A Portuguese photographer was held up at gunpoint early Wednesday and two other journalists were also robbed at the same World Cup hotel. Antonio Simoes said he woke around 4 A.M. and found two men entering his room at the Nutbush Boma Lodge outside of Magaliesburg, 120 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. “One of the guys pointed a hand gun at my head, and then they took all my gear – cameras, lenses, laptop,” said Simoes, who works for the Portuguese daily O Jogo. “Then they told me to lie on the bed and they covered me with a blanket, pressed the gun against my head and told me to sleep. “The whole thing took one or two minutes, but it felt like hours,” Simoes told The Associated Press. Simoes said the three cameras and gear the thieves stole was worth about $35,000. They also took cash as well as his passport and a pair of jeans. The photographer said he stayed in bed for a while after being robbed, too scared to move and worrying about what was happening in the other rooms. Spanish journalist Miguel Serrano, who works for the Spanish sports newspaper Marca, and Rui Gustavo Morais were also robbed, but they slept through it. The three were sharing a three-bedroom lodge. Lt. Colonel Leon Engelbrecht of the South African Police Service confirmed that police were looking for two suspects, but would not say whether any arrests had been made. Serrano said police had told him one suspect had already been arrested. The remote four-star lodge is 15 kilometers from the Portugal team's base camp. Serrano said about 20 journalists covering the Portugal team are staying at the Nutbush, and that they had previously raised concerns about hotel safety. Spain and Portugal have been training in Magaliesburg, a sleepy, scenic town about an hour north of Johannesburg.Several photographers covering the World Cup have also reported equipment being stolen from their baggage upon arrival at O.R. Tambo Airport, the main gateway to Johannesburg. Meanwhile, South Africa whipped itself into a World Cup frenzy as the national side paraded through Johannesburg and holder Italy flew in to defend its crown, two days before the kick-off. Tens of thousands lined the streets of the Sandton business district to hail Bafana Bafana (the Boys), draping themselves in flags and honking ear-splitting vuvuzela trumpets as the team waved at them from an open-top bus. There were similar scenes throughout Johannesburg, as office workers left their buildings and lined the streets to blow vuvuzelas and wave South African flags, as passing cars tooted their horns. Some wore clown wigs in national colors, and others had makarapas – hard hats carved and painted into the shape of footballers and flags. Schoolchildren were dismissed at midday for a special month-long World Cup holiday, bringing many youngsters onto the sidewalk with their parents for the festivities. The noise from the plastic vuvuzela horns, set to become one of the main talking points of the tournament, drowned out all conversation – including attempts by television journalists to deliver two-way reports to their studio. Thousands also poured into the streets of Cape Town to answer a call on the radio to blow their vuvuzelas at lunchtime.
