Just Don't Feed The Baboons: Robben Island

The weather cleared up for the most part after the awful weather on Sunday for our trip to Robben Island on Monday. Actually the weather was quite strange. It was bright blue sky for hours and then it would rain heavily for ten minutes followed by another period of sunshine. Our tickets were scheduled for 3 o'clock so we chilled at the Waterfront for the early afternoon. The waterfront has a gigantic mall and I went for an epic search for a mug to bring back home. I came up empty handed though as it does not appear that the type of mug I want exists in South Africa. After the mall, Rosie and I had a severely overpriced lunch and then went to the fairy to take us over to the island.

The fairy help about 300 hundred people and seemed quite big. Even so, the swells of the Atlantic caused nausea for many of the tourists includes Rosie and myself. After a grueling half hour on the fairy, we stepped onto Robben Island.

The tour was broken up into 2 halves. The first half was the walking tour inside the prison. The second was a bus tour around the island. We did the walking part first. All of the tour guides are former inmates of Robben Island. His perspective was probably the best part of the whole experience. He explained the Afrikaans guards tried o create divisions within the prisoner community, especially with the political prisoners, so that they would fight against each other and not form a united front against apartheid. They censored mail, gave them different food, different clothes, different sleeping quarters- but the prisoners stayed united. On the tour we saw, Mandela's cell as well as some of the fields, yards and wards of the prison. While it was definitely a powerful experience, the tour moved very quickly and you didn't really have time to just stop and think, you were always on the move.

We then got on the bus for the second half of the tour. Before Robben Island was a prison, it was a leper colony back in the 17th century. It also served as a WWII outpost, none of the batteries were ever used but the island is covered in WWII weaponry and storage areas. What I found most shocking was that some of the former inmates and guards still live on the island. There is a school, a community center, as well as a church where people get married in every year (they have a life sentence hahaha).Unfortunately, while we were on the island Cape Town was covered by rain clouds so there were not awesome views.

On the way back, we decided to sit up on the top deck to get the fresh air. While it was freezing, we managed to avoid getting nauseous Unfortuntely, there is still no hot water in the house. When we got back, and we cold and tired we couldn't take the hot shower that we really wanted. Hopefully it gets fixed soon. Regardless,. it was a solid day, and if you visit Cape Town for any length of time Robben Island is a must on the checklist.

Today, I am finally seeing my friend from UCT. I think I'm staying over there in Mowbray tonight and tomorrow we're going to Stellenbsch- where all the vineyards and wine tastings are.