Into the wild

Sorry for all the posts at once! We have learned to take advantage of internet while we have it!
Here are some pics of some of our favorite wild life sightings from the past month! If you can believe it, we have even more today, thanks to staying at the zoo! We got to visit with a 3 week old Pygmy HIPPO this morning!!!! Just our luck staying inside a breeding center for the Pretoria Zoo!

My other favorite thing about South Africans! Every South African guest house we've gotten to stay at has always has a big bouncy dog ready to meet us at the front door! As well as a bit smaller shy dog (occassionally with a puppy sweater on) ready for a petting!

So there you have it! Dogs, monkeys, elephants, mongoose and crazy birds, they've got it in South Africa!!!!!
(The 2nd to the left on the bottom is a pic of a parrot with his BFF, Mr. Rat! Pretty funny stuff!!!)

Jumping for Joy!!

South Africa is such a beautiful place, it makes you want to JUMP!!!!!!
Here are a few inspiring places we got to be a part of.
(Drakensburg Mountains, St. Lucia Lake, Sodwana Bay, Mbabane Swaziland, Blyde River Canyon near Sadie)

Chile vs. Honduras pics/World cup news

Here are some pics from the game we got to witness in Nelspruit! You may have heard, Chile won 1 to 0!!!!!!
Last night we watched Chile play Switzerland from a five star hotel in the small town of Mokopane where we were staying inside a zoo!  The score?  Once again: 1 to 0.  Not bad, but not good enough to qualify as of right now.  With one game left against Spain, Rodolfo's on the edge of his seat with nerves!


We are now preparing ourselves for Chile's game against Spain in Pretoria, which we are fortunate to have tickets for! It's certain to be an incredible game! Even though I'm new to watching soccer, Chile has drawn me in with their incredible abilities!!!

We're loving the World Cup! Loving South Africa! All in all, everything is great!

In a zoo!

It's almos 3pm here, in an hour and 30 minutes Chile will be playing against Switzerland. We won't be there, making me the least Chilean out of the ~8,000 who came to South Africa to see our team. The thing is, they just came to the World cup, so flying 1,000 miles from north east South Africa to Port Elizabeth is OK, but for backpackers... no thank you. The next Chile game (on the 27th) is almost 100 miles from where we are right now, so we'll be there!
But, where are we? Well, it's a town called Mokopane. There's a small zoo/game reserve with cheap and nice lodging! We woke up and 3 peacocks were hanging out there. We said hi to the monkeys staying 100 feet from us... then some game drive... cool!
Pics to come soon!

The mad scientist

So, when we were in Johannesburg, there was a reporter from... Chile! and guess what happened. I got interviewed for a Chilean newspaper. My story (with some little errors but nothing too bad)  just came online as part of an article on Chilean fans for the world cup, the "red tide" thanks to the color of our shirt. The original story in Spanish is here. An English translation, courtesy of google translate plus some fixes and notes in parenthesis by yours truly, follows below:


Stories of the Red Tide and the Mad Scientist (By Leonardo Salazar for La Nacion, Santiago, Chile)


JP is from Chillán, but study design in Santiago. And when he saw Chile qualifying to 2010 World Cup, had no problem in talking to his dad. "dad, pay me everything and then I'm giving it back later," he said. So with the credit card almost maxed out, he came to Johannesburg alone, looking for friends. A week later he was on the road around South Africa in a rental car, with four more guys. 

Gabriel went five years ago to New Zealand. After claiming that the Kiwis have "no idea of football," he made a stop at the World Cup before returning to Chile with beds and chests.
There is the "grandfather", who was on TV because he traveled despite having a heart problem. Its uniqueness goes even further, as he moves around with a literal roll of bills. One by one, he took out the elastic, until no more. And then pray that hopefully the Cup is over before the bills do.
Or Hannibal, a businessman, who spent six million dollars to lease a house in the great Gauteng and from there starts with his family to all sides in a luxury car.
Thousands of Chileans who wander by South Africa with a common minimum: be on Wednesday at the Mbombela Stadium, where Chilean national team will play a match in the World after 4369 days, nearly 12 years since last participation in France in 1998.
Mad Scientist
Search Nelspruit or Johannesburg a red shirt is becoming easier. Each has its story and how he came to Africa. Experiences as diverse as those of Red Tide or Dr. Perez, Ph. D in engineering and scientist, who left a job in the U.S. buoyant to then say: "I saw Chile in a World Cup."
The red tide are known and call themselves the official fan group. A group of 27 subjects that meet, I always wanted to see Los de Abajo and Garra Blanca in the same cabin (Note: those are group of fans from different soccer teams in Chile who don't like each other).
Fifteen of them began traveling from the match against Argentina in Buenos Aires in the first match of the qualifiers. Others joined in the path and travel only a few final. Besides blue and snow-white, is from Los Cruzados from UC, the Furia Roja from UE and even from the CDA, or Club de Deportes Antofagasta (other soccer teams).
Dr. Rodolfo Perez-Roa is 32 years old and holds a chemical engineering degree at the Pontifical Catholic University, where he also reached an undergraduate degree in aesthetics. He returned to America, where he had lived from 2004 to devote himself to science. He studied a masters, doctorate and ended as a Ph.D in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
The red tide in Patronato (this is a street in Santiago known by clothes stores) sell t-shirts made with legends alluding to his group. Projected to add flags and pies to make money and make your entire stay. Rodolfo Perez arrives with estimated savings and a journey: Asia, a step for Europe, South Africa, the Indian Ocean coast and South Africa to Egypt and then rising to fly to Chile.
Swollen Mission
Red Tide was conceived with the famous "Chapulin" as anchor man. The 27 enrolled in a sheet of notebook paper, departed May 31 from Santiago and, after a stopover in Buenos Aires, came to Johannesburg. Hence hired a bus that took them to Nelspruit and even there the certainties.
"The idea is hopefully on the same bus going to Port Elizabeth. And return to Pretoria on it, I do not know. Everything will be on the road, "says Mario Moreno or "Chapulin", who has only clear date back to Arturo Merino Benitez (Santiago airport) on July 18.
While the selection is concentrated in the Ingwenyama Resort White River, 21 km from Nelspruit, the "Red Tide" rented some cabins and other areas to set up their tents in Sabie, 60 miles from the bunker of the team of Marcelo Bielsa Caldera.
There are nine barrister in a house and 18 in tents. Among them, a group of five was located four miles in a better space.
"We are here to be local everywhere. A South Africans we taught the 'Ole, ole, ole, ole, Chile, Chile "or" Chupete, Chupete (as our local star is known). " Cehacheí (traditional fan scream) also learned. They are going to be crazy when listen on Wednesday, "the Red Tide spokesman said.
The Pirate, the Egg of Calera, Feña of "Red Fury" or Tilla. Borghi of "Garra Blanca", the cousin, Christian Bulla, Postal Service, Guagua "Los Cruzados" Pancho Bueno de Antofagasta or Mecha of Talcahuano. They all manage to help and build the best travel and waiting.
At 7.00 am the idea is that all have breakfast. Homemade bread made by them, tea, eggs. So, at 08:30, being out in leased cars "where also got a friend here. But we are for five 10 ", they say.
Hence the motto is be close to Chile, in the closed place of concentration or in the stadium.And again just for lunch or dinner waiting. Filling the refrigerator "to Chile, with beer and barbecue, even buffalo. "In the end this is to see no more poh Chile in a World Cup," the "Chapulin."
In a small scale in his journey through South Africa, the first thing that explains Rodolfo Perez is not a millionaire by any means. All savings achieved with the chain and miles of air, after years of work in a prestigious laboratory, where science was his life until January this year, when he resigned.
Perez was born in Talcahuano and the earthquake of February 27 caught him on an island northeast of Malaysia. Everybody began to ask him about earthquake-related issues, instead of soccer stuff.
Rodolfo was six years in the U.S., where he had been in 2004 under a study abroad in Pittsburgh 9actuallt, that was 2002). Now he had an interesting job that allowed him to have only two ties and  do research wearing shorts and shirt as he likes.
But Chile was also at the World Cup. His wife Sarah worked in a bank. He convinced her and both resigned, and she began to utter little better names Suazo, Valdivia and Medel (Chile players).
"For France 98 I followed every qualifying game at the stadium and on the road to Germany I couldn't do much, because it was hard to watch the games online. So now, with friends, he hired Jump TV and saw on the computer in classrooms at the university, "says Rodolfo.
Along with Sarah they went to Asia, with Malaysia and Thailand as the axis. He went to Europe and London before flying to Africa. They will go to Mozambique, Lesotho and after the Cup, to Egypt and Europe, before going back to Santiago, after passing through the United States and Canada. A trip of nearly 15 countries.
"We spend a thousand dollars a month and had enough points accumulated," he insists."Then I'll have to return to work, obviously," he adds. "Ultimately, all this is to see Chile in a World Cup," Rodolfo repeated with the same end point of the "Chapulin": Support Chile on its the eighth Cup apearance. / / LND

Finally! PICS!! including Swaziland!!

We're finally enjoying the advantages of a good wireless internet connection. So, it's PICS TIME!!

South Africa, first week, click here

Animals, South Africa week 2, here

Swaziland, here!!!

Swaziland

We've spent the last few days in Swaziland!

Fantastic country!  Beautiful! 

We walked about 18km on top of the 2nd largest rock in the world with incredible views of the country side!
Yesterday, we walked in a park with non human eating wilflife!  Plenty of birds and antelope and Kudu!  Even a giant croc and a human friendly hippo!  (adopted from a zoo!)

Next stop is Nelspruit tomorrow where we prepare for Chile verses Honduras!  That gives me two days to learn the Chilean National Anthem!

Today we are walking around the city of Manzini to do some street shopping and purchase some veggies for dinner!

Lovely town with lovely cheap internet prices!!
We are really enjoying this small country with lots of beautiful culture, beautiful weaving and candle making and a beautiful countryside!

We are once again staying in a very friendly hostel, this time, owned by two incredibly helpful spanierds named Jesus and Maria..no kidding....

til the next cheap internet site is found, this is Sarah signing off...
we have SO MANY incredible pictures from our hikes/National Game Reserve drives/ocean dips etc.  We can't wait to show them to you!!!!....whenever we find free wifi....grrr....

updates

Wow.
So.  I don't think we'll be able to do very much blogging over the next month, but we're taking tons of pics and having a wonderful time!  So, if you don't see a blog for a while, we're not dead, just out looking at Giraffe's and giant birds!!!!!  Internet prices are sky high, and it's very difficult to find as well.

We've been in completely black communities, backpacker communities and White African homes as well.  That mix has given us an incredible opportunity to talk to every kind of person with every kind of perspective, which is eye opening!

We're currently staying near Lake St. Lucia, in the city of Mtubatuba, which is slightly more touristy, but far away from world cup craziness (slightly cheaper)...EVERYTHING is more expensive when it comes to the world cup.  We had a few hotel room prices hiked up, and we are extremely happy that we rented our little car, because transportation prices sky rocketed as well! 

This has already been an amazing experience!  We've become animal experts as we drive around the mammal parks in our little Kia seeing all kinds of National Geographic specials!!! 

DRAKENSBURG:
We also spent a few days in Drakensburg getting to walk in the clouds overlooking mountains I've only seen in the Land Before time movie!  (movie number 1 of course!)...I was waiting for a Brontosaurus to jump out at us at any moment!

FOOD:
So far, the most traditional South African food we've gotten to try is PAP!  Which is kind of like grits, tastes like grits, but looks like a fluffy mashed potato, which you eat with meat or you dip into a spicy tomato sauce!  Really yummy!  They also love meat pies!  (Steak and kidney pie, chicken and mushroom pies..etc.) and we also got to try an Indian ...(Durban area) food called Bunny Chow: a curry that's poured into the center of half a loaf of bread and eaten with your fingers...I had the mutton curry!  Absolutely fantastic!

OVERALL:
Most importantly of what we've experienced so far, is the kindness and thoughtfullness of everyone we've met here.  White. Black.  Coloured (mixed).  Indian.  Backpackers.  Everyone treats you like family and does their best to help you and make you feel welcome.  Unlike what I had first thought entering the country, as long as you use some street smarts and don't do anything dumb, it's an incredible experience!!!!

Rocking in SA... Internet-less

So far, so good! South Africa is amazing, in spite of the ridiculously high internet prices and crazy street signs! Hopefully we'll get cheaper internet where we can blog longer!

We're in Soweto!

Great place, in spite of bad fame. Pic to come!!