I am back! I am very sorry for the absence to the blog (for my few loyal readers!)... I will get into the nature of my absence throughout this post, but it is kind of nice to start fresh here, as this begins a kind of new chapter in my travels... Africa! When I left Istanbul on the 21st, it was cold and snowy, and when I arrived safely in Capetown on the 22nd (take that Mayans!) it was sunny and summer!

I headed south to meet my good friend and travel companion Jimbo Hanusek for the Christmas and New Years holidays. I’ve known Jim, frankly, forever... his older brother John (designer and builder of this very website) is one of my best friends, and therefor Jimbo has become one of my best friends too... and because we care both commitment and responsibility free, we typically are available to take part in all kinds of absurd adventures... so bring on Cappetown and Mt. Kilimanjaro!

To save a little money I flew into Capetown a day early, and decided to stay at a backpackers hostel in the Observatory district to save a little bit of money and meet some other travelers. I caught a cab at the airport and headed over, with a driver that used to go by the name of ‘Slow Poison’ during his soccer playing days. (I will call it soccer here, and not ‘football’, or ‘proper football’, as the sport is called soccer here in South Africa). He played the ‘9’ position, which is the striker. I was unfamiliar with the concept of naming the position by number, but it is common practice here in Africa. Whenever asking a player where they play, they will tell you a number rather than ‘Midfield’ or ‘Winger’. If any of you are curious about the numbered positions, I will index them for you below. Apparently Slow Poison wasn’t particularly fast or athletic, but he was an opportunist, or a poacher. Any time you thought he was loafing, he would bite you before you knew it.

But enough about slow poison. I went to the backpackers in Observatory because I heard that the neighborhood was pretty interesting and I figured I could meet some people. Correct on both counts. Observatory is kind of the artsy and neglected fringe neighborhood associated with the University of Capetown. There were a lot of interesting bars and restaurants, and it was definitely one of the few neighborhoods in Capetown where you had both blacks and whites living together. And I won’t lie, it was an eye opening experience for me and intimidated me a bit. Perhaps it was the sleep deprivation from the overnight flight, perhaps it was because it was my first time to Africa, but I was intimidated. I arrived pretty early and took a nap, then headed to the courtyard to meet some of the other travelers... one of whom was an American.

I got to talking to Dan, who’s been on the road for about seven or so months. I asked him where he was from, ‘Virginia’. OK cool... so I told him I went to Virginia Tech. ‘Me too!’... I told him I graduated in ’97, ‘OK, I graduated in ’99’. He was from Staunton, VA, and was actually friends with one of my roommates from sophomore year... small world, but would be the last time something like this happened. I would up hanging out with Dan quite a bit during my time in Capetown... great guy!

The next morning I made my way over to Camps Bay, a pretty affluent suburb of Capetown where Jim and I would call home for the next 10 days. We rented a house through Air BnB, a 20 minute walk from the bars and clubs of Camps Bay. When I told people I was going to Capetown, a lot of people responded by telling me that ‘Capetown is not really Africa’... if that is the case, then Camps Bay is DEFINITELY not Africa... kind of... Camps Bay is an affluent and very white suburb tucked away to the south around Lions Head from Capetown proper. It is very different from the city of Capetown, and world away from the outlying black neighborhoods referred to as the ‘townships’. The reason I say ‘kind of’ to the assertion that Camps Bay is not really Africa (perhaps I am falsley associating ‘Africa’ with ‘black’) is that on Christmas Day and New Years Day, many of the residents of the townships come out to the beach to celebrate the holiday. Camps Bay was no exception. It was crazy! So crowded, chaotic and fun...

For me, my time in Capetown can fall into two categories: killing brain cells and exploring this amazing place. I thought I would get into the ‘killing brain cells’ part here, but I have already written a ton, and Jimbo hasn’t even arrived. So instead I will do that in the next post....

Soccer Positions by Number in Africa:

01: Goalkeeper
02: Right Fullback
03: Left Fullback
04: Sweeper
05: Stopper
06: Defensive Midfield (my position) 07: Right Winger
08: Offensive Midfield
09: Striker
10: Holding Forward
11: Left Wing