South Africa Part II – Visiting Soweto

It has been raining all weekend here in south Florida and I was very tempted to crawl back into bed soon after walking my doggies this morning. I had been working in the ED all week since returning from South Africa and my body is definitely feeling it…

But then I remembered that I really wanted to share more of my South Africa experience with you all, so I went to the gym instead, summoned all of my energy for the day ahead and here I am now writing this blog post. I think overall this was the better decision of the two 🙂

I want to thank you guys for visiting my blog. I appreciate everyone’s comments and feedback regarding the last entry. I think it was my most popular blog post yet. Perhaps it was the black and white photos that I chose to post this time, but quite frankly I really hope it was the message that they conveyed. I am so glad my photography touched you in one way or another…Nothing makes me happier that when my photographs and my writing bring some value to others.

Today I’ll share a (photographic) story of the most perfect afternoon in Soweto, one of Johannesburg’s largest townships. I’ve heard quite a lot about this place prior to my trip to South Africa. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was sure I wanted to see it. Initially the visit was not in the plans…But as with all my travels, sometimes the most spontaneous decisions lead to the most memorable moments. A small group of us (four to be exact) decided to jump into one of the cabs outside of Apartheid Museum in Joburg and asked the driver to take us to Soweto. We didn’t really know where we were going – Soweto is quite big of a township actually, but we asked him to drop us off in front of Nelson Mandela’s house, the most popular spot in Soweto. We got lucky though: Moses, as was the name of our driver, lives in Soweto and he offered to “give us a tour.”

At this point into the trip, I really didn’t have any photographs I was hoping to make. There was no opportunity so far for street or people photography. Though it was just the beginning, I was already getting restless. Like a surfer in the ocean, I was riding on the wave of creative momentum I caught in Santiago de Cuba and I didn’t want to lose it so quickly. So after a brief hesitation, when Moses asked if we “wanted a tour” I quickly said yes. And “a tour” really meant that I wanted him to drive us around and stop whenever I saw a great photographic opportunity. Thankfully, my companions did not mind; they were just as curious about Soweto as I was, even if not all were into photography as much as I am (thank you Sally and Frank! Jim, you know I appreciate you).

At first Moses did not know what I really meant by my request, but after I yelled, STOP STOP a few times and jumped out of the car to take some photos, he got the gist of it 🙂 At one point he actually made fun of us for wanting to go into the parts of Soweto no tourists usually go into. But I think after he realized how serious I was about my photography, he took his role very earnestly and let me do whatever I needed to do.

As the sun started to come down lower in the sky and the light turned quite magical, our excitement over the Soweto visit grew even more. While driving around, we spotted a soccer game in the distance. We asked Moses to take us there. He spun around onto a small dirt road and soon we were turning heads from a group of locals, all men and boys cheering on their soccer friends. I’m sure our little quartet stood out like a sore thumb in this setting, but everyone was curious and welcoming and wanted to chat with us. Not only that, but the winning soccer team asked and posed for a group photo! To top it all, the light just kept getting more beautiful. Frank engaged a gathering of young boys into some sort of high five game and Sally conversed with the locals. I, of course, got busy taking photographs and could barely contain my excitement over the beautiful light and this opportunity.

This little encounter became one of my favorite travel moments to date. There, in the outskirts of Soweto, in a country as distant and mysterious as South Africa, I felt and experienced a true touch of magic. The moment may have been brief. It may have appeared as nothing out of the ordinary to the casual observer of the events. But to me, and I know my group companions will also attest to this, it was truly special.

No visit to any museum, no travel book you will ever read can give you this feeling. Once more, this moment has proven that it is the human connection that gives our travel experience any true meaning. You can stare at the historical buildings, you can stroll the streets and admire the vistas all you want, but unless you actually connect with the people whose lives are closely intertwined with these buildings and the streets, you likely will not leave truly fulfilled. My general travel rule is this: make the effort, talk to that stranger, embrace the awkwardness and fear that comes with meeting a new person in a completely different environment from your own. In the end, that is what will elevate your experience into a whole new level.

I chose to keep the photos from Soweto in color, as they are. I believe black and white would not do them justice. The setting African sun saturated everything two fold and gave a new dimension to our travel adventure. I hope the photos give it at least a partial justice…