Robben Island - June 16th

We woke up this morning around 11am - let's just say we were pretty tired from our day yesterday. The sun was shinning, partly cloudy, but NO RAIN - YEAH!! We decided to cab it over to the V & A Waterfront for lunch before heading to Robben Island. We didn't have that much time so we grab "take aways" - kind of like 'fast food', but not a chain like McDonald's, just a person with a sign that says Take Aways. Well, Tony & I decided to go with the hamburger, while Tim & Ali got something they thought was a chicken wrap. Mine & Tony's 'burger' was not good!! Actually, it was pretty disgusting, while Ali & Tim's chicken wrap thing had curry in it and the pita wrap thing around it was really good!! So we helped them finish that up.

We got on to ferry that takes you over to Robben Island, but first a little history about Robben Island:

"This island was a place of banishment from the beginning of the 15th Century. It's best know for the place where political prisoner were jailed during the apartheid era, the most famous of whom is Nelson Mandela. Robben Island became 'the University' where hundreds of young activists were taught by Mandela & his older friends - & where some prisoners obtained university degrees through correspondence study. Some prisoners remained there until 1990 & then Robben Island was transformed into a museum after 1994."

The Ferry ride had amazing views of Table mountain (a little cloudy that day, but cool), Lions Head (the pointed mountain) & if you look closely, you can see Greenpoint Stadium between Table mountain & Lions Head. However, Tony did not take the Ferry ride very good. It felt like we were on a roller coaster because how much we were being tossed up & down, left & right - it was crazy. Poor guy got a little sick, but felt MUCH better when we got off the ferry. I felt so bad for him.

When we got off the ferry we were put on a bus that drove us around the island with the most knowledgeable & friendliest tour guide - MP. We saw the small town that is on the island: a church, a school that only has 2 teachers & 18 kids, the guest house, & all the other houses.

We then drove to the end of the island that was closest to Cape Town & had the most amazing views. It was truly incredible:

Then we drove to where they had the political prisoners do hard labor for no reason. They had them brake the limestone rocks, which eventually cause many to have lung cancer & poor eyesight. They were told the braking of the rocks would only take 6 months, but they ended up doing it for 18 years. Below is the picture of the huge hole that they created from doing this useless work:

From there we headed to the maximum security prison where Mandela was at. Our tour guide for inside the prison was actually a prisoner that was sentence for 25 years however did 5 1/2 years because Apartheid had ended. He told us his story how he was arrested for speaking out, his experience in prison, how he felt when he was released, & his hopes for South Africa. It was unbelievable to hear this man speak & share his experience. Doing the tour we saw:

Where the prisoners played soccer:

A room where they kept 60 men as well as many different cells:

And finally, Mandela's cell #4:

After leaving the prison we only had literally 15 minutes to get to the ferry & this was the very last ferry that left Robben Island. However, there was still 1 last section of the island that we wanted to see - Penguin Boardwalk. There were a ton of penguins, supposedly, walking around the island at this boardwalk. We actually had seen a few hidden in the bushes, however, I really wanted to see them ALL. SO.....Tony & I literally ran down to the boardwalk, found more hidden in brushes, & then saw them all out on the beach. We took one picture & then heard the ferry horn blow. We turned around, ran as fast as I could, and just in time, we got in line to hop on the ferry - thank goodness. I must say though, it was well worth seeing th0se South African penguins (a.k.a. Jackass Penguins), they were just so cute!

The ferry ride was even more rough then before, & right when we got off, Tony had to run to the edge of the pier &, well, let's just say, get everything out that didn't agree with him. I felt so bad! After that display, we walked off the pier & there were huge seals just hanging out up on it. It was so crazy!! They were all just sleeping.

We then found a small place to eat on the harbor at the V & A Waterfront for dinner. There wasn't too much of a choice, either calamari, prawns, or fried fish & that's basically what we got, as you can see the prawns are a little different then what we think of in Chicago. During dinner many vuvuzela's were blowing as South Africa prepared themselves for their 2nd game. We decided tonight to get out of the crowd & head back to our apartment to watch South Africa play. We're sorry to see them loss. After that we went to bed....zzzzzzzz