Robben Island, the Cape of Good Hope and the Orlando Pirates

While we've been reluctant to write about it as a part of this blog, race and racism are a fundamental part of the story of South Africa.  As we met South Africans over the course of our travels, we were surprised with their honesty regarding apartheid and the post-apartheid era.  To condense it in a sentence: not a single person living in South Africa was not impacted in 1994, when the country's first free elections were held and Nelson Mandela was elected the first president of the Republic of South Africa.

 

Our 2nd full day in Cape Town would give us an opportunity to learn more about Mandela as we would be visiting Robben Island.  While today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site, it was once a prison for political prisoners and Nelson Mandela was kept there for 18 of his 27 years of captivity. 

 

After another luxurious breakfast at Cape Grace, we walked to the Robben Island Museum on the  Waterfront and boarded the first ferry to the island.  We took some photos of Cape Town from the water on our 45 minute journey.

 

 

Arriving at Robben Island, we departed the boat and walked to the prison compound.  Our tour guide walked us through the prison into one of the dormitories.

 

He revealed to us that he, and the other tour guides at Robben Island, were all once kept there as political prisoners.  It certainly caught everyone's attention as he told us which was his bed in the impossibly small cell where over 30 men were held.

 

He then took us to a hallway with individual cells, being sure to point out the one where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years.

 

After that part of the tour was completed, we boarded a bus to drive around the island and see the other sites.

 

The old graveyard.

 

The lone church, which is still used by the island's residents.

 

The school, also still active.

 

Jackass Penguins (because of the sound that they make)

 

Table Mountain from Robben Island

 

The prison, as viewed from the pier.

 

Pictures of Robben Island and Cape Town on our journey back to the mainland.

 

The World Cup Soccer Stadium

 

The Visitor's Center at the top of Table Mountain

 

 

We walked back to Cape Grace and enjoyed a quick lunch in the Library.  As usual, the service and food were excellent.  We then hired a car to take us to the Cape of Good Hope.  Our driver, Jerome, was an incredible guy.  A former professional soccer player (he was a Kaizer Chief in JoBurg as well as an MLS player in the US) we had a great conversation with him on the 90 minute drive down the Cape.  The scenery along the water was absolutely spectacular.

 

 

 

The Cape of Good Hope is where the Indian and Atlantic ocean's meet at the southern-most point of Africa.

 

We saw baboons all over the place on the trail to the lighthouse.

 

On our way back to Cape Town we stopped at famous Boulder's Beach, which was more remarkable for the Jackass Penguins than the boulders themselves.

 

As we were nearing Cape Grace, Jerome got a call from a friend asking him if he wanted tickets to the soccer match (they say soccer in South Africa as opposed to Football) between the Orlando Pirates from JoBurg and the Ajax Cape Town Football Club.  As Jerome couldn't go, he offered the tickets to us...for free.  It was such a kind gesture, and such a unique opportunity to experience something new, that we readily accepted. 

 

The stadium seemed very empty at first, but a few minutes before the match started seemingly every seat in the lower sections were filled. 

 

The game was great and the fans were very passionate on both sides.  Even though the visitors won, we were grateful for the opportunity to attend and see the similarities and differences between South African and American sports fans. 

 

Back at Cape Grace, the dining room was closed so we had dinner once again in the library.  We'd been given a bottle of wine from the hotel as a present for our honeymoon and it turned out to be an exceptional one: a 1999 Fleur du Cap Pinotage.  Amazing. 

 

It was fitting end to our third, and final night in Cape Town.  In the morning, we'd be visiting the Kirstenbosch botanical garden before heading to Franschhoek in the South African wine country for the final two nights of our trip.