The Incredible Journey - 17 June, 1994

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 1994, I did what most white South Africans my age saw as a right of passage. I went on a tour of Europe with a schoolfriend and her girlfriend. I was in my early 20's.

These are the letters and faxes (this was before everyone had email, Children) I sent home. They are all real. I couldn't make this shit up.

The trip started in January 1994. To read the posts in order, go the Itinerary Post.

17 June - Toulouse

Arranged to see the rugby with one of the guys in Alexandre's troupe so I went to his place.  We ate cherries while watching - different to the normal braai with rugby.  He was very sweet.

Listened to an interview on the radio with Alex about her show.

On Sunday I took the train out of town and was met by my Tante D - Oncle R's ex-wife.  Had lunch with her and her new husband and my cousin Cedric, who barely spoke to me.  

Tante D and Oncle R are very childish and when I called Oncle R to pick me up he said he would not drive into her yard.  I told him he could park at the bottom of the drive and hoot but he wasn't having it.  Eventually Tante D said she would take me to his house and we got lost and spent 30 minutes getting me to a place 10 minutes away.  

She kept saying to me: "Do you know which way from here?"  

A rather stupid question of a foreign family member, I thought.

18 June - Toulouse

Alex said I could get a lift back to England with her boyfriend and his friend who were taking their act to Glastonbury.  I had to meet them at the chateau where they were rehearsing.

So I was going there from Oncle R's house.  I went to the train station with Oncle R and the train was late.  I was majorly tense because I had only 20 mins to change between the train and the bus.  When I got to Toulouse I had to run to the bus station next door and I just made the bus by the skin of my teeth.

Eventually got to the chateau, which seems to be a big artist/loser community.  People were not very friendly.  I got funny looks when I said I was from South Africa.  

I had a look around the chateau and found a loft filled with sculptures.  Amazing except I had to tread carefully to avoid falling through the rotted wooden floor.

There was also an old courtyard which still had an amazing old carriage in it.   All overgrown so I had to stamp the ground furiously before going in to scare off any snakes.  

I also found some rooms just left to rot, with paintings falling apart on the walls.  

It was sad to see what had once been a beautiful chateau falling apart.  It was basically a squat.  

I just wanted to get going.  I was sick of France and stressed because I still had to find somewhere to stay when I got to London.

Someone was working on the old bus which they have kitted out with beds, etc. because  It wouldn't start.  I was planning to get off the bus at Dover because they are not going to London itself.  

Eventually someone got the bus running and we left at 11pm.  The crew was me, Alexandre, her boyfriend, Vincent, and his partner in the act, George.

19 June - En route to England

Slept late.  We drove through the night.

We got to their friends at Le Mans at 11am.  We had lunch - again a fabulous meal created seemingly from thin air - and the guys cleaned up!  This is not South Africa, that's for sure.

They began to explain to me what the Glastonbury Festival is, and I began to think seriously of going with them.  I presented the idea tentatively but it seemed it was OK as the two we were picking up, Jean Luc and Nono, had an extra tent.

Left for Caen at about 8pm.  Did some shopping along the way.  When we got to the ferry they decided to crook it and only paid for three adults and the bus.  

Alex, Nono and I had to hide on the bed at the back of the bus when they went to the ticket office.  Then they needed money so I had to try to get off and withdraw from the ATM without being seen by the ticket people.  God.

Once we had parked the bus on the ferry, Alex's boyfriend Vincent told us three hiding on the bus to get off and pretend we had all been paid for and walk out of the car park with them.  I didn't want to do it.  I wanted to hide on the bus for the whole ferry crossing.  

It must have been very obvious, or they saw us on the CCTV or something, because even after we split up and had been walking around on the deck for a while, an official came up to us and began freaking out and wanting to throw us off the ferry.  He led us down to the gangway.  Alex was begging him all the way and eventually he let us pay for the three extra tickets when we were standing on the shore with the ferry revving up to leave.

More stress than the potential saving of cheating was worth, in my opinion.

6 hour crossing.

Very uncomfortable.  I wasn't meant to be a sailor.

The trip started in January 1994. To read the posts in order, go the Itinerary Post.