Monday, August 24, 2015

Voortrekker Monument and the Pretoria Fan Fest ... NOT


We began our second full day in South Africa by sleeping in and, hopefully, completing our recovery from jet lag.  In the afternoon we visited the Voortrekker Monument, a rather ugly structure atop a hill overlooking Pretoria.






 From the top, we had a splendid view of Pretoria and its environs.





Below the monument was the Voortrekker museum where we learned how the Boer's were just the last in a long line of newcomers who migrated to the interior of South Africa and dispossessed their predecessors. Implicit lesson - the slaughter of the Zulu's who stood in the way of Boer farming was no big deal.  There were exhibits of clothing, books, toys and other memorabilia from the Great Trek, and a twelve-part series of needlepoint portrayals of the Trek.

Then we popped down to the Centurion Cricket Grounds where we hoped to catch the opening game in the company of a big crowd rooting against Mexico.  But the ground was vastly overcrowded by the time we arrived, and there were thousands of fans walking this way and that trying to find a way to sneak in (here is  a line of people feeling gratified that they were getting through a hole in a fence - we had tried it already and it did us no good)



or walking away having given up.  All were in good spirits.  So, back to Craig and Susan's to catch the second half on TV - either side could have won it.  That night, we were looking forward to a house party at our hosts' home.
            

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