April 13, 2013
What is a weekend without a night out on the town, before getting up at 8am to go on a bike tour? While the two are clearly contrasting activities, together they made for a very interesting (and bonding) weekend.
Movida- where tequila and under-age DJs reign...
The next morning, with McDonald's egg mcmuffins in hand, we headed to Soweto to partake in a 4-hour bike tour of the area.
Soweto (South Western Townships) is literally 10 minutes from Johannesburg, yet it feels like a world away. Which I guess was exactly the intent, when it was first formed. As part of Apartheid planning, blacks were relocated here from Johannesburg neighbourhoods (which were to be occupied by whites only); the planning did not include much in the way of infrastructure. Today the townships houses millions of people; according to the local resident that lead our bike tour, the population is estimated to be around 3 million.
It goes without saying that there is a lot of deep rooted history in Soweto. Some of the key players include:
1. Hector Pieterson -the 13-year old boy who was the second child to lose his life when police opened fire to protesting students, later known as the Soweto Uprising, which started on June 16, 1976.
2. Desmond Tutu- the human rights activist who has never turned to violence to make his point, yet is known the world over.
3. Nelson Mandela- the first black South African President, and the face of anti-aparthaid for South Africa (and was imprisoned on Robben Island, Cape Town for 27 years as a result).
Locals in and around a shebeen (unlicensed bar), and the famous Hector Pieterson photo
Exploring the townships on two wheels
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