Polokwane: A Day To Relax

I'm at an internet cafe which has a super super slow connection, but that's Africa. Until now I've been in "modern" Africa - Cape Town, Bloemfontein - where the amenities we have at home are also available. Here in Polokwane, however, I get the sense that I'm in another world, the Africa I thought I'd see:
* more poverty
* more dirt: for example, dirt sidewalks
* people selling goods along the streets: anything from designer watches to cigarette matches
* significantly higher percentage of black population

What still surprises me is the weather, especially at night. It's cold, especially since houses don't have heating, and the floor is almost always tiled. The guesthouses we're staying at are well prepared for this however - many have electric blankets - but if I lived here that would be an adjustment, to be sure.

I don't have any pictures of the city yet, but have a few from our journey here.

The plains of South Africa. At the beginning of our trip terrain was semi-desert: hot, dry, but not too dry so that no vegetation could thrive. Note that there are people walking alongside the highway, that happens relatively frequently:

Driving through Johannesburg:

Towards the end of our journey the terrain changed: from light greens to rich, dark greens and from desert browns to dark, almost reddish, earthy browns:

Tomorrow I plan to go an a hiking tour of the area. Later today there are four games. Here they are, with my score predictions.
* Argentina - Greece (2-0)
* South Korea - Nigeria (1-2)
* France - South Africa (1-2)
* Mexico - Uruguay (2-0)