My heart was pacing loudly, if someone was to have a chance to listen to my heartbeat, they would think i was about to get a heart attack. It was anxiety kicking in. Even when i had planned my trip to the last bit, i still had that little fear of the unknown. I had a Uber app on my phone, “What is wrong with me i thought?”. The way Cape Town airport is structured, even a child wouldn’t get lost. As i was close to the entrance to the car park. I found somewhere to seat down so that i could cool down and then request for my ride.
I noticed men offering taxi services, i couldn’t risk my life, i had to go with a Uber ride. Ntando might have noticed me pull out my phone and opening Uber. He approached me and said, ” Sister, I am a Uber driver, i can take you where you want to go, this is my ID, this is my car [as he showed me his phone], you can verify it on the parking lot”. For a reason i do not know, i chose to believe him, besides, a person who would kidnap me would need to practically lift me up, and force me into the car, of which it would be impossible in a crowded place like the airport. From the ordeal i experienced at OR Tambo, i just was tired. Off we went, i verified his details from the Uber driver app, his car number place. For my sake i had to be sure i was safe.
I later discovered that, those Uber drivers you see around the airport entrances, they will be trying to avoid using the app. This is because the app takes a percentage from each trip. Deep in my heart, i feel sorry for them. Convincing a total stranger to take your word that you are who you are claiming to be must be a lot of work. That is how far people go when trying to put food on their tables. A trip with Ntando was not a dull moment, we talked about how things used to be in South Africa in earlier years. I know how it was because for every semester break and holiday, i would visit my mum in Johannesburg. He was talking about inflation, how things have become more expensive. I also asserted him that, even if it was the case in South Africa, they are way better than our own economic environment in Zimbabwe. He asked me about why i had come solo. Why i did not come with my partner. I explained what i had gone through, the reason why i had chosen to stay single for a while, working on myself, and finally decided to travel solo, for my holiday and to decompress. “You are a strong woman!”, he said.
I do not want to discredit it, i acknowledge i am strong, but i am tired of being the strong one. What i need now is to not fight battles anymore. I consciously now chose the softer side of life, i pay for my own convenience, i chose to take the longer route just to avoid potholed roads. I want comfort now. Even today i am learning to embrace it, to accept it and finally learn to live with it. It’s a lot of work too, when you are used to chaos, its a foreign thing to finally learn to live an anxiety free life,that survival mode, being used to always be on the fight mode can be addictive. Sometimes i ask myself why i am not stressed, or why things are good. The only kind of anxiety i am entertaining now is when i get late for a scheduled appointment, or when i cant wait for something new i have bought to be delivered. Well, had to vent for a bit, back to my ride experience with Ntando.
I was going to Green Point. It was a long drive but we just couldn’t shut up. He talked about how he has a family and how he works hard for them. He shared that being a Uber driver , you just need to be strategic. But well Cape Town is a touristy place so i don’t think they can ever run dry. I shared with him that i wanted to go to the mall after,so it was easier for me to drop off my bags and then to the mall. I had to get a few supplies. Off we went to Canal Walk mall, he told me how each direction can led to an entrance. One of the biggest malls in South Africa. I had to experience shopping there. That was a pro tip to me, that place is huge, you can easily get lost. As he dropped me,he asked me to save his number, in-case i might need a ride again. Well, i didn’t. I didn’t think i would see him again. My journey just went smooth, everyone i met would help me, first was Ben, now Ntando.
The following day, i had planned that i would just explore the place and then go for a red bus tour around the city. That was solid. In the morning the next day, i discovered that inDrive is actually cheaper than Uber, so i used it to request my ride to V&A Waterfront. I enjoyed some good music performances, that is the point i met Liz. Liz, i will write about her some day. Liz suggested we go to Gold Restaurant that evening, because she was leaving the following morning, and it was a day before my birthday. Coincidentally i had written down Gold Restaurant, for my birthday dinner. See how life works sometimes. We agreed to meet later, so she went on to finish her shopping and i went for my red bus tour.
Weather changed on me whilst i was on the bus. My plan was, as soon as i hop off, i was going to pass through Clicks to get a concealer for my makeup. I started being so windy and cold i didn’t have a jersey on me. I was already late, i got at the V&A around 4pm, we had agreed to meet at 6:30pm. It was the same night when rugby world cup finals were being played off. South Africa was in the finals. V&A was just a buzz. Everyone was excited and in celebration mood. I really admire how they are so passionate about their rugby team. I had all the money i wanted to use loaded up in my VISA card. All my expenses whilst i was on vacation were to be paid off it.
I then started to request a ride to go back to the AirBnB to get ready. At the same time i was battling the windy and cold weather, i had to be close to the taxi pick up/drop area. Which meant i was exposed to all the cold front coming from the ocean. I don’t think i have ever been exposed to such coldness in my life. When i say it was cold, i don’t know how to really express it. It was terribly cold. Every other ride i was requesting kept being declined. There was just a lot of traffic. I couldn’t get anything. I was afraid,i would get into shock or asthmatic attack, time was running out on me. I felt like crying at the same time i had to be strong because i was alone. Remember the trip was about me, no matter what would come along the way i was supposed to face it. Then God intervened again,from nowhere for some reason Ntando pulled over right where i was standing, he of course had someone he was taking somewhere. Deep in my heart i was like, “This is you God, Thank you”. I quickly jumped into Ntando’s car. There was no time to negotiate at this point. All i needed was to be warm. All the negotiations would happen as we go.
I explained to Ntando that i had been waiting for too long but could not manage to secure a ride back to my AirBnB. He told me how it had been busy because of the rugby world cup finals. I wish i had not passed by the mall, had i known that transport was going to be a problem. He negotiated with the passenger that he had, to accommodate me, and would drop me off after he had dropped him. The good thing is we were not going to places not far apart. It was one of my happiest moments, i was happy i had been saved.
I asked him to wait for me whilst i change so that he drops me at the Gold Restaurant before he could go back to the airport. I was already running late remember. When we got to Gold restaurant, checking my wallet, i discovered i did not have my card on me. I mean all my life was depending on it at this point. A wave of confusion, sadness, stress and anger struck me. At that point i had lost my ticket to everything. My heart sank. It quickly changed to one of the dull moments i have ever been in. I told Ntando about this, he started to ask me where i had last used it. He advised me to block it, which i quickly did. I had only used it at Clicks and i was holding it, i thought, whilst i was going through the wind and cold debacle. At that moment i had lost it to the wind, and there was absolutely nowhere i would find it, this was the idea that struck me. I needed a miracle that minute.
Without talking to me i am sure he had noticed how confused i was, he started calling the Clicks shop i had last used my card at. Thankfully the lady who had served me, was the one who answered the call. They both asked me to describe the card. i told them it was a purple card written “Steward Bank”. At that point she then mentioned, i had forgotten my card at the till and she couldn’t find me. I think at the back of my mind i just wanted to be on time to meet Liz. You can imagine how i felt at that moment. A huge sigh of relief came. It had been found.
At the time whilst all this drama was happening, Liz was at the reception arguing with the receptionist that she had a reservation. They could not understand because i am the one who had done the reservation and they had put it under my name, even after explaining to them Liz was to join me. When she saw my face she was also relieved, i quickly told her of my ordeal and that i was rushing back to V&A to pick up my card. i would join her after that.
Since i had Ntando, i did not have to worry about my transport there. Remember there was congestion, people were going to bars and places where the game would be shown. I was anxious to get to my card, he negotiated with the lady who had my card, to meet us at the pick up / drop point. It was a huge risk on her part, at the same time it wouldn’t be easy to get parking somewhere and to navigate back. She described what she was wearing , and there she was standing at the entrance waiting for me. Ntando told me to run towards her because he was not going to wait. Emotions took over, i cried as i hugged her, i gave her a 50R note as appreciation, i thanked her for being so kind, as Ntando approached i rushed back and off we went back to Gold restaurant.
I had to pay him for all this up and downs we had done, i don’t remember how much it was, i was just grateful that he had saved my day, not only that but my trip.
That was the last day i saw Ntando. The day he was all the help i needed. On that day, i appreciated, that good people still exist. Despite the language barrier between us, he mixed English with Isizulu, he managed to help me. What an angel.
Sometimes, i think of how he is doing down there in Cape Town, if he is still a Uber driver. I am forever grateful to him and i just hope God blesses him. I hope to meet him again on my next trip.
This is just a tribute to him. If by any chance i get to meet him again. I am going to give him a link to this post, so that he can know how much i really appreciated all he did for me on October 28th.
Vickie 