Tuesday, November 14th

Today is the day we have reservations to go to Robben Island to visit the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela was held for 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment. Both of us feel this is a very important part of South African history and something we want and need to experience. And so off we go to the Victoria & Albert Waterfront to the Nelson Mandela Gateway. Here there are exhibits about the island's history. This is also the boarding point for the 30-minute ferry trip to the island.

The island is north of Cape Town in Table Bay. It is 575 ha in size and at its closest point about 11 km from the mainland. For almost 400 years it has been used as a place to put the unwanted, politically and otherwise. The information brochure states:

"The island's unwilling inhabitants included slaves, political and religious leaders who opposed Dutch colonialism in East Asia, Khoikhoi and other African leaders who resisted British expansion in South Africa, leprosy sufferers, the sick, the mentally disturbed, French Vichy prisoners of war and, most recently, political opponents of the apartheid regime in South Africa and Namibia.

During the apartheid years Robben Island became internationally known for its institutional brutality. Some freedom fighters spent more than a quarter of a century in prison for their beliefs. Yet people such as Nelson Mandela emerged from here to lead South Africa to democracy with a message of tolerance, reconciliation and hope that moved the world."

It was a grey day. The ferry ride over was uneventful and the clouds began to let a little sunshine through. In addition to being a World Heritage Site for historic reasons, the island is also a World Heritage Site because of its colonies of African penguins (more than 60,000) and Cape fur seals, and we saw a few of each. But in terms of the flora it is covered in alien plants!

To handle the wheelchair we were loaded in a small van and joined by two other couples. The others in our group were loaded on large tour buses. So we got something of a personal tour of the island. Our tour guide was Thabo. He lives in the Langa township in Cape Town and travels to and from the island every workday. That's no easy feat in this city that has very limited public transportation. There are taxis and lots of them, both the kind we are familiar with in the States and vans in which as many people as possible are packed. And the drivers of these taxis are very loud, aggressive and often obnoxious. I have learned to give them plenty of room!

Many of the people working on the island are blacks, often referred to as the "previously disadvantaged." Given the nature of the most recent use of the island and given the very strong affirmative action program that seems to impact almost every aspect of South African society, this is not surprising.

Of note, the guides in the prison areas are former political prisoners. Ours, Erich Basson, had been imprisoned on Robben Island for 5 years. Interestingly there are some former wardens also working on the island. The result is that there is a small community on the island with a small school for the youngest kids. And some of the buildings are used as a conference center and guesthouses. There is work being done on a soon-to-be opened restaurant. It appears the restaurant's opening will go along with allowing visitors to walk around the island on their own. This is not possible at this time. Visitors are allowed only a little over two hours on the island before they must return to the ferry for the trip back to Cape Town. Maybe this is intended to prevent overcrowding on the ferries, which could happen if people were allowed to return at will. Hopefully this will change in the future.

We saw the house in which Robert Sobukwe (an early freedom fighter who helped form the Pan Africanist Congress) was isolated, the lime quarry where the prisoners were forced to work, the church for the male lepers, the fortifications used during WW II, the lighthouse, a shipwreck, the slate quarry, and of course the prison in which Nelson Mandela was held for 18 years. Erich painted a detailed picture of what life was like for blacks here. He didn't try to hide things or to be overly dramatic. And he did make it clear that there were good wardens and bad wardens. Nevertheless, these prisoners were denied their most basic rights as human beings. It is amazing so many survived as well as they did. How Nelson Mandela emerged from prison, after 27 years, with the presence and attitude he has is remarkable. For that the world should be thankful!

This is the sign over the entrance gate next to the dock.


This is part of the limestone quarry. It was an overcast day and so there was very little glare from the rock. The cave in the middle is where the prisoners were allowed to toilet. That ensured there was no way for anyone to slip away. One of the things the older prisoners did was write in the limestone to teach the younger prisoners. When the wardens came the writings were easily erased. What fight to maintain what one had!


This is Erich in one of the communal prison areas. He is holding an example of a prisoner's information card. On this card a prisoner is assigned to a category based on race. This determined what food you received, what clothes you wore, and what level of visitation/communication you were allowed.


This is Nelson Mandela's cell. The mat laid out on the floor in front of the blankets was his bed. The toilet was a bucket in the corner to the left of the bench.


And all too quickly it was time to board the ferry to return to Cape Town. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to sit and let things sink in. Such history and so meaningful in terms of what the country is dealing with presently. And Marcia was very disappointed that we didn't have time to visit the penguin boardwalk.

After lunch we roamed the waterfront some and then drove to Long Street and The African Music Store. I had a list of recommendations from Caitlin and was only limitedly successful in finding things. Later I chatted with her a bit more to get a better sense of the style of the artists she suggested. Guess that means a return trip is in order. We'll see what our time allows. This time in two weeks we will be back in Virginia. I can't believe it!

Edward & Marcia