PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

After getting back from Robben Island, I just really wanted to sit around and do nothing. I didn’t want to go out and get crazy but instead I was kind of content with myself and just needed some time to reflect on what I had seen at the prison. However, there was no time for this. I got back on the ship and sure enough there was Team Dance. I hadn’t seen her for a few days and she said we were going to watch some live music and some drum circle.
What we got was much more than music. We met these cool guys that were from South Africa and were struggling musicians just finishing up with college. Sean and Dylan were musicians and Sean and Mike were sound engineers. They all lived together and were just chill guys that liked to make fun of our accents and tell us about South Africa. They drove us all over the city and never once asked for any money. We refused to let them pay for food anywhere we stopped, but considering how much we drove around, I think we got the better end of the deal. The music at the River Club was amazing. We paid about $2 to get into the concert and it was 5 sets that we got to hear. The best was the headliner, Tait. They remind me somewhat of Mae and I liked them a lot. They were really cool and gave away free CDs at the end of their show. The guy that played third was from the UK and he was a solo pianist. Jo Robbins had a soft voice and could play piano like it was his job.
From the River Club we decided to go to another bar to play pool and close down the place. As expected, upon arrival, I went straight to the locals and found some really cool guys that I cant pronounce their names but we talked about pool and the differences between the US and South Africa. They were really interesting because they were black but extremely educated which is rarer than you would think in this country. The night finished with us making fun of all the girls clinging to one of the South African guys while Dan and I just tried to keep Anna from biting everyone in the bar. You know how she gets sometimes. Learned some new trick shots in pool and left “The Shack” sometime around 3am. It was a good night and South Africa was barely half way over.