End of a soccer era

Day 46-48, Sat-Mon July 10-12, Johannesburg

Our bus ride back to Joburg was a record-setting 20+ hours long for both of us. It was less painful than our other rides, either because the seats were more comfortable or because we're just getting better at this, but I think we're both quite content to have ended our relationship with Greyhound South Africa. Thanks guys, it hasn't been that fun.

Saturday we got back to Joburg late afternoon and walked back to the hostel, threw our stuff down, and raced off to make our tour at the SAB World of Beer. This tour explained the history OD beer starting from ancient times and was filled with an unbelievable number of comically narrated videos and over-the-top scenary. We tasted traditional African beer made from sorgham, pellets of hops, various malts (yes, those last two were are odd and gross as they sound), and finally two SAB beers. It was well worth the 3 dollar entrance fee, if only for how epically silly it was at times (and two beers helped as well).

Exhausted from the ride, we called it an early night to ensure we would be prepared for the final the next day. 

Sunday, the day of the final, was another beautiful one
After failing to find the local Catholic church (It wasn't where Google maps said it was), and failing to find a spot to eat that was open and wasn't McDonald's, we settled into the courtyard sun of the hostel to get our read on.

The Argentinians had other plans an were grilling, drinking, and dancing up a storm. We were lucky enough to be invited to join and had an incredibly awesome afternoon of Argentine asada  and fellowship. I made the comment that my favorite thing about South Africa was the Argentinians and I think I might stand by that remark. We've had the great opportunity to meet quite a number of great people from our very first day in SA and it's definitely been one of the best parts of being in a host country for the World Cup.

We took a taxi with an American and some French folks to a viewing area to watch the final (the Argentines were headed to the stadium to try to sneak in to the match). There were thousands and thousands of people there and it was crazy..and really fun.

We ended up coming back to the hostel before the end of the game and watched the end there. It was pretty exciting and Iniesta was my favorite Spanish player, so I was happy he got the winning goal.

Monday we had a leisurely day reading, eating, and doing laundry (very exciting). Watching the post World Cup press conference was a good chance to reflect on the tournament. It's hard to overstate, I think, how proud Africans, and specifically South Africans, are to be hosts to this tournament. Nelson Mandela is worshipped here and this Cup is considered by many part of his legacy. The FIFA secretary noted that Desmond Tutu was dancing for joy during the opening SA game and had only seen him dancing previously when voting for the first time in 1994. Yesterday was the 47th anniversary of the arrests of the Rivonia trialists (the trial where Mandela was sent to prison) and the day of the first  World Cup final on African soil. Whether these parallels and comparisons of landmarks are appropriate or not is up for debate, but they give you an idea of how this tournament is viewed here.