Ik lees die Bybel nie

From Camdeboo to Prince Albert, 19^th of August – We are heading back to Cape Town and have to find a nice village for an overnight stop. We drive hours through the Great Karoo on the R61 without seeing a living soul. Except maybe a lonely sheep grazing on next to nothing. The wind blows from the north and I have to keep both hands on the wheel to stay on the road. My fuel gauge reads almost empty and in Beaufort West, we decide to fill up the tank. Strangely enough, the brand new petrol station is attracting a strange mix of people, who seem to spend their Sunday in and around the shop. We are the only whites. The service station attendant is very friendly and we small talk. A young woman with a young boy on her arm starts asking me for money and when I refuse, she puts the boy on the ground and tries to convince me to donate. The little boy starts stroking the car tyres with his hands in a circular movement. His palms are jet black. His mother walks to the other side of the car and tries to convince Karin to spend some rands. In the meantime, an old toothless woman begs me in Afrikaans to give her money. The attendant is embarrassed and says; “Ga weg, je moet werk, je moet nie altij krijg, krijg, krijg. Ik werk voor mien geld”. The old woman responds angrily: “Ik spreek tegen meneer en in die Bybel staat dat die mens moet geef aan die armen”. The attendant closes the discussion by saying: “Ik lees die Bybel nie!” We pay, get in the car and move on. Beaufort West is the town where heart surgeon Christiaan Barnard grew up and there is a small museum to his memory. Just out of town, there is a police control. We have to stop and I am asked to produce my driver’s licence. The police officer smiles: “Belgium? Belgium!”. “Ah, Kevin De Bruyne… Eden Hazard…” He says it slowly as if he enjoys every letter of their names. “Enjoy your stay in South Africa, sir!” We decide to go back to Prince Albert for the night and repeat our springbok stew and Soetkaroo meal of last week.

Dennehof Karoo Guesthouse in Prince Albert, a Cape Dutch Farmhouse from 1835 (KVV)