Last Chances in Bloemfontein

Although accommodation costs n South Africa are high (anywhere from 33-100% higher than the season usually demands), we’ve just left the carhire company with a new car at a great rate thanks to Travelsupermarket.com, and it looks like we’ll be able to drive South Africa in a saloon car, and stay in decent accommodation – all for less than the campervan would have cost excluding campsite costs etc. This is a comforting thought as we set off for the coldest World Cup destination, the location of Honduras’ final group game, the crunching decider against Switzerland in Bloemfontein.

Our time in Pretoria was mostly used up doing some necessary administration – blogging, banking and car rental – as well as some medical treatment. Probably due to the combination of the long-haul travel, the 40 degree change in temperature, and all the time on the road, we both had loads of aches and pains. So we had a couple of sessions with the local physiotherapist in Pretoria, which made us feel a lot better. The physio here has 2% vision, so that adds South Africa to Nepal as a place where blind people find career opportunities in fields where vision is of limited utility. I’m yet to see one instance of this in Europe and I wonder why.

We were staying in a B&B in the suburbs of Pretoria which is the capital of South Africa. It’s a sleepy and relaxed area well away from the dangers of nearby Johannesburg. Although we haven’t seen any crime so far in South Africa, you can sense the greater risk of such an occurence in the Jo’burg, with a lot more people hanging around traffic lights selling flags, phone chargers and having a good look around the inside of your car as they pass by. We visited the Union Buildings in central Pretoria and that was about it. We’ll be back here for the final, so we plan to see the Apartheid Museum and the Soweto township when we come back.

The journey to Bloemfontein takes about 5 hours, and brings us right into the heart of Afrikaner country. Bloemfontein itself is a “varsity” (university) town, but the students are on study break at the moment, which leaves Bloem’s sole party street a little deserted and lacking life, even on the eve of a World Cup match. We settled on a resto-bar called Cubana which had a lot of Swiss calming their pre-match nerves by drinking and watching football while the wildest were playing cards.

Other than the party street, Bloemfontein’s main soul is the waterfront which is right in the centre of town. It’s a big mall situated around an artificial lake with a fountain. Although it sounds a bit tacky, it’s a nice place. Bloemfontein is situated in the heart of South Africa’s flat plateau, and there’s little of beauty or interest around. So the lake provides a nice environment for taking it easy. Directly behind the mall is the football stadium, so the waterfront was the ideal place to warm up for the game. The Swiss brought quite a bit of colour to the event, with some of them dressed up as cows in cow outfits, or others going a step further and walking around with a massive cow-bell attached to the back of their lederhosen. On the other hand, most seemed to have swapped their habit of yodelling for vuvuzelas – which is probably a good idea despite having not had a vuvuzela-free day since we got here.

The game kicked off at 8.30pm with any of the four teams in Group H still with a possibility of qualifying for the next round. Honduras were playing in their blue home strip for the first time – could this signal a change in fortune? The stadium was only half-full, so the organising staff allowed us to watch the first half from the upper tier with Ninfa’s godfather, Leonel, and aunt Zudora. The first half finished goalless, and we went downstairs to watch the second half from our own seats. With Chile losing 2-0 to Spain, Switzerland only needed a victory to qualify, while Honduras were already effectively eliminated. While Spain chased qualification, Honduras chased pride, and the second half was packed of end to end attacking football as both teams gave everything for the elusive goal. The atmosphere was beginning to hot up too, and when the linesman disallowed a Honduras goal for offside, it was probably best he was on the opposite side of the pitch as the many Hondurans around us vented their Latin temperaments by questioning the origins and machismo of the game officials. The more Switzerland attacked, the more Honduras looked like winning, but despite having had numerous opportunities, the game finished nil-nil and both sides bid farewell to the World Cup. The Swiss laid distraught on the pitch, while the Hondurans, like their fans, seemed relatively satisfied with their best performance of the tournament which had earned them their first point, but also disappointed at finishing the tournament goalless.

A few other points of interest from the match: at the end of the game, 4 or 5 of the Honduras players came across to applaud the travelling fans. This was the first time that any of the Honduran players had saluted the fans at any of the matches during the tournament. It looked poor when compared to the entire Swiss squad who had come to applaud their travelling support. We feel the entire Honduran team and coach should have done this, so while they lose some respect for this, it was made up for by the thrilling last performance in the match. Also, the next day I met Steve, an employee at the Engen petrol station who showed me photos of him dressed in his Bloemfontein Celtic (the local team) supporters gear. Steve is one of the most recognisable fans and wears the same outfit to every match, complete with beaded vuvuzela and tailored jacket – half as the South African flag, and half the Bloemfontein Celtic green and white hoops. He told me that the Bloemfontein fans are recognised as some of the best in South Africa. This explained what we had seen the night before – the groups of South African fans who didn’t sit down once, but danced and sang the whole game through. It’s great to watch, as they jump up and down in rhythm, then turn their backs on the game, then split down the middle and dance away from each other, only to turn and dance back together, and then sing and wave their hands. It was a real party atmosphere. A final note must also go to the Swiss fans who were the nicest we have met so far, giving us tips on places to visit in South Africa, swapping shirts after the game, and generally being great fun – doing much to rid themselves of their reputation as card-players, but party animals.

The World Cup is over for Honduras, but not for us. Next stop is Cape Town, 12 hours down the highway, and the last 16 match of Spain vs Portugal.