June 9, Robben Island and Waterfront

I'm just going to warn my readers that this is going to be a pretty long post. It's hard to talk about Robben Island without going into the details and stories. It may get somewhat graphic, but I'm only describing the truth of what happened on the island.

Sunday morning we woke fairly early, around 7 am, so we could get to the harbor on time to catch the ferry to Robben Island. As we arrived to the harbor we walked over the the "entrance way" to Robben Island (where the ferry picked us up). We boarded the ferry and made our way to the island. Of course I started to feel sea sick while we were on the ferry, so I went to the outside part and let the fresh air hit my face. It made me feel a little better. On our way to the island we saw penguins, seals, and dolphins. No sharks though, sadly. As we reached the island I started to gain a feel of excitement but sadness at the same time. We walked to our bus that was going to take us on the first part of our tour, the driving tour. We made stops at all of the significant parts of the island. One of them was the limestone quarry, where Nelson Mandela was forced to work. Most of the men who worked there eventually became blind or had problems with their eyes because they had nothing to cover their eyes, which allowed the limestone to get in them. Nelson Mandela has sensitive eyes and has destroyed tear ducts, which restricted people from using flash photography around him. We also stopped at the smallest prison on the island, which was built to house one man. Robert Sobukwe, former leader of the PAC, was placed in a single man prison because the guards thought that Robert was good an provoking and instigating, and they were afraid he would influence the other prisoners. He died in his fifties.

Robert Sobukwe's prison

After seeing many sites on the island, we stopped for a quick break. We were able to get a perfect view of table mountain. The waves were crashing onto the rocks just below us and the the water was SO BLUE! It was beautiful, and what a shame that these prisoners kept on the island never got to see this beautiful water and view while in the prison.

 

Jenny and I

After going on the driving tour, we went into the maximum security prison, which is where Nelson Mandela was kept. The man who led our tour was actually one of the former prisoners in the maximum security prison on the island. The first room we went into was the first stop for most prisoners. There used to be bunk beds in rows across the entire room. That's where the prisoners spent most of their time, and later they were moved to single cells. The first set of single cells we came to had single pieces of paper hanging on the walls. On the paper was a story about one of the prisoners who stayed in that cell. The story I read was quite sad. The man, or boy I should say, was very young when he was sentenced to Robben Island. Part of his job at the prison was to fill a wheelbarrow with rocks and push it to the dump zone. The boy wasn't quite strong enough and could not push the wheelbarrow. The guards laughed at him and decided to punish him. They dug a pit in the ground and told him to get in it. they buried him up to his neck in dirt and sand. Only his head was sticking out of the ground. They then made the other men urinate on him. This helpless man was buried and could not move while these men tortured him. They then unburied him and put him in the wheelbarrow. They then sodomized him. I felt so sad and disgusted after reading this story. I didn't understand why such horrible things had to happen to people who were there because they were political prisoners, not criminals. Hearing these stories makes you truly appreciate the life that you have been given.

 

Former prisoner/tour guide

 

Throughout the next parts of the tour we got to see the courtyards and much more. The final part of the tour was Nelson Mandela's cell. I pushed my way up front so I would be able to get a good picture of it. It was so small. The bed was on the floor and there was barely anything in the rest of the cell. It amazes me still that this man lived in that tiny cell for so many years, and when he was finally released he had no anger toward the men who kept him there. You would have to be a wonderful person to forgive the men who tortured so many of the people in that prison.

Nelson Mandela's cell

Although the tour was very depressing, which in a sense it is meant to be; on the other hand, it was a great story, because in the end the men were released and it was like a story of triumph. For the last 10 minutes or so on the island we walked over to the penguin boardwalk. I got to see some super cute African Penguins which made my day less sad. On our way back to the mainland I got splashed by lots of sea water, mainly because the waves were kind of big. This British couple went to the front of the boat (near where we were sitting) and pretended to be Jack and Rose from The Titanic, where they stand on the edge of the boat with their arms out. It was super cute so I felt like I needed to mention it.

Penguin Boardwalk

Hard to see, but it's an African penguin

For the rest of our day we stayed at the harbor. We ate at a very American restaurant that had steak and burgers. We then decided to go shopping, yayyyy! We went to this store called The African Trading Post. They had some amazing stuff in this store. Everything in the store was made in Africa, and they had a whole section upstairs of huge statues and bowls and such that weren't even for sale. Everything was beautifully crafted and a lot was made out of ebony. I found some amazing things for my friends and family in this store. I'm extremely happy with my purchases to say the least. After that we went to a craft and wellness market. I thought it was kind of strange that they put crafts and wellness in the same place. A lot of the shops were really cool and most of the stuff was handmade. There was this one shop that had mosaic things like plates, bowls, crosses, and much more all made out of crushed ostrich egg. They were absolutely beautiful and the money went to the single mothers that made them. I thought it was an interesting business concept. Another thing that I saw there, that seems to be very popular down here, was carved ostrich eggs that are made into lights. They are soooo pretty, and if I can I definitely want to buy one to bring home.  After the market we headed over to the big ferris wheel by Waterfront Mall and listened to some live music that was being played there. Jenny and I ended up buying the CD. I let her keep it though since all I really wanted was the music on my computer (I don't really use CDs anymore). It was a marimba band, so the music was very cheerful and upbeat. All of my other roommates joined us a little later and we went and got ice cream, then watched the band some more.

After a long eventful day, full of a lot of different emotions, we headed home. I went to bed fairly early that night since the day wore me out. The week was about to begin so I definitely needed the rest.

xoxo,

Alexandra