Back in Jo'burg

June 17, 2010

Match 18
Argentina 4 – 1 Korea Republic
Johannesburg - JSC
Location watched:  Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa

We woke up this morning at 4:35 so we would have plenty of time to get ready to leave Cape Town.  Our driver was set to arrive at the guest house at 5:15, so we didn’t want to leave him out there in the cold, dark night.

Everything went well in our departure procedure, wrapping up our first stress-free excursion ever!  To make matters even sweeter, the driver who picked us up from the guest house was the same driver who had dropped us off 2 days earlier.  Daniel (not Dennis, as someone in our group repeatedly called him) was a good chap who had made a special trip to the airport to retrieve a certain jacket and specific hat with a particular sporting event commemorated.  He had put up with all sorts of abuse from the British Airways Lost and Found representative.  She was only during her job, but his story was pretty awful…

After landing in Jo’burg, we took a taxi back to the guest house where we had prematurely stayed a few nights earlier.  Pleasantries were exchanged, and we were soon on our way to the train station.  I had read nothing but horror stories about the train system in Johannesburg, but this particular line was part of the infrastructure upgrades completed for the Cup.   We had intended to take it to Soccer City on the 14th, but it was not running on that day, for whatever reason.  Today, however, it was.

From the destination train stop, we took a shuttle to a bus line.  The bus took us directly into Soccer City.  It was fairly efficient; however, it took us over 3 hours from door to door.

The match was fantastic.  Despite the final score, South Korea looked dangerous in spots and could have equalized at 2 – 2 early in the second half, but the final strike hit the wrong side of the net.  Every time Korea started to make some headway, the match got a little Messi…

We have been fortunate in the last 2 Cups we attended to see the match that produced the most goals.  This will surely be the case with this game.  What a performance by Argentina!


Match 19
Greece 2 – 1 Nigeria
Mangaung / Bloemfontein
Location watched:  Spotty updates on the way back from Soccer City

The trip back from Soccer City was quite an adventure!  It actually took an hour less than the trek out, but contained all of the elements of an international thriller.  I won’t bore you with the details as a Stephen King might.  You all can thank me later.

Match 20
France 0 – 2 Mexico
Polokwane
Location watched:  Cappellos – Johannesburg, South Africa

My friend and I got back to the guest house just in time for dinner at 6pm.  We had spaghetti and a nice salad and both went back up to our room to get our laptops.  Morulana Guesthouse, the last of our places to stay, has free internet, but it only works in the common area next to the dinner room.   

As we worked, the power suddenly went out.  Ilana, the guest house’s manager, lit some candles and offered to take anyone who wanted to see the match out of the compound to a restaurant.  We ended up at a place called Cappellos—an Italian restaurant with multiple big-screen T.V.s.  Even though we had just eaten, we didn’t want to take a table without ordering anything, so we decided to compare the calamari here with that we had just tasted on the Cape.  Um… it was ok…

The power came on just before half time, so Ilana’s husband Colin returned to pick us up to take us back to the guest house.

As I write this, my buddy is crashed out on the sofa in front of the television in the common area.  All of the other guests returned to their rooms (including the 2 Mexican guys), so I am watching the match in solace.  It is definitely relaxing.