Update From Geneva, Switzerland

One of the only ways to get to Swaziland when you don't have a car is by 'black taxi' - the South African equivalent of Madagascar's taxi-brousse - because any buses that run are on bizarre schedules.

When I was in Durban, I booked a four day safari in Kruger starting Monday, 1 December. This left the weekend to do the caving in Swaziland, then to get to Nelspruit to be picked up for the safari. So, after visiting the travel clinic to pick up some anti-malarials [Malarone], I took a taxi downtown to find a black taxi to Swaziland. The guy that drove me from the hostel told me that he used to live in Johannesburg, but after being hijacked five times and mugged seven times, decided to leave. Sounds like a nice place.

I got to the taxi just in time and piled in with my new Swazi friends for the six hour trip to Manzini. The drive was rather uneventful except for a very impressive storm, giving us a great lightning show. After arriving in Manzini, my new friends made sure that I had proper transport to Swaziland Backpackers where I was staying. Unfortunately, because of the storm, the waters were too high [they had some major flooding in Mbabane] and the caving tour was canceled, so I didn't do much in Swaziland except drive around a little in local taxis to see the countryside.

My options for getting from Manzini to Nelspruit were limited. I could take local taxis, but it would take pretty much all day because I'd have to switch four or five times. I thought I'd take the potentially more direct route by hitching instead. The people at the hostel told me that was certainly an option, because the Swazis are generally helpful and friendly, and that it was pretty safe.

I got up Sunday intending to try my hand at hitching in Swaziland. While I was eating breaky, I was talking to Aylwyn, an Irish guy from Cork who was traveling around with his bother Nick. They had a rental car and were planning to drive around a bit, so I got in with them for the first part of the trip. They dropped me off in Piggs Peak, where I started to walk towards the border at Jeppe's Reef...

After about five minutes trying to get a ride [not with thumb - in this area you point at the road], a pickup pulled over with three guys in the back and two in the front. They told me they could take me part way, so I jumped in. After cruising along for a while, the driver leaned out the window and screamed something to one of the guys in the back. A hand promptly reached around to hand the driver a huge beer. Hmmm... I decided to rationalize that, since it was midday, these guys couldn't have had too much to drink, his driving was not too frightening, and there were very few cars on the road, so I'd stick with it. They decided I needed a SiSwati lesson, so I 'learned' words for a whole range of things along the way. They dropped me off right at the border quite safe and sound.

After going through passport control, I hitched a ride with a couple of Americans and a South African who kindly dropped me off right at the backpacker's hostel I was staying at in Nelspruit. Monday morning, my safari group picked me up and we headed to Kruger National Park. We stayed two nights at campgrounds in Kruger and one night at a luxury lodge in a private game reserve. Fortunately our group got along great and we all had a good time [hi guys!]. The tour ended Thursday evening, dropping us off at various points in Johannesburg.

The next evening, I got to the airport early [!], and eventually got on the plane around 19h30. We were supposed to take off at 20h40, but that came and went. We had 'technical problems' which needed to be resolved, so we sat and waited. About four hours later, the pilot came on saying that, though the problem was fixed, they could not convince the tower to keep the runway open so we could take off. We had to get off the plane to go stay at a hotel. This meant we had to go through passport control again. Four hundred people on the plane and we had one guy, sometimes two, doing passport control at about one in the morning. Not fun. Then we had to get our bags, get on buses, then get in line at the hotel to get our room. Eventually I got into my room about 02h30. Up again at 06h30 to go through it all again...

Of course the flight on Saturday was delayed again, but eventually we took off. Because we were so late, a lot of people, including me, missed connecting flights and had to stay in Paris overnight too. This meant going through a similar process of passport control, getting flights and hotels sorted out, baggage, waiting on the bus, and waiting in line at the hotel. No fun. Just to top it off, my flight on Sunday was delayed as well. Was it something I said?

Upon arrival in Geneva, Derek and Allison whisked me off to Melissa's for a late Yankee Thanksgiving dinner. Mmmmm... turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Yummy!

Talk at you later.