The storm paused long enough for us to stroll the two blocks to our now favourite ex-pat Portuguese restaurant where we drank beer and Vino Verde and ate plates of fresh seafood and chips and were taught a few Portuguese words by the coltish Mozambique waitress.
The rain had started again when it was time to return to the hotel, so we dashed through the deluge, sharing tiny collapsible umbrellas, co-ordinating our vaults over water filled craters in the broken sidewalk and laughing like school children
.
.The next morning, the temperature had dropped to a lovely 24 degrees, but the clouds still scuttled overhead, black and brooding.
The city seemed deserted for a Wednesday morning. A few runners in numbered bibs ran a marathon race along the broken pavements of downtown, raising their own hands to stop vehicles when they had to cross against a light. It is not a published holiday, but Lula de Silva, the Brazilian President is visiting and special arrangements may have been made to honour him … or to reduce his inconvenience.
We drove south into the foothills of the Lebombo Mountains, and as we climbed, the temperature dropped. Yesterday, the people walking along the pathways had worn clothing suitable to protect them from the burning sun, today’s travellers walked in sweaters, coats and knit caps.We crossed into Swaziland at a high pass, a town built around a massive Portuguese church; quick formalities in pristine modern counters.
At this point, we entered a different world – forested hillsides, narrow verdant valleys, rushing streams, and brilliant flowering Jacaranda and Flamboyants, at the peak of their purple and red colour.
The traditional earthen huts here still had the thatched roofs, but were often accompanied by rougher constructions – grabens made of sticks and filled with the red sandstone rock that littered the landscape. Our hotel for the night was the Matenga Lodge – in a setting that felt like the rain forests of Monteverde. When the clouds cleared in the morning, we also saw that we were in the shadow of the gruesome Execution Peak, where Swazi kings would throw miscreants from the cliffs.
The handicrafts of Swaziland are well known for their quality and ‘fair trade’ local support, and Francisco did his best to help out the various co-operatives here.
From Swaziland, we returned to Johannesburg, crossing the broad open plains replete with grazing and croplands. When we crossed it on our way to Kruger a little over a week ago, it the landscape was desiccated and thirsty. With the first rains, the once bare earth is covered in a delicate carpet of tender new shoots, the streams are flowing again and the farm ponds now contain some water.
Our last day together in Johannesburg was a very sobering one. We visited the exceptional Apartheid Museum, which traces the history of the racist policy in South Africa through vivid photos, direct commentary and a great deal of symbolic design. News reels, documentaries, taped interviews with Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the opposition brought it all alive. First person accounts, ‘memory boxes’, and the reactions of other visitors made it all very personal. There were times that both Fran and I had to shield our eyes from the violence of the regime, and other times that we were brought to tears by the sacrifice and loss suffered by so many people. Desmond Tutu, mourning the 69 “official” deaths of the Sharpsville Massacre said ‘we understand there is a price to pay Lord, but why does it have to be so high?’
The Museum is a starting point in understanding how such a monstrous policy had evolved. But it is also a fitting place for hope that despite such outrages, inspired leadership can bring about change and lay a foundation for a more equitable society. South Africa has so far to go – the school groups lined up to get into the theme park next to the Apartheid Museum were still strictly segregated along race lines (more because of ‘economic’ apartness – where they can afford to live), but in the mere 16 years since Apartheid fell the country appears to have developed a functioning democracy, reasonable opportunities and a healthy social conscience.
This country has much to be proud of.
