Football Fever

Hey! I am back from the beautiful islands of the Seychelles, sob sob, and it seems that while I was away, South Africa has gone crazy with football fever. Flags and fans everywhere, World Cup paraphernalia on sale at every corner and vuvuzelas all round, the host country is truely embracing the huge event. The vibe at OR Thambo International Airport was electrifying, Mexicans with their sombreros and moustaches when I was on the way to the Seychelles and mostly Argentinians on the way back. It is great advertising for the Rainbow Nation and the foreigners are giving very positive reviews. We are now down to the last sixteen, Bafana Bafana unfortunately but predictably not one of them, but South Africa can say that the boys scored the first goal of the World Cup, thanks to Siphiwe Tshabalala, AND they beat France - take that Thierry Henry! The last sixteen are Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Uraguay, Paraguay, Chile, Ghana (only African country), Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Slovakia, South Korea, the United States of America and... England - yesssss!! I predict that Uraguay will beat South Korea, Ghana will scrape a win against the USA (wouldn't bet on it though), Netherlands will just beat Slovakia (also not too sure though), Brazil will beat Chile, Argentina will beat Mexico, Germany will probably *said with immense pain and regret* beat England, Paraguay will just beat Japan (unsure) and Spain will beat Portugal. Then, in the Quarter Finals, Uraguay will beat Ghana, Brazil will beat the Netherlands, Argentina will probably beat Germany and Spain will beat Paraguay. Semi Finals, that leaves Brazil to beat Uraguay and Argentina v Spain (that will be an awesome match)... maybe Argentina, but I don't know. The final, then, will be Brazil vs Argentina and Brazil will win. Uraguay will lose to Spain, but only just. Brazil will go on to defend their title in their own country in 2014. You may have noticed that I call the sport 'football', not 'soccer' - this is because it's not called soccer, it's football - FIFA World Cup, not FISA World Cup. My next post will be up in an hour or so. By the way, I had an awesome holiday in the Seychelles, thanks for asking, and I recommend you go to La Digue for as long as possible, Dream Yachts Charter are based in Praslin, La Digue is only half an hour away. On Praslin, you can visit the giant tortoises as well as the Vallee de Mai, a world heritage site, home to the largest type of coconut/palm tree on the planet, Coco de Mer. The Seychelles is stunning, the water is warm, dusky batfish followed us and posed for photographs, the main method of transport on La Digue is by bicycle, which can be rented. They are rusty and a bit rickety, which only adds to the fun of the beautiful island. The most beautiful beach in the independent country is on La Digue - Grand Anse. They speak mostly English and French, but also Creole and contrary to popular belief, the official language is English, not French. If you stick to the main islands of Praslin, La Digue and Mahe, you will probably not be kidnapped by pirates and eaten. The best shops are on La Digue, the traditional meal of the Seychelles is Octopus Creole (a delicious curry dish), Robert is the man everyone knows on Praslin, he owns three moorings in the harbour and he cooked a huge, spectacular feast which we ate cold the next day - curried fish, octopus creole, cabbage and cucumber salad, this awesome coleslaw type thing (and I hate coleslaw) and a bucket-load of rice. I'm off to watch some proper sport now - rugby - not this girly ooh-the-rain-will-ruin-my-hair ooh-mind-my-handbag sad excuse for a sport. I do actually enjoy it, but I hate the idea of it. My advice in a sad attempt to save the world Save a stallion, ride an Italian - but mind his hair. Ciao for now!