Cape Town- Robben Island

Another must do while in South Africa is to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for about 20 years. This island is extremely popular with tourists, and we had to wait for half an hour to buy the tickets. The journey to the island lasts for half an hour, and the sea was not that rough. I took an anti nausea pill, but it just made me sleepy. But keep it in your backpack just in case you need it. while you're on your way to the ship, sometimes you can see seals at the harbour. They will mind their own business and sometimes will just lie in the sun. I managed to catch one seal pooping, and just to let you guys know, their poop is watery green in color! You can also get an amazing view of Cape Town from the ship:







Once you reach the island, you will have to walk to the prison. it doesn't take long, about 10-20 minutes. The guide himself was a former prisoner, and we all listened to the history of the island from one of the common rooms in the prison. I don't remember much of the history, but he did say that some of the prison guards used to torture the prisoners, and some were sympathetic towards the prisoners. All of these prisoners were either black or colored (mixed marriage between blacks and whites). Most of them were imprisoned because they opposed the apartheid rule at the time. and they had such a bad life. I think they couldn't even write letters to their families, let alone see them. When i listened to the tour guide, i felt sad that him and the others were treated that way. but in the end he said that he did not have angry feelings towards the guards as it doesn't do him any good. he still keeps in contact with some of them, and they have told him they felt remorseful for what they did to them.



After that, he brought us out to the prison compound to show us pictures of the political prisoners (left), and the middle picture showed them at work in the compound. i forgot what they were doing, but they were shackled all the time. After that, we were shown the dining room, the bathroom and also Nelson Mandela's prison cell:

Its hard to take a good picture of the cell because everyone was jostling to see it. They were only given one blanket in the winter, and they had to wear shorts, so you can imagine how cold it is. There is no bed, just a pad so they can sleep on the floor.
There was also a tour of the entire island by bus. The island was self sufficient. There were houses for the guards, a church, tennis court, and even a leper graveyard. we were also taken to the quarry where the prisoners worked during the daytime. After the end of the apartheid, nelson mandela and gang went back to island for a visit. At the quarry site, there will be a pile of stones left by the prisoners, a symbol for them that they will never be imprisoned here again.