Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. That is not to say I enjoyed every minute. Our original 5 hour flight from Portland to Washington DC took 6 because of weather. We circled over the same West Virginia hills for what seemed like forever, every so often catching a glimpse of the massive afternoon thunderheads keeping us at bay. Because of our delay, there was no time to take care of my appetite before boarding the 2nd of our three leg journey to Johannesburg. Our DC flight took us 8 hours, 2 of them hungrily, to Dakar, Senegal, where upon landing, I had the immense pleasure of whispering to myself, "I'm in Africa." The romanticism was soon lost realizing that 1) I couldn't leave the plane, 2) It would be an hour before we took off again, and 3) Once we took off, it would be another 8 hours before our arrival to South Africa. But, like I said earlier, I felt pretty good once we arrived. It certainly wasnt because I was well rested. I can't sleep on airplanes and unless I considerably lose some height over the years, I never will. I'm thinking it had a lot to do with the book I was reading on my birthday Kindle. I was able to get lost in Scott Jurek's Eat and Run book. If you are into athletics, nutrition and sports psychology, it's a good one. After finishing that, I started on Nelson Mandela's Long Walk to Freedom. Given the rapidly deteriorating health of the anti-apartheid icon and locales in which we would be visiting, I figured it to be required reading. I'm only a few chapters in and I'm already enthralled.
After an hour long line at the passport control check, we were waived through to the baggage area where I was able to exchange US dollars to the colorful SA Rand and locate a pay phone to call Greg, our host at Shoestrings Airport Lodge. We were picked up a scant ten minutes later joining two students from Germany already in the backseats. While relishing the opprtunity to speak German, Morgerg engaged the students while I sat up in front marveling at the fact that I was in the drivers seat with no controls and that we were driving on the opposite side of the road. There is no way I could have rented a car here!
At the hostel, we quickly settled into the bunks and joined a few others around the fire in the living room watching the news. Obama is in town and combine that with uncertainty over Mandela's health and there didn't seem to be much else on which to report. Hanging around the communal area reminds me of the Camino de Santiago walk across Spain and all of the people you meet. It makes me miss it all that much more. Just like in Spain, we get to travel to a foreign country, but the people we meet are truly from all around the world. I even went to bed laughing at the absurd reminder that everyone snores in the same language.
However, unlike the Camino, there would be no rousing of sleepy bodies at 5 in the morning, packing their bags and making those loud clashes and bangs made only by people when they are desperately trying not wake anyone up. Instead, it was me, who by 5:30 in the morning and definitively awake, slid off the top bunk to go shower and read in the communal area. After a couple of hours, more and more people awoke and readied themselves for whatever they had planned. Morberg and I have just one day in Johannesburg to explore so we asked for walking directions to the Gautrain, a new commuter train linking some of the more affluent neighborhoods to the city center. We found it without much trouble, hopped on at waited for the Park Station stop. Our main objective of the day was to visit the Apartheid Museum and it just so happens to be one of the stops on the City Sightseeing Hop On/Hop Off buses. These double decker buses come equipped with audio tours and it was perfect way to get introduced to the city. It was a Sunday, but still pretty vibrant as we weaved in and out of inner city areas that were in various states of regeneration, stagnation, or just plain disrepair. All told, it was really interesting and we were soon dropped off at Stop#6, the Apartheid Museum. Cameras were not allowed so I can't show any pictures, but it was easy to lose yourself for a few hours here. From the dual entrance, one for whites and one for non-whites, there was an immediate gut response that set a tone of unease for the duration of the experience. That tone still resonated long after we hopped back onto the city tour bus. The audio tour was speaking about some notable alumni at a city university, but my mind was still pondering the apartheid history. It was not that I couldn't believe it. After all, we had and continue to experience similar racial injustices in the United States, but I have trouble comprehending the amount of time it takes for a change in ideas, or the amount of time people are stubbornly willing to cling to world views that are so fundamentally wrong and morally corrupt.
We are now back at the hostel. A group of American high school students from Colorado are expected tonight so the host moved me and Morberg to a room with just two beds to make room in the dormitory. That is a nice little upgrade! Tomorrow is a travel day as we board a plane to Cape Town. The two hour flight seems an insignificant amount of time after the length our initial journey. We are expected to spend about 5 days in Cape Town, which is considered one of the best places in the world to visit. The only dilemma will be trying to decide what to do first? Will it be visiting Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years? Perhaps the hike up toTable Mountain? The Cape of Good Hope? Or maybe just a fancy tour of the famous vineyards? Who knows? But we do want to say thanks for all the well wishes and thoughts. We will have more exciting pics when we travel through Cape Town.
Take good care for now,
James
