A New Day a New Adventure

It was good we made it to Robben Island on the first ferry out yesterday, because that was the only one due to rough water. It's a big ferry, but apparently the risk of having a bunch of tourists become shark chum is pretty high. On this day it was all about relaxation and less about emotions. Today was a day for wine country. So to Stellenbosch and Franshoek we went. We had a guide for this taste of the good life. Her name's Thabie and she's awesome. She'd be our guide for 3 days of all things awesome in Cape Town. She grew up in Lesotho, which is a country within South Africa's if you've ever checked it out on a map. Also on the itinerary was a stop at Spier, which happens to be a winery, but has much more tourist appeal because of it's cheetah rehabilitation project. You can pet a cheetah if you wish, but that wish is right up there with wishing that Bush was still president. Best winery of all on our tour that day: Rust en Vrede. Ernie Els, the golfer, is a part owner of this little gem. The merlot, shiraz and estate varieties are wonderful. We also made our way farther up the mountains to Franshoek. Wow! Whenever you get there, you've got to eat at La Petite Ferme. The view, the food, oh my! Thabie's belief is that the world is right when you can pair the best view with the best food. As we said, she's awesome. If anyone is looking for a little place in the wine country in Capetown to get married, La Petite Ferme makes the wish list. Just check out the photos of the view from our table and the food as DeChane and Thabie are about to dig in.

Prison Cell

What you see here is the actual prison cell. The red bucket is you guess it the toilet. Also, in the other picture you can see what I am talking about with blacks wearing shorts. I did not even get into the meal. Yes, the blacks got less food than the colored. Yes the mind games were very strong. They even changed letters you received saying your wife divorced you even if they did not. Lots of men went crazy. Ok this is enough of Robben Island, I believe you get the point.

The Prison Grounds

Robben Island Church & Sleeping Quarters

Here is another Church and the bed of the black prisoners. Yes that is what they slept on. Also, blacks had shorts and the colored had pants. Oh, and yes it gets cold here. That term of blacks, colored and indian is still use today to describe someone. It is very weird using that term, but it is very common here. It was a way of dividing the people and the mind game still is working strong. It has only been 16 years since apartheid ending so damage is still there. It all hangs on by a thread.

More on Robben Island

Here are a few more photos from Robben Island. As you can see there are a few churches there and also the view to the rest of Cape Town from Robben Island is really nice. Cruelly, it probably just let prisoners know what they were missing while they were locked away on the island. Another way of punishing you. Oh, and by the way, only black and colored prisoners were held on the island. The white people were held elsewhere.

Robben Island Trip

Back on the blog. We have been so busy running around Cape Town I got behind on blogging, but I am back. Since it is Sunday today many businesses are closed except down on the waterfront. I don't know if you know, but cape town has funny weather. This time of year you can count on overcast in the morning and the winds blow the clouds away and you can see Table Mountain. Those were the pictures I posted last. Anyway, we went to Robben Island today. This is home to where Nelson Mandela spent many years of his prison life on this island. Think of it like the rock in SF, that used to be open. Before it was a prison in the early 1900s it was used as a castaway home to those who had leprosy and mental illness, and a training ground during WW II. Other famous political leaders imprisoned there included Raymond Mhlaba, Ashley Forbes and James Mange to name a few. Don't be mistaken. It was not a nice place and the conditions were horrible. The place is only about 3k in either direction. Something I did not know is that it was also called the university, because this is where both prisoners and guards got their degree. Thus many intelligent and inspiring men were locked up because of their political beliefs and color of their skin, along with regular old criminals. I believe the last political prisoner was released in 1994 and the last prisoner of any type in 1996. Oh, it takes about 25 minutes on the ferry to get to the island. Also, in one picture you can see where Nelson got the idea for his book Long Walk to Freedom. That book was written by him while he was in prison and he found a way to sneak most of the manuscript pages out. As you can see we were not all smiles on this trip. It's depressing and inspiring at the same time.

And the Food is Good

Who knew they had great places like this and red velvet cake in Africa. You better believe they did not have places like this the last time I was here. This is all new.