Spanning the Globe

No one ate squidheads…

After our breakfast and private fiddle serenade at The Nest, we began our 6-hour trek to Potchefstroom “not in any particular hurry.” After realizing that no one had any local currency, we decided to make a stop at a little bank in Bethlehem. South African efficiency was at its peak- it only took Dr. Stromberg forty minutes to exchange $200 USD. After securing enough funds to continue our trip, we hit the road again, still in “no particular hurry.” Six hours later we arrived in Potchefstroom having never stopped to eat lunch or make use of any comfort facilities.

After checking in to the Willows Garden Hotel (our highest rated accommodations yet), we met with Dr. Brad Flett, summer grains plant pathologist at the ARC here in Potchefstroom. He led us to his home where he and his family welcomed us with another sumptuous South African braai. We dined on more boerwors (“farmers’ sausage”), lamb chops, beef kabobs, pickled beets, vegetable salad, and a corn meal casserole called something that sounded like “pop-tart” (we’ll get the recipe) that was actually made of corn meal and tasted like scalloped potatoes. After stuffing ourselves again, we headed back to the Willows for a good night’s sleep.

Tuesday morning Brad met us at the hotel again and took us to the ARC where he works. This branch of the ARC is called the Summer Grains Institute. Alex McDonald, section leader for Crop Protection, gave us an overview of the organization of the institute. We also met with Driekie Fourie, nematologist; Tom Drinkwater, entomologist; Maryka Craven, soybean and maize pathologist; Charlotte Mienie, molecular biologist; and Godfree Chigedza the sunflower breeder. Sunflowers are the primary edible oil crop in South Africa and the second-largest in planted hectares. We really enjoyed getting to tour the impressive facilities provided at this location.

Brad took us to lunch at a local seafood restaurant called the “Fishmonger” – located just off the campus of the local university. Even though the menu offered many exotic treats, such as squidheads, three of us chose to eat chicken. The others had hake (a local whitefish) and chips.

In the evening, we finished up the last two modules of First Detector Training.

1. Robyn is not allowed to eat exotic treats!
   Posted by  on  03/14  at  11:04 AM
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