I have officially redefined “world traveler.” Having just set foot on three continents in the past three days, I have a new appreciation for global traveling… and plane peanuts. Here are the highlights:
South America
Our final day in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was dedicated solely and wholeheartedly to team fun! We began the evening before with a NICE dinner on the shoreline. Although we felt a little out of place in our tennis shoes and tee shirts, we were consoled by some delicious steak and salmon dinners. Having rarely splurged on the race, it was a very elegant and relaxing evening.
Our team fun spilled into the next day. Since we hadn’t seen much of the city, and because our boys are quite clever, we spent the morning touring the sites Scavenger Hunt style! We were assigned the following tasks (to take pictures/video of):
– Ride to the last subway station on your respective line. – At a fountain
– By at least three subway terminals – With a dog or cat
– In a park plaza – In the driver’s seat of a taxi
– By a local statue – By a historical marker on the subway map
– With a police officer – With five local people
– With a construction worker – At a church
– With a weird piece of clothing – In an art museum
– Trying on a new dressy outfit (remember those?)
The following were worth more points:
* Welcoming/greeting five people onto the subway *Dancing the tango with a local
* Helping cook at a restaurant *Shining the shoes of a local
* Serve a meal to a restaurant guest
We ended the scavenger hunt by meeting at the Buenos Aires Zoo at 1pm, and we spent the rest of the day there. We had broken down into teams, and Michelle and I walked away with the scavenger hunt victory, having completed all but two tasks! Let’s hear it for the champions (who compromised all self-dignity for the title)!
Then we had a 12ish hour flight from Buenos Aires to London. Flying with British Air was nice though, as we had our own personal TV’s and a significant number of movie options. I watched two movies before doing this the rest of the flight:
Europe
What does a world racer do with a 12 hour layover in London? Tour the city of course! While many racers took official tours, our group decided to grab a map and a subway ticket and self-navigate the city! It helps that some of us had been to London before.
Megan, Anne, and I managed to hit all the hot-spots in about eight hours, and only running on a few hours of sleep! We visited Buckingham Palace first and watched the changing of the guard. Several very serious-looking gentlemen with big fuzzy hats began to organize a small band of fellow guards. Much to our amazement, they started playing the Austin Powers theme song!
We walked through St. James park and marveled at the beauty. We stopped by Westminster Abby and took a picture with Big Ben. We also saw the London Bridge, the London Tower, and Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.
We were absolutely exhausted and barely able to move at the end of the day, but it was well worth it! I have never crammed so much activity into just a few hours… except on race days…
Africa
After another eight hour flight from London to Johannesburg, we were able to rest at an AIM base in Pretoria for a day. Then, it was time to race! We started in the center of Pretoria and were given an envelope with instructions. Our first task was to find someone to translate a clue. After a very confusing conversation with one local, we found someone who told us to head to the Union Building.
After taking a picture with a statue and learning that Pretoria is the capital of South Africa, we raced to the bus station to get subway tickets to Johannesburg. Our next stop was the zoo! Our team had to take pictures with Africa’s “Big 5” animals: the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, leopard, and buffalo. We also had to take a picture with the national bird and at a site called “Max’s memorial.”
Our next task was to find a nearby restaurant and order the “mixed platter,” and get our faces painted. This restaurant was phenomenal; I wish I could have stayed longer! Our next clue led us to the Apartheid Museum. We had a questionnaire to complete from the information inside. This is the race site I would most like to revisit and spend more time. It was so interesting and gives us further insight into South Africa’s tragic and persevering history.
We ended the race at the Carolton building, the tallest building in South Africa. We rode to the 50th floor for our final picture. We had several penalties from the day but also gained some extra credit points. Team Agapetos came in first place with a time just under seven hours!
We are blessed to have a couple of days to rest before heading to
Mozambique. I hope you enjoyed a brief highlight of 3 continents in 3 days. This is the life of a world racer!
