April 13

Among all the other wonderful things Shelley has managed is the weather. Although rain has been forecast for several days now, the sky has remained blue sprinkled only with some amazing fluffy cloud formations. 

Gila needed her her coffee this morning, so once she was ready, we headed out for a small coffee place on Main called Brew. Gila finally had a delicious cappuccino and chocolate muffin. I still felt rocky from the day before and chose just to keep her company. Today was our trip to Robben Island. I had been coughing all night and Gila was concerned about my catching pneumonia on the ferry across, but there was no question that I would go on this outing.


We returned to the Waterfront for the ride across. The sailing was very smooth and provided us with the view of Cape Town from the water. The mountains, especially Table Mountain predominate. The city sprawls, glittering. A fog appears to be slowly climbing the lower reaches of the mountain. We see otters and  seals swimming in the harbour and a southern right whale with its baby further out. The entrance to the island is foreboding as the entire pier is lined with pointed and conical concrete blocks. It looks like the solid form of barbed wire.

As grim as it was, it had a sanitized feeling, spartan but clean and orderly. Our guide was a former inmate of the prison. In total, fourteen of the guides had been imprisoned on the island. I love the irony. The man was very welcoming and seemed proud to be able to tell the visitors of the difficult and unfair way of life the inmates were subjected to. He didn't talk at us, but rather walked among us and tried to make us interact with him as well. He was able to make his presentation in a light humerous manner. He described his crime and those of most of the others as terrorism but made it clear that these men were not terrorists. An interesting distinction. Although I know he was speaking English, he was very difficult to understand and Shelley had to translate for us a number of times. We were told of the reception of inmates, the way in which the guards tried to create enmity among the prisoners by giving some proper clothing and others only shorts and sandals, how the Asians and coloureds received slightly better food than the blacks, the methods of torture and the solidarity that developed among the prisoners nonetheless. We walked through the the different cell blocks, saw Mandela's cell and walked through the various work yards. The passageways were dark and narrow, the cells claustrophobically small and everything was surrounded by barbed wire. The daily life there was in direct opposition to the beautiful day and the tourists enjoying an excursion. 

The second half of our visit consisted of a bus tour of the island. Although Gila would have dearly loved to have gotten off the bus at each stop for photos, she had to content herself with shots through the window. The guide kindly explained that the tour was only 45 minutes in length but if everyone left the bus for pictures, it would take until seven in the evening. Robben Island was once a leper colony. We stopped at the leper graveyard that seemed well maintained compared to the few markers of deceased prisoners. Most families were allowed to take home the bodies of their loved ones for burial.

We saw houses built for the guards and for the military, a building that housed the school, the warden's house and the church. There is also a power generating facility on the island meaning that it is not subject to load shedding, the temporary planned blackouts due to high usage. In all, there are about 250 residents on the island today. Along with the sights we were told the history of the island as far back as the mid sixteen hundreds when it was a prison for the Portuguese. Although the stories of the conditions were horrendous, it did not have the same effect as my visits to concentration camps where the purpose was not to debase inmates but to murder them.

We had been due to return by 3:00 but the boat was delayed because it could not sail until it was full. Our plans then underwent a slight adjustment. Instead of having lunch at the waterfront, we drove right to Table Mountain intending to have a snack there and view the city from the top of the mountain. As we drove, a front was moving in and the wispy clouds just kissing the mountains were becoming heavy cloud cover enveloping the mountain.

I had a ginger iced tea and a sandwich to hold me until dinner and by the time we began to circle the mountain top for bird's eye views of Cape Town, the fog had already limited the visibility. There are numerous picture with houses popping through gaps in the clouds. The plants have been allowed to grow all around the walkways and lookout areas have been incorporated on all sides of the mountain. The one animal we saw was called a dassie. It is about the size of a bunny but resembles a very furry rodent. We were told that the closest relative was the elephant. Given the size differential, I find that hard to believe. As we came down the cable car an hour or so later, the city became visible once more but now under a cloud covered sky.

For dinner we went to Mama Africa, a restaurant with live music. This evening the entertainment was provided by an African marimba group. Unfortunately, our table was at the back and the noise in the restaurant made it difficult to fully appreciate the music. The menu was all traditional African food, but the absolute best was the dessert, banana flambé. It consisted of a banana fried in butter and covered with an amarula sauce and ice cream. It was brought to the table aflame and the fusion of the hot liqueur sauce, the sweet fried bananas, and frozen ice cream was intense and delicious. I am looking to buy a bottle at the duty free shop to take home with me. By nine o'clock I could barely keep my eyes open and before my head even hit the pillow I was fast asleep.