The World Cup is over, and yet, we are not depressed! Durban has been keeping the good things coming, but before I tell you about them, I want to share these pics from the final World Cup weekend at the beachfront fan park.
Moses Mabhida Stadium (the smaller version)
One of our favorite features of the World Cup celebration was the sand art. The artists really got quite creative!
Nothing like creepy sand art!
Yep, safe sex is important even for sand people (Can you spot the condom?)
The fate of all unsuspecting visitors...
All kinds of things were happening on the beach—live music, dancing, cricket.
Zulu singers and dancers
Kale and beach cricket
Gum Boot Dancers! They slap their gum boots for percussion and kick their legs high!
A Massive Drum Circle—well, they're not actually in a circle. But look at all of them on those bleachers!
The beachfront was lined with vendors selling their wares.
The greatest gift of the World Cup was a new promenade on the main beachfront. It goes on and on for many kilometers—beautiful, wide, and safe. People have been out walking, biking, skateboarding, and marching in traditional Zulu clothing!
What’s super special about the promenade is that it goes right in front of Sun Coast Casino which houses a movie theater. So while Durban’s Annual Film Festival is going on, Kale and I can park our car at the beach, walk to the movie theater, and then sit on the beach for a little while before walking back for the next film—which is what we did on Sunday. The film festival is one of the exciting things that’s been happening in Durban post World Cup, and our first film on Sunday was a documentary about the plight of white farmers in Zimbabwe: “Mugabe and the White African.” The protagonist was even present in the theater to answer questions after the showing, but when the tape started rolling, it was the wrong film! One of Mugabe’s henchmen had switched the reels! Or at least that’s what Kale and I decided happened. It made us feel better to think of ourselves as the victims of some conspiracy instead of incompetence. As a substitue, the audience had an informative and heated discussion with the protagonist, and then Kale and I left to walk on the beach and grab some dinner before the second feature. That’s when we ran right into the sardine run!
Catch a fish with your hand? It's really that easy!
The sardines run up the South African coast every July. And they are so numerous! People were just wading in the water and grabbing them with their hands, filling buckets. Fishermen had out their nets, and it was the best kind of fishing we’ve ever seen—a happy, free for all, celebration. Women in full church dress up to their knees in the water, kids with fistfuls of silvery fish—if only we had come prepared with buckets and plastic bags! Some people were even collecting fish in their shirts (ones they were still wearing)—but I don’t like the taste of sardines that much.
Channeling their victims into their nets!
A nice silvery, slithery pile!
All those people, and everyone was so happy! Is there such a thing as a happy mob?
As we stood in the water, getting our jeans wet, we could feel the waves pushing sardine bodies against our feet. I’ll admit it, I screamed a little and moved my feet. I was too squeamish to reach down and grab the tasty buggers. Did I mention I have a fish phobia? We finally got out of the water and walked farther up the beach to order some food that was already cooked. Indian food. Oh, it was so delicious! Durban has the best Indian food, and it’s everywhere—probably what heaven will be like.
Happy Lepaks with a background of happy kite surfers
So, the post World Cup depression that all of the newscasters and radio DJs and journalists were warning us about has not even had a chance to poke us a little. The film festival tracked down the Mugabe film, and we saw it on Tuesday: http://www.mugabeandthewhiteafrican.com. It was brilliant! What next for the Lepaks you ask? This weekend we are off to see five more films, go to two braais (South African for barbecue), and maybe even sleep a little.
Jaspar and Kale SA 
Thanks for the great update! The beach looks beautiful! Hard to believe you are in the middle of winter there! 🙂 We saw the IMAX show over Thanksgiving that was all about South Africa and their Sardine Run!! Very cool to know that it’s all true! You guys look happy, and that makes me happy! 🙂 Love you both!
It looks like you guys are having a blast over there! I couldn’t help but laugh out loud when I saw the leopard sand sculpture “help the poo man”. You two look adorable as always!