Day 7: Robben Island and Rugby

It was hard not to get emotional walking on what felt like hallowed ground today. We took a 45-minute ferry ride to Robben Island. The island has seen many uses:  Dutch military installation, leper colony, prison and now a museum. The name comes from the Dutch word "robbe" meaning 'seal'. We saw a few of these friendly creatures as our ferry approached the island. If you look closely, you can pick them out lounging on the rocks among the birds in the photo below. 

When we arrived, we were directed to see our tour guide who was waiting for us at the prison. I don't know how to spell his name, but this amazing man was a prisoner on the island for seven years after being convicted for high treason due to his affiliation with the African National Congress (ANC) army. He even told of being tortured in three different prisons before arriving on the island and spending three months in solitary confinement after assaulting a warden. I wouldn't do his stories justice here, but suffice it to say that his stories of apartheid moved me to tears. 

After our guide explained the layout and conditions of the prison as well as his own story of struggle, imprisonment and freedom, he took us to see Nelson Mandela's cell. I was surprised to learn that Mr. Mandela served only the first18 of his 27 years at Robben Island. His tiny cell is the only one that still contains items indicative of prison life during the apartheid era. There are floor mats and two blankets for sleeping, a table, tin cup and food bowl and a large bucket that served as a toilet. 

Prisoners apparently emptied and cleaned their bucket in the morning and left it outside to dry when they went out for their eight hour workday in the limestone quarry. 

There was a large courtyard for exercise and 'sport'. Apparently Mr. Mandela was very good at tennis. What I found most fascinating was that Mr. Mandela's manuscript was discovered by the wardens in the far right corner. 

At the end of the prison tour, our guide escorted us to waiting buses that gave us a brief tour of the rest of the island. After such a moving talk, I just had to thank our guide and ask for a picture. 

There was so much more to the tour, but there was also much more to our day. After returning to the waterfront, we picked up a few more souvenirs before heading back to the cottage. There, we needed to get changed for rugby with Mark the extraordinary. 

After a fabulous Italian dinner, we walked over to the rugby stadium for a match with one of the local teams. Wow!  This sport is brutal!!  However, it was incredibly exciting. We saw huge men pushing, shoving and clawing at each other but that was apparently ok. Then we saw one player get sent off but I'm not sure why. It was a high scoring game with one really exciting play. I didn't understand much of what was happening but I had a great time. 

It was a long, busy and exciting day and I enjoyed every minute. I'm starving for more information on all that I saw. I think it's time to hit Amazon and see if I can get The Long Walk to Freedom and Invictus on DVD!

Just wait and see what I've got planned for tomorrow!!