The big church in the centre of Malmesbury, an old, white and nice one, has a big garden all around. And reasonable walls. And the gates are open. I cannot think about someone coming and bothering me, so I decide to make my camping in a hide corner on the garden. When I finally lie down and covered myself warm, the pain is back and I just can think about sleeping very quickly. I had not eaten anything since my two sandwiches for lunch but I ain’t hungry.
Middle time, between pain, quickly naps, feeling cold, waking up, turning around, I think in what am I doing. But when I wake up in the morning, without any pain and feeling really good, I just can think in how migraine crises can happen anywhere, any time and be as much horrible as this last one. Is not a travel problem, is my burden problem, which will be with me wherever and however I go.
I eat the rest of my muesli and at six o’clock I am already moving. Unfortunately I forgot to write down Paula’s number, so I bored McDonald’s wi-fi for five minutes before I leave town.
Walking to a place where I can hitchhike takes me quite a long time. About an hour, I would say. But I feel strong and fine. How can that be? I have not had a decent meal for the last 18 hours.
Anyway, it takes a while to someone stops and when a very nice man called Bern does, he is just going to the next town. But he assured me that in there will be much easier to get a lift.
And he is right! He drops me just before a toll gate. Definitely the best toll gate I hitchhike ever. The trucks have a different way to go so they do not pass by me and the cars have to slow down a long time before to get where I am, so it is perfect.
But it takes longer than I though to someone stop. And when he does, I do not understand him pretty well and he is going just a little further. But is a nice man who lives in Cape Town, and offer to show me the town once I get in there.
Here I am again in the road. At least is such a beautiful view of the mountains. Really amazing. As much as have been since the beginning.
A lady stops after a long time. She is French. Again, she is just going over there, to a small village. By this time, I prefer to move a little bit than nothing. After all, I have been in the road the whole day and just moved less than 100 kilometers. Lovely lady. She used to hitchhike as well.
The place where she drops me although is not very good. They are fixing the side walk and still, the cars pass too fast. I decide take my chances and walk again. Over two, three kilometers later, I stop in a grape farm and ask for some water. The guy says there is a service station about three or four kilometers ahead. I keep walking and finally find a nice shadow when the cars can stop. Fuck it, I will hitchhike in here.
It did not take too long until Michael stop. Actually, he passed by and then came back. A very charming guy from Durban, who was going just to a near town but decided keep in the same road and take another way further, just to help me and drive me one hundred kilometers more that day. What a gentleman! And interesting too. We had a pleasant conversation during a short one hours. It was almost five o’clock when we arrived at Matjiesfontein. A tiny little town but quite famous to the tourists. Michael dropped me at the very old and famous Lord Milner Hotel, where I could get more information and then he left. Thank you so much Michael, for your kindness and generosity. Thanks to you, I was now just about four hours from Graaff-Reinet. Better than that, I did not travel just one hundred kilometers in one whole fucking day.
The Hotel is an beautiful old place, but unfortunately is quite fancy and expensive. All the old town is quiet and an attraction itself, with cute old places and houses. There is also the train, also fancy and expensive, which makes a tour just once a week, on Wednesdays. Well, it was Wednesday but I was too tired to think about take a picture. My bad.
After the nice receptionist lady tells me the prices, I am honest with her and tell her everything. So she called the manager. A nice young man who listen to me carefully and then decided to call his boss and check what he can do. Unfortunately, the boss says the only thing he can do is give me a 20% discount in his cheapest room. At this point, the smart manager just kindly add “But you do not have the money so…” What he suggest is the receptionist call a man who has a place where I might can camp for the night. The man is not around and his phone is off so the receptionist guide me to Katy’s house. According to her, Katy works at the church (which was close and where I could not camp) so she probably will find a way to help me.
I should just walk straight and look for a place that I barely could say the name (after asking twice to the receptionist, I did not want to be rude in asking again, so I gave up). I ask for the “information” to a guy who ended up being just a boy. A very smart and polite young boy, who offer to walk with me to the place. While outside of Katy’s house waiting for her, we talk for a while and he tells me be very unhappy in the town. I am honest with him and insist that he sounds like a intelligent boy with a good English, so if he is unhappy he must try something better in a bigger town but keep studying.
Katy is a nice woman who husband died short ago and now she is taking care alone of three children. The oldest one is pregnant. It is with her that I spend most of time. She tells me that before she get pregnant, what she really wanted it was to travel. I realize that it is so sad how easily people let their dreams to drain through their hands…
I stay in one of the rooms that Katy used to rent. She tells me about her financial problems and I wish I could help. Maybe she thinks I can. The housekeeper come to my bedroom later, completely drunk and also tells me about her problems. But the way that she thinks I can help her is making a pray for her. I do.
Next morning I leave before could see anyone. I need to arrive in Graaff-Reinet today. There are two guys on the road also hitchhiking. Workers. I walk a good distance of them. I do not want to compromise their spot.
Not long after they are gone. Not also to long after that a young man stop. He is going the whole way to Johannesburg so he simply says: “You can come with me.” Most of the songs that are being playing I have in my phone. We have some nice talk and in much less than I expected, we are in Graaff- Reinet. Hallelujah!
