Monday, October 3, 2011

Robben Island

Today we booked a tour of Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was locked up as a political prisoner for years and years. It was a beautiful day despite the fact it was supposed to be miserable so we were thrilled. Not sure our stomachs could have taken a half hour ferry ride on stormy seas.
The ferry departs about a 5 minutes walk away from the hotel which we were also thrilled about. We were up at about 3:30 a.m., had breakfast when it opened (6:30 a.m.) and tried desperately to have a snooze until we had to leave. Ryan was successful, I was not. Had I managed to fall asleep before the hydraulic lift/buzz saw (Ryan fell asleep before me), I might have had a chance.
We boarded the ferry with about 200 other people and we suddenly realized that we were in for 3 hours of 'tourist' time. People pushing, having to line up like cattle, and being packed onto busses that were cramped. Not our style at all. Not to say we need to have a private tour every time (which isn't even an option there) but I honestly think that I'd rather read a book about it than brave that again.

Given that we were packed into a bus, there wasn't a whole lot of photo opportunities. The guide (who was quite good, actually) would tell us about something on the opposite side from where we were sitting and we'd just take his word for it because there were a bunch of people standing up and blocking our view. We did get a few chances to hop off for photos, though, and this is about as scenic as it got.
Ryan got a cool shot as we were driving - a 'Penguin Crossing' sign. There are about 40,000 African Penguins on the island that nest in all of the bushes near the roads. They literally choose specific spots on the road that they are willing to cross together and then shit their own paint stripes across it so the cars know where to watch out for them. Amazing.
There is also a beautiful view of Cape Town from the island. While taking a picture of Ryan, I was fortunate enough to capture the rare South African Purple Hippo in her natural habitat (bitch was told by the tour guide to not go off of the pavement because there is an endangered bird species that have their nests in the grass beside the road and you wouldn't be able to tell if you stepped on one if you did). Like I said... 3 hours of 'tourist time.'
The tour guide we had for the island was not the same guide we had for the actual prison. Once we left the bus to tour the prison grounds, they had former prisoners taking us through and showing where they stayed, what it was like, etc. We thought this was brilliant. It was also nice to hear about some of the other prisoners (apart from Nelson Mandela) that South Africans think of as heroes.
That said, it is pretty much all about Nelson Mandela. Here is a picture of the outside of his cell (first window on the left... I think) and a picture of where he stayed for 12 years. Unbelievable that the man and everyone else that had to stay in the single room cells didn't go insane.
After what seemed like forever on the ferry, we got back to our natural habitat.
We had planned on going up to the top of Table Mountain after lunch but because it has been so windy the past few days (they won't operate the tram if the wind is over 40 km/hour), the concierge told us that once we shuttled there, it would be more than an hour wait to get to the top. We couldn't deal with that today so we are chilling in the room (and by chilling, I mean that the hydraulic lift/buzz saw is running in full force... (Ryan sleeping)... again...) and keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow.

6 comments:

Gucci Muse said...

Too bad you have that purple blob in that photo-looks like she is hopping or something.

What is that hydraulic thing you mention-the air system in the room?

HopSkipJump said...

Gucci - that hydraulic lift is called 'Ryan Sleeping'...

Waltersgram said...

Oh Jess,..never would I have thought that hydraulic lift was Ryan snoring, that is funny! Thought they were maybe working on the hotel. haha
How interesting to get to Nelson Mandelas prison, tons of tourists or not. I love that no matter where you travel the wildlife is so interesting as is the scenery.I love the penguin stories, such cute critters.xo

Paige Jennifer said...

Purple Hippo paragraph? Still laughing. And still might pee myself while laughing.

brian said...

Seriously, my first thought when I saw that sign was "nun crossing."

Gucci Muse said...

OMG- I never thought of snoring-I was like WTF is he talking about? Very funny- poor you.