Monday, May 28, 2007

This is definitely where we parked the car...

Last weekend we attended the ABSA Cup Championship soccer match, which is like the Superbowl in South Africa, in Durban. We had a great time at the game, but when we came out after Capetown’s win over Pretoria, our car was gone. No broken glass and no trace of the man who had promised to watch it for us (people offer to do this for you in South Africa, and many people believe them to be completely reliable. Not us) for $2. “What about the man who was watching your car?” is everyone’s first question.

Kate now has the dubious honor of having more cars stolen than anyone else that she knows! The Tucson Police couldn’t track down the red Civic which was parked 5 miles from where it was stolen (long enough to be captured on Google Earth). While the Durban Police were great, we don’t have much higher hopes for them finding the Corolla. Surprisingly, the insurance company here has been much more efficient and professional than my insurance company in the U.S.

The family that we bought it from, the McHugh’s, wrote to let us know that they had taken the car to Botswana, Zambia, and Lesotho, as well as all over South Africa. We like to wonder where it is now. It could be anywhere, or it could be lots of places, having been stolen and sold for parts…

We thought that we’d share a few pictures of the adventures that the Corolla took us on as a little tribute…



The Corolla on what we like to call "Corolla Safari" in Mkhuze Park.



The car parked on the street in Sharpeville (where it did not get stolen) when we paid a visit to Danny Motale's parents and extended family.



Reatlehile, Pontso, and Ntombi playing on the car. (Notice Reatlehile's hat)



Zambo playing "car."



Another entry in Andy's "Stuff on the Road" series.

1 comment:

R said...

We're sorry to hear about the car. We hope this doesn't dampen your spirits on South Africa. ... Yeah, we agree: those "attendants" who watch the car don't really watch anything. They were probably watching the game too while your car was stolen.
-Ron and Andrea