Pictures, Finally

I have a lot of time to kill right now. I am currently serving a 12 hour layover sentence in O.R. Tambo International Airport. I am bundled up on a cozy steel bench in front of a closed Vodafone kiosk. Sometimes traveling ain't all glitz and glamour and this is the ugly side of shark diving, mountain climbing, and road tripping. The worst part about this layover is that it is from 11p.m. to 11a.m., which means that I get to hang out with absolutely no one. There are a few travelers spread out here and there but they have all claimed their own steel bench and fallen asleep, which is amazing to me seeing as it is about -10 degrees in this dam building.

I spent my last day in Cape Town hiking up Lion's Head, doing laundry, and saying goodbye to the Hyundai Atos. If I can dispense some advice to those traveling to Cape Town it would be this; when renting a car, and do rent a car, make sure to not rent a Hyundai Atos. We beat the hell out of that car. There are many beautiful lookouts and detours off of the main highway that are nothing close to what that car is designed for. Matt was my co-pilot and every time we saw a turnoff or sign that pointed to anything that looked remotely interesting we would take it. Most of the time that meant going up an embankment, rutted dirt road, or just making our own way on some overgrown dirt path. Most conversations about if we should go sounded like, "you think we can make this?" "Nope." There was never any doubt in our voice, just asking the question because it should have been asked, more like a task than a serious hesitation or mistrust of Atos' ability. In a car with a 1 liter engine and tires that can hardly handle freeway speeds the Atos definitely went above and beyond it's duty. I can only imagine what people would think when they saw our little yellow car peel off the road to go bouncing down some dirt alley.

Cape Town was an amazing contrast to the previous countries I have been to on this trip. All of South Africa that I saw was just unbelievably rich with natural beauty and unique wildlife, but the cities displayed a more ugly reality. The disparity between rich and poor is all too prevalent as townships of densely packed one bed, three family shacks made of tin and spare parts butt up against gated communities housing multi-room mansions. It is a humbling dichotomy of rich and poor that is impossible not to notice.

Well, on a lighter note, I think it is time for me to curl up a nice piece of steel and catch a few airport z's. I scored a pretty sweet spot. I am new to sleeping on benches so I am not sure of the protocol here. I figured that I won't be sleeping in my underwear tonight, and my morning cup of tea and newspaper in my robe is probably ruled out as well. There is a 5 star hotel right next to the terminal and I went in and talked to the guy at the front desk for fifteen minutes trying to convince him that he should give me a free room but he wouldn't bite. I even told him that I would sleep on the floor so they wouldn't have to make the bed, still nothing, though. Ah well, benches can be cozy, especially freezing cold, polished aluminum, aaaa, for Christ's sake this is gonna be the shittiest sleep ever...