Beautiful walk down to the waterfront Waterclock, at V&A Harbour. We line up inside the Robben Island Museum, wait forever, and after the security check, we walk back outside to the Waterclock, over a small bridge, over to the catamaran. Kinda silly line-up system, but hey, who cares, the waters are calm and we are going.
The boat takes about an hour to cross the 12 km. The tour takes around 2.5 hours, and we see the entire complex. Our guide is a former prisoner named Jama, who was from Port Elizabeth, and was sent there because he was a letter writer leader sympathetic to the anti-apartheid cause. That's about all we were told. We didn't find out whether or not he knew Nelson is his five years there, but he probably didn't. There were all segregated, depending on who they were. He was in Group Block F I think.
The group blocks, Groups D/E/F, is where prisoners stayed in blocks of 30 to 40. Then there were the solitary confinement blocks, Block A/B/C, where they were on their own in their own cells. We get to see the garden, where Mandela took care of the plants, and wrote his book "The Long Road To Freedom". By probably digging deep into the dirt, he somehow hid his autobiographical manuscripts in the garden, unbeknownst to the head honchos. These manuscripts were somehow smuggled out in 1978?? by others who were freed, ones who had served their time.
Mandela's cell is the only one with a bed, small furniture, and other little things. It is the fourth cubicle on the right hand side of Block B when you walk in. Very, very small. Not much to say, except of course it is a pretty surreal feeling. The pictures will most likely never get it justice.
After the block part of the tour, we left our beloved Jama, and went on bus tour of the entire island. The leper colony cemetery, the limestone quarries, and the village that today services the tours.
What a view looking back onto Cape Town with the imposing Table Mountain in the backdrop!!
Wow ... that's all there is to say. The boat back was nice and peaceful again ... another pretty much perfect day, except I accidentally stepped into a water hole before getting my picture taken with the scenic backdrop of Table Mt. behind me. That's ok though .... my right shoe and sock are almost dry by now.
I'll wear sandals tomorrow .... I'll have a nice wander around downtown Cape Town tomorrow I suppose. Lots to see still from distant memory. It's very nice not to need a map around here, although I must say the amount of construction around the V&A Waterfront area is pretty staggering. I thought they would have been done by the time the 2010 World Cup of Football/Soccer came around.
Wrong again. Too bad.
The boat takes about an hour to cross the 12 km. The tour takes around 2.5 hours, and we see the entire complex. Our guide is a former prisoner named Jama, who was from Port Elizabeth, and was sent there because he was a letter writer leader sympathetic to the anti-apartheid cause. That's about all we were told. We didn't find out whether or not he knew Nelson is his five years there, but he probably didn't. There were all segregated, depending on who they were. He was in Group Block F I think.
The group blocks, Groups D/E/F, is where prisoners stayed in blocks of 30 to 40. Then there were the solitary confinement blocks, Block A/B/C, where they were on their own in their own cells. We get to see the garden, where Mandela took care of the plants, and wrote his book "The Long Road To Freedom". By probably digging deep into the dirt, he somehow hid his autobiographical manuscripts in the garden, unbeknownst to the head honchos. These manuscripts were somehow smuggled out in 1978?? by others who were freed, ones who had served their time.
Mandela's cell is the only one with a bed, small furniture, and other little things. It is the fourth cubicle on the right hand side of Block B when you walk in. Very, very small. Not much to say, except of course it is a pretty surreal feeling. The pictures will most likely never get it justice.
After the block part of the tour, we left our beloved Jama, and went on bus tour of the entire island. The leper colony cemetery, the limestone quarries, and the village that today services the tours.
What a view looking back onto Cape Town with the imposing Table Mountain in the backdrop!!
Wow ... that's all there is to say. The boat back was nice and peaceful again ... another pretty much perfect day, except I accidentally stepped into a water hole before getting my picture taken with the scenic backdrop of Table Mt. behind me. That's ok though .... my right shoe and sock are almost dry by now.
I'll wear sandals tomorrow .... I'll have a nice wander around downtown Cape Town tomorrow I suppose. Lots to see still from distant memory. It's very nice not to need a map around here, although I must say the amount of construction around the V&A Waterfront area is pretty staggering. I thought they would have been done by the time the 2010 World Cup of Football/Soccer came around.
Wrong again. Too bad.
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