And we’re off on the final leg of our adventure: Cape Town!
Our expectations are fairly high since we’ve heard this is the more appealing
of the two major cities so fingers crossed. Easy drive to the airport where we
dropped off the car and hopped our Mango flight to Cape Town. We were on the left side of the plane and had
a gorgeous view as we flew in of False Bay, Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, and
Robben Island. In contrast to the natural beauty, it was really interesting to
see the disparity as we flew over mansions in the suburbs and then townships as
we neared the airport. A country still marked by separation to be sure.
Checked in to hotel and immediately took a cab to Victoria
& Alfred Waterfront. We planned ahead and bought tickets for the 3pm Robben
Island tour, leaving us enough time to grab a bite. We were going to find a
restaurant and have a leisurely lunch, but instead happened upon the V&A
Wharf Food Hall—much more our scene! Had a random sampling for lunch, there
were just so many stalls and a variety of food types to choose from, and
finished off with delicious ice cream—it’s summer down here after all!
Walked across a little bridge to the clock tower where there
is a museum and the departure point for Robben Island. There are a couple different boats they run
back and forth, but we ended up on the slow catamaran—took longer than the
others but offered really great views of Cape Town and honestly we weren’t in
an hurry and just enjoyed the hour long boat ride. We continued our safari
spirit by spotting lots of dolphins, seals, a few penguins and potentially a
few sharks as well as we made our way across the bay.
Upon arriving on Robben Island, we were told there were two parts to the tour:
the Prison tour & the bus tour. The
prison tour was led by a former inmate who was an ANC member who served seven
years and was released about the same time as Nelson Mandela. Really fascinating
to hear him talk—his most memorable moment was when the new prime minister took
over in 1990 and said he was releasing Mandela and was going to negotiate—they stayed
up all night singing and celebrating. Some facts about the prison itself:
- Divided into different wings (A-G) that had different groups associated—leaders in one, younger men in another, older men in another, etc.
- Leaders were kept in individual cells, others kept in communal cells
- Didn’t have beds for many years, slept on mats on the floor
- Prisoners were in groups based on their behavior and had different privileges as a result
- We learned about the identification cards they had as well as saw the outdoor garden are
.
The second part of the tour had us on a bus, driving around
the island and seeing some of the other buildings--
- Village where people live permanently on the island, but children have to go to the mainland for school
- Seashore where the prisoners were detailed to collect seaweed
- Lime quarry where prisoners had to work. It was detrimental to their health but also one of their favorite places, because they were outside and could convene where they otherwise couldn’t – the “first draft” of eventual constitution actually came out of those meetings!
- Robert Sobukwe’s house was a stop as well—letters from him were displayed around the house as well as details about his history and his family’s visits.
After a lovely (but long) ride home on the catamaran as the
sun started setting, we had a lowkey dinner on Bree Street at a restaurant
called Bocca. Small plates and wine were the perfect end to our first day in
Cape Town.
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