The last couple of days have been full of rest. I have finally caught up on the 5 hours of sleep we lost due to the time zone difference. Right now it is 9:30pm for me here in South Africa, while in East Coast USA it is 3:30 in the afternoon. We are also experiencing a difference in weather as we are south of the equator. You are probably enjoying increasingly warmer days and nights, but we are headed towards winter in Africa. During the day I am comfortable in pants and a short-sleeve shirt, but as soon as the sun goes down I put on a long sleeve shirt and a fleece.
Today was our South Africa Race day. It turned out to be quite a challenging race due to confusing public transportation and the fact that it was Sunday. Our team started out well, being the only team to correctly complete the first task. It put us behind the other teams, but we knew they would receive a penalty. We ran through the streets of Pretoria to the train station and ran from van to van trying to find a driver that would take us to the Union Building and back to the train station. We finally found a driver who turned out to be pretty good (He missed a turn, so he drove over the curb through a public park). He also was able to tell us the colors of the South African flag and what they represent to complete one of our tasks. At the Union Building we ran a number of stairs to learn that we would be taking a train to Johannesburg. At the train station we met up with the other teams.
The bus ride to Johannesburg took 1 hour and 45 minutes (1 hour more than expected). It was a nice break from the race and interesting to watch people. South Africans actually talk to each other on the train rather than avoiding eye contact which seems to be the trend in the States. We were the only white people on the train. It felt strange to be such an extreme minority; every time I looked around I saw dozens of curious eyes directed our way. In Johannesburg we dashed out of the train and through the station. Fifty World Racers sprinting through the station had to look very out of the ordinary. Outside we tried to find a Combi (public transportation-mini van) to take us to the zoo, but we kept getting rejected. A porter came and offered to show us the Combi we needed. We waded through the throngs of people, vendors, and Combis at a very slow pace. Finally a couple blocks later we climbed on a Combi headed for the Johannesburg zoo.
In the zoo we were to find the Big Five animals and take a picture with them. A man in a truck passed so we asked him to give us a ride to the animals. He also moved at a snails pace, but we did not have to waste our legs on running. It was cool to be at the zoo, but sad that we had to move so fast and not take the time to enjoy ourselves. After the zoo we ran about 20 minutes through a park around a lake to a restaurant where live music was playing. We ordered our mixed platter and got our faces painted to complete the task, but after about an hour the other teams had come and gone and our platter had still not arrived. We finished the plate of fried appetizers and meat and set off again to run 20 minutes back to the main road. We tried to find a Combi back, but none of them would stop to pick us up. We were getting desperate, so I stopped a lady in a nice car. I asked her if she knew where we could find a Combi. “You should not be traveling like this, you need to have a plan, it is not safe to travel like this. You need to know the hand signals to ride a Combi.” I asked her if she would consider giving us a ride in order to ensure our security, but she quickly gave an excuse and rolled up her window.
We ran up the hill and found Team 61 climbing in a Combi so we jumped in with them. At this point we knew we were far behind the other teams so we took a risk. We decided to skip out on the museum and take a 50 minute penalty in hopes that the museum would take a long time. We went straight to the final stop, The Carlton Tower in downtown Johannesburg. We paid for a ticket to ride an elevator 50 stories to the top. At the top we took a picture overlooking the city and our time was done. All of the other A Squad teams were there so our museum plan did not bring us a win, but I think it kept us from falling much farther behind.
After the race we went back to the train station to make the 1 hour and 45 minute ride back to Pretoria. In Pretoria almost all of the 30 girls piled into a 15 passenger van bound for Alabanza (the place we are staying). The Alabanza staff had prepared a stew over a fire and put tables and chairs out under the stars so we could enjoy a candle-lit dinner.
