Worst part of traveling to Africa? Sitting on your butt for incredible amounts of time. We had a VERY long drive from Phalabora to our plane in Johannesburg today. Although our plane left at 6 PM. We left around 9 for about a 6 hour drive south. Crossing a mountain range at speeds no van should ever attempt, we miraculously made it to the flatlands. Then we could really fly. I tried to go to sleep in fear of the excessive speeds our hosts were traveling at, approaching 100 mph at times and rarely dipping below 90. With Eugene's gun properly secured under his leg at all times, I wasn't sure if I was trying to catch a plane or outrun the police. The police weren't sure either, which is probably why they pulled us over. We'd been warned about speed traps in Africa, and they are much more prevalent then in the US. We were clocked doing 90 in a 60, and the following chain of events in the US would land us nothing short of jail.
In South Africa, it's a given that you bribe a cop to not get a speeding ticket. Basically, put a nice little gesture under your license when you hand it to the cop, have a nice little chat, and you're on your way. Neither Eugene nor Laura had any cash, and the cop was wanting to find out the Carlson's story in the back seat. After a friendly chat with us, the agent of the law described how he and his buddy would like to have a "very nice lunch today." He wondered what it'd cost. Eugene belted out, "30 Rand," and Laura, "50 Rand!" Nope, he wanted 100 Rand ($13 US). Having a nice stack of 100's in my travel wallet, the police enjoyed a milkshake on us, and we were on our way. Simple as that. Eugene and Laura were angry beyond words that I won't type here. I thought it was interesting to say the least, and unreasonably cheap to pay off a cop in South Africa.
Anyway, we peeled ourselves out of the back seats, said our good-byes, and stumbled into Johannesburg International. If ever there was a long distance trip to be happy about, it was this one: Upgrade to Business class.
The flight home was much easier on us: Jo'Burg-->Dakar, Senegal-->Atlanta-->Seattle. Door-to-door: 31 hours, 17 minutes.
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