Wonders of the World Cup Nations: Group A – South Africa, France, Uruguay and Mexico

World Cup Group A nations

Like millions of others I’m counting down the days till the start of the football World Cup in South Africa on June 11th. Once the final 32 qualifying countries were decided, I was looking at the list and thinking of which ones I had visited, which ones where on my immediate to-do list, and which I knew little about but would like to discover more.

The idea behind this post/series of posts is to collect some of the best off-beat facts about each of the 32 participating countries. So if you’ve visited the countries in question, tell us why they are unique destinations and what you found there that stuck in your memory; the quirkier the better.

We’ll start with Group A today, which features South Africa, France, Uruguay and Mexico. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited all four of these countries (there are other groups where I have to admit to a complete blank). So here’s my starting facts; I’m hoping others will chip in with their experiences too.

This is a robot

South Africa

It’s got to be the robot. It was a strange picture that I painted when I picked up our rental car and the receptionist told us to head for the first robot, turn left then look for another robot after half a mile. Expecting to see giant Tranformer type characters in the streets of Cape Town, I was relieved to learn that robots are in fact nothing more or less than a humble traffic light.

France

Perhaps my biggest surprise about the French is the carefully choreographed etiquette that exists in public encounters, and which visitors would be well advised to follow. Walking into a shop? You should always greet the shop assistant before starting to browse. Finished your dinner in a small local restaurant? It is not unusual to bid farewell to the other diners on your way out. This ritual is probably confined to the smaller more traditional communities, but is a very endearing spectactle to observe.

Fray Bentos

Uruguay

One highight stood out for me here: Fray Bentos. To generations of British folk the name is synonymous with cheap pies, packed (or not) with processed meat and a handy part of the student diet. Little do most people know that Fray Bentos is actually a large city in Uruguay that made its living processing meat. Today the good times have passed Fray Bentos by as the meat business has left town, but for those who travel through this country and who grew up on these tinned delights, the sight of the name on the side of the road will raise an eyebrow.

Church in Valladolid

Mexico

A few days at a convention in Cancun doesn’t really qualify me to speak about Mexico, but on a drive out to Chichen Itza I did get to see a little of the Mexican countryside. One thing that stuck in my memory? The provincial churches. Beautifully decorated and so well cared for, these are the focal points of the local communities. They also offer a welcome relief from the midday sun, surrounded as they are by low-rise blocks. The one place I did stop in for a while was the charming town of Valladolid, and as a Mexico newbie I was startled that I could have walked straight onto a film set of any Antonio Banderas movie!

If you have visited any of these four countries, feel free to share your most unusual memories here.