Robben Island (a.k.a. Christmas in Cape Town pt. 2)

Note: This first intro was written by TED - not me: During our visit to Cape Town, we visited Robin Island. I did not see a single Robin. In fact, I did not see any Cardinals or Blue Jays (known accomplices of Robins). I did see a Penguin. Go figure...

Now, a more serious intro: Robben Island is just off the coast of Cape Town, in an Alkatraz-like manner. It has been home to a number of different types of things, most of them not good. The most famous is the prison where the apartheid govt. of South Africa imprisoned leaders and activists of the African National Congress. The most famous of these is of course Nelson Mandela. He spent 27 (or so) years there. The boat ride to the island is about 45 minutes long. We were on one of the boats they actually used to use to haul prisoners back and forth. After arriving, they take you on a quick bus ride around the whole island. You see the prison from the outside, as well as the mines where the prisoners worked. They worked digging limestone out of the side of a big hole every day. They were not allowed sunglasses, and the stone was so bright it was hard to look at for just a few minutes. Needless to say, it ruined the eyesight of many of the men, including Mandela.

Below is one of the more moving scenes from the island. Some years back, Mandela and many of the former "residents" of the island went back for a reunion of sorts. When they visited the mine, Mandela took a stone and dropped it on the ground, followed by the others. A makeshift memorial to so many years of pain and suffering.

Our tour guide is standing in the doorway in the pink shirt. He, and all the other tour guides, are all former "residents", which is the highlight of the experience as far as I am concerned. The room we are in here was his cell - that he shared with 30-40 other men. He talked about his experiences and how they continually worked to keep each other's spirits up and to undermine the prison authorities. One thing that stands out in my mind is that they all shared everything they had. The guards would try to divide them by allowing some more favors and books and such than others, but they were all so committed to each other that when one person got something, it became group property immediately. He referred to his fellow residents as "comrades". They also kept each other's spirits up by playing soccer. Our guide said his team was referred to as the "international squad" because they happened to have 2 men from Botswana and 1 man from Zimbabwe on the team.

All of the ANC leadership, including Mandela of course, were kept separate from the rank & file ANC members, in a (futile) effort to keep the ANC from continuing its work from inside the prison. Our guide said he saw Mandela once in the prison, and talked about how gracious Mandela was, he asked how our guide was doing and seeming genuinely concerned. Below is Mandela's cell - an individual cell in the maximum secuirty section of the prison. Unfortunately, you just had to file through and look at it quickly - not a lot of time to stand and reflect on it.

Below is the last room of the tour. Previously, it was the Study Room and Guard station for the Maximum Security portion of the prison. Mandela was able to write letters and read in this area for an hour a day during his confinement. It is now used to allow visitors to ask questions before the boat ride back.

Below is us with our guide. I hate that we never got his name. Ted would like to point out that he and Trey also met two other former prisoners when they had to walk through the prison to find a bathroom for Trey.

And, last and also least in this case: Ted's penguin. This one was hanging out inside the prison grounds. Not sure how it survives. I guess the penguin is sort of metaphorical now that I think about it.