March
26th,
2011 (January 2011) -
Mali in our rear view mirror. South
Africa in
our sights. We had an overnight delay in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where
we believed we'd be spending a long night at the airport. Nope.
Ethiopian Airlines had other plans. Instead, they arranged for a room
and provided transport at no charge. Ahhhhhhh. There was something so
soothing about our brief experience in Ethiopia. Everyone we met
(airport, immigration, hotel, etc.) was extremely welcoming and
friendly. If not for our connecting flight we would have lingered a
bit. Next time I suppose.
Our
arrival in Johannesburg was
not so auspicious. Rain. A shit ton of rain. Yes, it was the rainy
season but we were to discover that South Africa was receiving
abnormally elevated levels of rainfall for that time of year.
Perfect. Had we done a little research we would have discovered this
fact. We had not felt even a drop rain while in Mali. I kind of
missed the rain....like the desert misses the rain. I like rain.
Actually, I love the rain....except when it starts to reach Biblical
proportions. Then its kind of a pain in the ass.
We
spent a fair amount of time at the J' burg airport attempting to
locate suitable lodging. After a bit of research we phoned a
guesthouse and arranged for them to pick us up. Is it wrong for guest
house employees to make you feel like you are intruding? Yes, I think
it is. The room was nice enough and we had access to a kitchen but
we felt like the annoying aunt and uncle that shows up unannounced.
The owner was in town and had a group of friends and acquaintances
there. She was semi-cordial but her posse behaved as if we smelled.
We
went for a stroll in the neighborhood to have a look. As we walked
all that we had heard and read was streaming through our
consciousness. Apartheid. Racism. Black. White. Jo'burg is known for
crime, especially in the car-jacking realm. We knew that there were
some no go neighborhoods in Jo'burg but we believed the area we were
in was safe. However, we did feel a little uneasy and the vibe was
difficult to gauge. Leslie believed it had a quasi-East L.A. feel to
it. Yes, it was predominantly black and we stuck out, way far out,
not so much because we are white but because we were obviously
tourists. We visited a market, picked up some fish and chips at a
food stand, got followed by local looking for loose change, and
returned to our guesthouse.
When
we asked the owner if it was alright to walk around her reaction was
'ehhhh,
I wouldn't.'
Good time to find that out. She was living in the Netherlands because
she did not want to raise her daughter in Jo'burg. I must point out
that we never had a problem for the duration of our trip in Southern
Africa (to include Namibia and Botswana) but we did encounter some
folks (yes, they were white) who behaved as if they could be murdered
in their sleep on any given night. It became increasingly difficult
to assess reality, especially in light of our mostly positive
experiences.
We
decided to find another place to hang our hat and soon found a
backpacker oriented hostel named Gemini. Let's just say it was less
than impressive. I understand it was the slow season and standards
may slip a bit but this place was extremely unpleasant. I am going to
use the word shithole. Our room was dark, depressing, and full of
insect life. The communal kitchen felt neglected and the rest of the
facilities adhered to a similar decorum. After spotting a rat in the
kitchen while cooking dinner we decided to vacate the following day.
Don't get me wrong, I love rats just not in the kitchen. They did
have a free shuttle to the mall. Yippie.
While
being driven from one guesthouse to the next our black South African
driver expounded upon the failure of Nigerian immigrants to
contribute meaningfully to society. In fact, according to him, you
will never see a Nigerian doing any type of work and pointed out that
they are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crime in the
city. Uh-huh. All this as we passed through a predominantly Nigerian
neighborhood.
We
finally landed at a pleasant guesthouse in a decent neighborhood. And
by 'decent neighborhood' I mean one where every home is sequestered
behind a formidable wall protected by electrified fencing and
monitored (as in patrolled) by a security company that employs armed
guards more than willing to show up on a moment's notice and blow
your fucking ass to smithereens. Mister
Rogers would
not approve.
To
make a long boring story short we spent a week or so in Jo'burg
planning our assault on Southern Africa. We wanted to rent a
4WD Toyota
Hilux with
a pop-up camper in the bed. We ended up with a Volkswagon
Polo Vivo and
a tent. The rental rate, price of fuel, and liability not covered in
the rental agreement steered us away from the 4WD. In reality all you
need is a 2WD and a positive attitude.
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'Love me or hate me, but spare me your indifference.' -- Libbie Fudim