Travels with Philip

Tasting some local fare at Mercado Santa Clara

We loved Quito. Some places just surprise you and Quito is one of them. The city has a very mixed reputation. Look on Tripadvisor and every few posts will concern personal safety, stories of scams, amazing feats of pickpocketing, robbery, mugging etc. So one can’t help having some feelings of trepidation on arrival.

Quito's Old Town with Alfredo and Joaquin on the left

Old Town, Quito

It didn’t help that our prearranged, prepaid for transport from the airport never showed up. Being in the travel services industry, this is something that really irritates me as I know how important first impressions are. Never mind, we’ll just get by on our own.
We stayed at Cafe Cultura. It’s a beautiful old building in a great area with lots of character and it has many strong points, including the huge bedrooms and bathrooms. So within five minutes all our luggage was strewn around the two rooms everywhere. We stayed here for a total of five nights in three separate stays over a two week period so we got to know it pretty well. My review said: Beautiful hotel with flaws”. Sadly the longer one stays here, the more the flaws stand out, from spotty internet to slow service to the constant noise from the passages and entrance.

Up Pichincha overlooking Quito

Anyway we were fortunate to have the incredible Alfredo Meneses and his son Joaquin as our guides for 2 days. Just having a guide at all was new for us, but I cannot imagine someone with as much energy and pride in his city as Alfredo. He is wonderful, and Joaquin is not far behind. Not only did we do a standard tour of the Old Town (with its dazzling array of colonial buildings) and go up the Teleferiqo on Volcan Pichincha (sadly a white elephant attraction if ever there was one), but Alfredo took us to the Mercado Santa Clara (seemingly off limits for tourists) where we tried any number of local fruits and delicacies. He also treated us to a day at the exclusive spa, Papallacta which was a real treat after so long on the road traveling.

Fruit at Mercado Santa Clara

But what we really loved about Quito was that we actually got to know it, as opposed to just seeing the sights. We walked everywhere trying out different food, popping into shops and Dani, just turned 18, even tried a casino – for five minutes as we couldn’t breathe inside with all the smoke.

Dani outside the casino

Two memories will always stand out for me. On our first day, Alfredo introduced us to a Quito curiosity, Yogurt and Yuca. These are small shops selling blended yogurt which you drink while munching on fresh yuca rolls. After one tasting we were addicted. This was definitely one of the most delicious local foods I have tasted anywhere in the world.
And then, we were fortunate to be traveling during the Copa America, being played in Argentina, and despite Ecuador’s national football team’s ineptitude, the atmosphere was electric. On a Saturday afternoon after some touring, Benjy and me sat in the square at La Mariscal and watched a huge game: Ecuador v Venezuela, actually 2 of the weakest soccer teams anywhere, but somehow elevated to a big game because of our location. Just great with fabulous atmosphere.

Posing outside the Presidential Palace

All in all, this was probably our favorite place of the whole summer trip (even more than Cusco). Quito just surprises and the more time one spends there, the more hooked you become. Try it, it’s worth it.

Papallacta Hot Springs

Quito from Pichincha

Ilani in adventurous pose

I’m actually not such a big fan of volcanoes. I mean they’re okay but there are so many adventures I look forward to on vacation that i don’t think much about volcanoes. But Pacaya is the ultimate family adventure: accessible, challenging, fun, dramatic. An amazing place.

This is the real thing

We’re on a group trip with other students from our Spanish school in Antigua. On arrival, we have a choice of hiking up to the lava fields or going on pony. The boys of course will hike, and the girls decide to go on horseback. So we slog uphill, a hard 45 minute  climb and although I’m in good shape, besides my boys everyone else is in their 20′s so the pace is quick. There’s horse poop everywhere so I have to look down to watch my step and up to see how far I’m falling behind. Now and then when I get the chance, I notice beautiful, lush vegetation all around us.

Dani takes the easy way up

At the top, drenched

Green all around us

Near the top it starts pouring and so we’re drenched when we reunite. Visibility is poor and we’re very, very wet. Now follows a thirty minute trek over the lava fields to reach the actual volcano. This is not an easy walk : first, because of the rain, we’re holding umbrellas, but the wind is strong rendering them useless and too great a challenge to hold. Second, we have to be very careful not to slip or fall because a slight brush with the lava field can cause a lot of cutting and pain. And third, we’re jumping and skipping from one large boulder to the next and Benjy’s too small to do this himself so I’m helping him negotiate this terrain.

Benjy getting in on the action

Still wet, but not for long

We reach the volcano (technically we’re on the volcano all the time but now comes the active, exciting part) and it’s hot, hot, hot. There’s flaming lava everywhere, and although we’re drenched, we’re soon dry. We roast marshmallows while more intrepid (stupid?) types light cigarettes or by mistake catch sweaters on fire by standing too close. There’s very little supervision. If you want to step in fire and sacrifice yourself to the gods, you can go right ahead. It’s thrilling stuff.

Darkness descends on Pacaya

It begins to get dark so we head down. Dani and I lose our group for a while – the visibility is about zero – so we shout for them until we find them. We head down the slopes in the dark and although our shoes smell pretty bad at the bottom, it’s been an incredible adventure!

wet boys

My attendant

For me, this one will take some beating. Totumo is just so unusual, so unlike anything else we’ve experienced on our travels, that I cannot compare it to anything else.

Getting helped into position

We went with a small group from our Spanish school in Cartagena. A typical sweltering early afternoon, well over 90 degrees. We had no idea what to expect, maybe a good thing. On arrival, we’re instructed to strip down to our bathing suits. We can’t take anything with us. We’re attacked by swarms of something, either wasps or bees, it’s hard to tell. We race up the 50 steps or so to the ‘Volcan’. It’s an odd sight to say the least. An inverted cone shape with a small pool like structure at the top. You can’t jump in – in fact you are assisted in by a private attendee. He is not the same as the attendee who is now in possession of your camera. The 1st attendee helps you in and lays you down in the mud. You’re floating, it’s physically impossible to sink. He then covers your body, including face with the mud and proceeds to give you a full body massage. For good measure (well not good) one of our group has a bad allergic reaction to the wasp/bees and has to taken off somewhere. Which leaves us, a small group now without our school guide/teacher. It’s great fun, but we are there a while, with our limited Spanish (we are at Spanish school remember) and we don’t really know what’s next. But it becomes apparent we must stay there till our minibus returns and that seems to take a while. I need to pee but we’re not allowed out – yet. I face a moral dilemma but decide I just cannot do it in the mud. So we wait. And wait. It takes forever. Eventually we get the instruction – we can go! We race out, to the lagoon at the bottom to soak off. There we’re bathed by attendant women, who amongst other things, make us take off our bathing suits so they can wash them. They do return them though while we’re in the lagoon.

It is a lot of fun!

More attendants

There’s time for negotiating fees with all the attendants (luckily our teacher is there to help us) before we go. A truly memorable, if totally bizarre experience.

Happy family

Township soccer

Camps Bay beach

Outside Soccer City a few hours before kickoff

Thursday (8 July) is another non soccer day, so a further chance for relaxation. We head to Camps Bay beach, one of my favourite places in the world and a beautiful spot. Although it’s midwinter, the boys have soon stripped down to their shorts and are feeling the water. At the best of times the ocean here is very cold, so there’ll be no swimming but it’s still a good morning on the beach. Then we head to Sea Point for no particular reason before meeting the cousins at the Waterfront. It’s just a nice, pleasant lazy day without all the hectic drama and excitement of soccer.

Benjy on the beach

Friday the moms take the kids on a township tour while I catch up with some old friends. The tour is a great success though Benjy somehow gets lice (we find out later) from some close contact with some kids. There’s an obligatory soccer game as well as beer tasting and everyone apparently has a good time.

Township tour

Township hair salon

Saturday morning we’re up early for our flight to Johannesburg. Off to the World Cup Final !! Who’d have believed. As we collect our luggage in JHB, we spot the three most senior South African cricketers, Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis (leading all time SA runscorer) and Mark Boucher doing likewise. It’s the equivalent of running into Villa, Torres and Iniesta and Benjy gets autographs and some photos. Sadly our useless camera (or is it the useless photographer) botches up the photos.

Lousy photo but it's Benjy with South Africa's cricket captain, Graeme Smith

Apartheid Museum

We head for the Apartheid Museum at Gold Reef City. There are lots of supporters there and the usually expensive parking lot is free for the Final weekend. It’s a great museum, very sobering for a South African, and Benjy and I spend hours going through the excellent nelson Mandela exhibit. Eventually we run out of steam and have to leave. We go to Melrose Arch, a big shopping centre/public square where hours before kickoff there is already a great atmosphere before the 3rd place playoff game. But we’re getting cold and tired so we go back to our lodgings to watch. I’m not really into this game – I’ve always thought it should be scrapped – and I fall asleep in the second half.

At Melrose Arch before the 3rd place playoff

Sunday July 11 dawns as a perfect, sunny warm Johannesburg winter day. Hard to believe this day is here. Five years ago I promised Benjy we would be here and we’ve been planning seriously since February 2009 when we first entered the ticket lottery. There have been many ups and downs along the way – tickets for the semi final were very hard to come by, although our darkest day was Spain’s shock defeat to Switzerland. That’s the day it seemed our World Cup was ruined, but Spain, our original favourites will play tonight.

Benjy ceremoniously signing the big ball

Soccer City a few hours before the Final

We head to Rosebank Mall for breakfast and a way to pass some time. The place is packed with Spanish fans. They’ve sequestered the big Ocean Basket restaurant and are in boisterous mood. It’s a great scene, and I enjoy it with my son and dad. After a while it’s time to go to Soccer City. Once again, the organization is terrific with easy parking at Wits, shuttles and general friendliness all round. It’s still mid afternoon when we get to the stadium but the excitement and tension is already high. We walk around for a while before it’s time to go in. We have excellent seats – low down behind the goal, and as it will turn out it’s the goal where everything will happen – except the winner. Somewhere in the distance Shakira does the Waka Waka but the closing ceremony is very short and the food kiosks are poor. Luckily we’ve smuggled some biltong in with us.

Closing ceremony

The game is incredibly tense. Benjy’s cheering for Holland and me for Spain, and like quite a few games I’ve been to in the past while it’s not a great spectacle on tv, its nervewracking stuff in the ground.

The teams come out for the 2010 World Cup Final

 As it gets closer and closer to the inevitable, horrible penalty shoot out, Iniesta wins it for Spain. There are six minutes left but I turn to Benjy and tell him that Spain have won the World Cup. I love this Spanish team but you have to feel for the amazing Dutch fans.

After the whistle, the Spanish side celebrates in front of us. Incredible the World Cup is over. It’s been an amazing adventure and we are so, so privileged to have been here. Mostly, it’s been (to me) about the joy and pride of my country, South Africa. 

Spain celebrates

Spain win the 2010 World Cup

After the feverish excitement of the past few days, it’s a great relief to have a few days off from the soccer. Cape Town cooperates with some beautiful winter weather. We spend the time doing some touristy stuff. Sunday we go to the local market in Green Point, just minutes from the stadium. It’s very quiet and peaceful, a world (cup ?) removed from all the drama of the day before. We stock up on vuvuzelas and other souvenirs to bring home for friends. In the afternoon we head to Suikerbossie, a famous tea room/restaurant near Hout Bay to indulge in one of South Africa’s greatest treats – scones with jam and cream (you have to try it).

Cape Town Stadium from the Robben Island ferry

Entrance to Robben Island

On Monday we’re off to Robben Island. It’s a big group of us, myself, Liora, our 2 boys, my brother Gideon and his 2 older children. A chance to get some history and education in between the soccer. It’s a good trip, nobody gets sick on the ferry, and the kids get an important lesson into South Africa’s very dark past. Although it probably does not resonate with them quite as much as the grownups, especially my brother and me having grown up in Cape Town.

Robben Island tour with former inmate

Semi final fanwalk

Tuesday is Cape Town’s last big World Cup day. The city teems with excitement but also, already some sadness that the party will soon be over. It’s World Cup semi final night, Holland versus Uruguay. We spend the morning in Greenmarket Square trying some last minute World Cup shopping and tasting the atmosphere. There are some Uruguayans around, but the city has already turned orange in anticipation for tonight. I remember clearly that night about six weeks earlier, when FIFA had put more semi final tickets on sale on their website and I sat up late into the night trying to secure some. And when the option to buy came up on the screen my heart was pounding so hard I was almost frozen. And having bought them I waited till 3am for the confirmation email to arrive but eventually had to go to sleep. But best of all, hearing Liora in the morning telling Benjy we had tickets. Nothing like the thrill on a 12 year old’s face to tell you you’ve done something really big as a dad.

Cape Town stadium, semi final night

We’re back in town by 5.30pm. The scenes are incredible. As far as one can see, there’s orange everywhere. We join the fanwalk which is tonight, Made in Holland. It is as if Holland are playing at home in Rotterdam or Amsterdam, and the other country hasn’t found that out yet. It’s an amazing walk, and we try make it as long as possible. Eventually we get into the stadium and await the teams.

With our very hard to get semi final tickets

Benjy's pre match ritual

Teams come out for the semi final

It’s a super dramatic match. We’re expecting (or rather hoping) Holland will win easily but they start slowly only to go ahead through an incredible solo goal by Van Bronkhorst right in front of us. But just before half time, Diego Forlan, possibly the star of the tournament scores a great goal himself and the second half is tense. Holland get two goals fairly late and it’s all over but in the last few minutes Uruguay score and press for the equalizer. When the final whistle blows it’s Holland in their third final and the stadium breathes a collective sigh of relief. We walk back into town amidst the Orange Army celebrating and claiming Cape Town to be theirs. Another wonderful day.

Celebrating Van Bronkhorst's wondergoal

Arjen Robben takes a corner for Holland