FRIDAY 11/16
ROBBEN ISLAND WORLD HERITAGE SITE (http://www.robben-island.org.za/)
On Friday morning my mom and I returned to the V&A
Waterfront and headed straight for the Robben Island Ferry boarding dock. We
had purchased our tickets online ahead of time and we were once again happy to
have good weather. The ferry ride was a bit choppy but we survived.
Once we arrived on the island the passengers on the ferry
were split up amongst three awaiting buses. The first phase of the tour was on
the bus and to be honest it went by a little too quickly. We passed by the
leper graveyard where the leper ward had previously stood. (It was burned down
long ago because people were concerned the infectious disease could penetrate
the building materials and make healthy visitors sick.) Only a fraction of the
graves are marked and I believe they have found at least 1,000 additional
bodies using underground imaging technology.
Robben Island has served many purposes over the years. It
has been used for various forms of imprisonment since
the 16th Century. (The long swim back to the mainland was a
successful deterrent for preventing escapes. Only a handful of people actually
attempted to escape.)
From 1961 to 1991 it was used as a maximum security
prison for political prisoners. Nelson Mandela was incarcerated there as a
political prisoner from 1963 to 1982. If
you have seen the 2009 film “Invictus” you may remember seeing the South
African national rugby team on a tour of Robben Island
The visit had an especially profound effect on the team
captain, played by Matt Damon, as he prepared to compete in the 1995 Rugby
World Cup. The teammates were shown the prison cell where Nelson Mandela was
incarcerated and the limestone quarry where he and his fellow prisoners were
forced to work without protective eyewear or respiratory filters. My tour bus
passed by the limestone quarry briefly but we weren’t able to get out of the
bus to get a closer look.
At the end of the bus tour (which lasted for about an
hour) we went to the maximum security cell blocks for a tour given by a former
prisoner. Our tour guide was named Jama and he was a political prisoner on
Robben Island from 1977 to 1982.
He showed us a large concrete group cell which had a thin
mat on the floor which is what the prisoners slept on until bunk beds were
added years later. Once the bunk beds were added to the cell the capacity was
doubled. The room we were in could hold 20-25 bunk beds. It would be very tight
quarters for 50 men.
We continued the tour of the cell block and Jama shared a
lot of memories of his time on the island. It definitely sounded like monotony
and limited time outdoors were big challenges for the prisoners. Even though
the work in the quarry was difficult at least they were able to be outside. At
one point the people in charge of the prison decided to mix criminal prisoners
with the political prisoners in order to make life more difficult. Jama didn’t
remark on this very much but it sounded like this simply provided the political
prisoners with more recruits for their various causes. They kept the peace and
spent the late evening hours in small group political discussions and playing games
to pass the time.
As we neared Nelson Mandela’s former cell block things
felt a little tenser. People were anxious for a look at Mandela’s cell. First
we were shown the courtyard where prisoners would continue to work on the
limestone blocks that were mined from the quarry. There was an area in the back
of the courtyard that Mandela was able to use as a garden. When he began
writing his book “Long Walk to Freedom” he would bury the manuscripts in his
garden for safe keeping.
After waiting for a few other groups to clear out we
started down the interior hallway to Mandela’s cell. The scant furniture was
arranged in the same was it had been during Mandela’s stay. You’ll notice there
is no bed – only a sleeping mat.
After leaving the cell block and exiting through another
courtyard we had the choice of walking to the nearby penguin colony or back to
the ferry. My mom and I took a quick detour and found the penguins but they
were very far away. We knew we’d see more a little later on.
GREENMARKET SQUARE (http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionswc/greenmarket-square.htm)
After returning from Robben Island we made a trip to
Greenmarket Square to buy souvenirs and get some Christmas shopping out of the
way. It took a bit of searching and several U-turns but we finally got there.
The only problem was once my mom and I arrived were totally overwhelmed by the
vendors. It was about 4:00 and we assumed they’d be closing up shop around 5 pm
so we tried to be quick and get a look at everything before we started buying
stuff. Unfortunately there was no way to “be quick” because the second you
picked something up the vendor would pick up three other similar items (or
completely different items) and follow you around telling you they’d give you a
good price. If you’ve ever walked the souvenir stalls in Puerto Vallarta you’ll
know what I’m talking about. The difference between this experience and my
experience in PV is that it was easier to barter in South Africa. In Mexico
they play a very coy “How much are you willing to give me?” game while in South
Africa they will just come right out with a price and then drop it if you frown
pathetically enough.
My mom completely shut down during this experience. This
is honestly the worst way to shop. Everything starts looking the same and you
feel guilty for not helping out people who need the money. You don’t feel good
about the quality of the products and you don’t know if you’re getting a good
price. I found that the cure was to just start buying small stuff even if I
didn’t know who I was buying it for. That way I got my buying muscles warmed up
and when it was time to make four bigger purchases I was ready. (Plus my
decimated cash supply necessitated some pro-level bargaining.) While this
shopping excursion was probably the low point on our morale scale during the
trip I’d still have to say it was worth it to get some Christmas shopping done.
In a sense it was kind of a necessary evil. I would suggest going to this place
on your last or second-to-last day in Cape Town (only for an hour or so) once
you are familiar with the general pricing of things and you know exactly how
much money you want to spend.
TO BE CONTINUED!
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