lost in the fog: a rambling night in clocolan

you know that feeling when you stumble into a town and immediately feel like you\'ve stepped into someone else\'s dream? that\'s clocolan. the kind of place where the air smells like rain and woodsmoke even when it\'s not raining. i rolled in around dusk, gps glitching like it was drunk, and the first thing i noticed was the silence. thick, heavy silence. like the town was holding its breath.

i just checked and it\'s 17.45°c there right now, feels like 17.55°c, humidity at 88%. basically, sweater weather with a side of existential dread. perfect for wandering.

"don\'t trust the butcher shop after 6pm,"

some guy in a beanie told me at the petrol station. "they\'ll sell you biltong that\'s seen better days." i didn\'t ask for this info, but i appreciated the warning.

i ended up at a place called the rusty spade. no website, no reviews, just a flickering neon sign and the smell of something frying. the owner, a woman named gail, served me a plate of something that might have been chicken or might have been a small bird with an identity crisis. either way, it was delicious.

if you get bored, ladybrand and ficksburg are just a short drive away. i heard ladybrand has a killer secondhand bookstore, and ficksburg is apparently the cherry capital of the world. who knew?

i spent the night in a guesthouse that looked like it hadn\'t been updated since the 80s. floral curtains, a kettle that screamed when you boiled it, and a radio that only picked up one station playing soft rock ballads. i didn\'t mind. it felt like home, if home was a place i\'d never been before.

*the next morning, i walked to the edge of town where the hills started. the fog was so thick i could barely see my own feet. someone told me that\'s when the ghosts come out. i didn\'t see any, but i did find a broken watch on the ground. stopped at 3:17. coincidence? maybe. but i\'m keeping it anyway.

pro tip:* if you\'re ever in clocolan, bring a book, a raincoat, and low expectations. you\'ll leave with stories you didn\'t know you needed.

for more on the eastern free state, check out clocolan tourism or local eats.