A Comrades Experience

A BATTLE OF THE MIND.

03h00am. BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. (PAUSE) BEEP-BEEP. BEEP-BEEP. Chimes the alarm of my 1986 'silver-plated' Casio wristwatch. Its about as welcome as the appearance of cellulite on a swimsuit models bum. A bittersweet symphony. And unfortunately not the one sung by The Verve. Its here. There is no escape. Well there is, but you'll have to run 86.96kms to get there. Its just you and me. To the death. At least it feels that way. It may as well be.

Its cold. Its been a restless night. A battle of the subconscious, fought on the vast plains of the mind between the Positive and Negative Forces that occupy this space, ironically both led by the same leader, Colonel Clark. Master and Commander. The Negative Forces are in total control and have captured much of the little area that was left occupied by the Positive Forces overnight. Victory is at hand. Failure, it seems is inevitable.

However, deep within the depths of the nothingness, a light flickers to and fro dimly amongst the blackness. It is hope. And it will not extinguish as long as there is air in my lungs. I am tired now. I barely slept last night. Ahhh the guile of bedfellows like Paranoia, Doubt and Worry. I gingerly get out of my bed as if looking for some kind of sympathy from the walls that surround me in the pitch dark like enemies. Turn on the lights. Bright. Straight to the toilet. Turn on my phone. Slowly (read 'reluctantly') put on my kit inbetween sitting down and staring at nothing. Ritualistically preparing mentally and physically. Make some toast. Back to the loo. Sitting down again. Rocking. 04h16am. They'll be here soon. Good.

They're here. Familiar faces, Comrades taking up arms. Some blissfully unaware. Partners. Colleagues. Fear and apprehension are absorbed into the melting pot of our collective conscious. I feel better. Stronger. Hope.

We're at the start an hour early. I keep to myself whilst quietly observing the goings on around me. Its not that cold. Staring down the dark, now bustling West street, dwarfed by once familiar buildlings either side, carefully avoiding eye contact with Doubt, Fear and what seems like imminent Failure.

The anthems. Emotional. Shosholoza. Chariots of Fire. And then there's a spark. Where did that come from? I feel it burn boldy, rippling haphazardly outwards like sparks off a welders torch. And then the gun. Relief. Either way the War will be over by the end of the day, and for Humanity, thats a good thing. The Positive Forces strike a blow to the Negative Forces, sending them back unexpectedly.

Slowly, so slowly. Running away from the shores of safety to an uncertain horizon. Sailing towards a fate that is undetermined. Like the long walk to the Headmasters office once summoned. The Negative Forces have underestimated the respect shown by the Forces for Good. Every step closer, minutely eroding the once impenetrable wall that barricades Negative Headquarters. Bit. By. Bit. Step by step. The Positive Forces slowly gain strength. Every cheer from the side of the road adds impetus and inspires. Little battles are being won everywhere. The tide is turning. Focus. Was that cramp? Still a long way to go. You know this from last year. Feeling tired. Vulnerable. The Negative Forces mount their final challenge but to no avail. 16h05. Persistence, courage, strength, love and respect have proved formidable foes. The Great War is won and the taste of victory is indescribably sweet. But how long will it be 'til these remarkable enemies face each other again on this familiar stretch of road?

Just Couches and Decor, Windermere Rd, Durban

...just stole R3755 off Robyn and I! 'Just Thieves' rather! A few weeks ago we bought (and paid a 50% deposit on) a really nice lounge suite off a friendly Scottish lady at Just Couches in Windermere road Durban. They said it would take two to three weeks to be made and delivered. Exciting times, being our first house and all that and furniture was the final piece in the puzzle for us before we move in.

Well two to three weeks later and umpteen messages left on their phone we decided to pay them a visit. Turns out, according to their neighbours, they have 'disappeared overseas and owe a lot of people a lot of money'!

If Nicola Hughes is around, please let me know whats up? Where the heck have you gone? (You can leave a comment at the bottom of this post). Aside from the money I'm really distraught at not having that awesome little lounge suite you were making for us. Not the best thing to happen to you after 5 years of living abroad. Oh well...

New Years at the Dam

Okay so its taken me over two months to put anything up here and thats probably because these days I'm never in one of any number of places for more than 24 hours at a time.

For New Years, we spent three days up at Badgers fiance Cally's parents house, nestled away on a dairy farm about 30km's from Mooi River. The house sits on the shores of a quaint dam and is surrounded by picturesque rolling hills and pine forests.

After being away for so long it was a great opportunity to catch up with everyone in such a relaxed environment. We spent a lot of time flyfishing on the dam, with compulsory beers, and even though I didn't catch a single fish, that was probably the highlight for me. Or maybe it was Andy and I beating Tont and Campo in the best of three pool match up? I don't know, everything was a highlight, the braais, the french cricket, the hackey sack, the 30 seconds, the shooter pool, the braaing but mostly the company.

South America wrapped up...

We've been back in South Africa for a month now and whilst its been busy and great fun it has also given us enough time to sit back and reflect on the last 4.5 years in the UK and particularly the final 2 months in South America.

Whilst 'constructing' the recent blog posts in South America I was often rushed for time and/or hampered by limited resources - a dud machine, painfully slow internet access, faulty USB ports etc etc. So I've had a look through Robyn's pics, which I often aluded to, and here is a small collection of them that I definitely would've published had I not been in such a hurry. Enjoy.

Where it began, Copacabana beach, Rio, complete with hardcore stud in the background

What do you do when the truck breaks down one evening? Find somewhere that sells cold beer.

Caiman in the Pantanal

One of the world's largest storks and emblem of the Pantanal - The Jabiru

The Red-breasted Toucan

The '2008' butterfly at the Iguazu Falls

Stick insect

Amantani Granny and Grandson

'Teething problems' at a Potosi internet cafe

Two Aymara women trying to catch a glimpse of the President of Bolivia doing his rounds in Potosi

Class photo in the Plaza de Armas, Cusco, Peru

Me and a Black-chested Buzzard Eagle in Colca, Peru

The 'Rest of the World' versus England, Puerta Inca, Peru. We lost this one 3-2, but won our first encounter in Brazil 5-4, leaving it one apiece in the series.

A bird flew into our left engine on takeoff forcing an emergency landing and an extra day in Lima.

Lima

Plaza Mayor

Robyn trying to figure out where Parque 7 de Junio is. We never found it.

Miraflores surf

It´s big. It´s grey. It´s flat. It´s noisy. And its our final stop. Phew! We need a holiday!

Islas Ballestas

The ´Candelabra´

´Humble´ Penguins

There´s something Alfred Hitchcockish about this pic

Pelican having none of it

Sea lion chilling

Millions of birds

´The poor mans Galapagos islands´ apparently. The Galapagos Islands must be heck of an impressive. We took a ride about 10km offshore to the spectacle that is the Ballestas Islands. Something I had been looking forward to for quite some time. And they did not disappoint.

They´re a small group of islands literally infested with all types of sea birds and sea life. Pelicans, petrels, penguins, gulls, vultures(yes!). The first thing that hits you upon arrival (other than the sheer spectacle of umpteen flocks of different types of birds circling and passing the islands simultaneously. It´s like the bird equivalent of Heathrow airport) is the smell. Bird poo. Guano. Apparently so much of it that it helped Peru out of a recession in the mid 1900´s as some clever dick discovered that guano was the secret and vital ingredient in a certain type of fertilizer. Nice work.

Sandboarding in Huacachina

Looking like a plonker

Robyn dropping in

These dune buggies were CRAZY and probably even more of a rush than the sandboarding!

The final dune was nice and steep

And finally, a sunset pic on this blog!

The Nazca lines

The hands

Spider

Hummingbird

The Astronaut

Surreal landscape

Many of you will find it hard to believe (thankfully I have photographic evidence) but the other day I wilingly climbed into a six seater plane (picture a station wagon with wings) for a flight over the one of South America´s great mysteries, the Nazca lines. What you will find even harder to believe is that I really enjoyed it, despite the incredible bumpiness and over-eager pilot!

The Nazca lines span a large area and are a series of animal figures and geometric shapes etched out of the arid, stony ground. They were created by ´clearing away the brush and hard stones of the plain to reveal the fine dust beneath´. No one is completely sure why they were made but it is thought ´they were probably a kind of agricultural calendar to help regulate the planting and harvesting of crops´. When you have a look at the above pics, try to remember that they were thought to have been done between 500 and 800 AD. Don´t ask me how they knew about spacemen and stuff...

Many thanks to ´The Rough Guide to South America´ for the above information.

Ah, the ocean!

Loads of surf potential and no one for miles...

A typical lunch on the road

I´m not sure how far we´ve travelled but it must be over 10,000km. After that amount of time it´s always a pleasure to see the sea again. But it´s the first time I´ve seen the Pacific Ocean and I can proudly report that I had an epic bodysurfing session two nights ago.