I was asked later that day if I enjoyed the trip to Robben Island. Well, “enjoy” might be the wrong word, but it was definitely moving and worth the trip. There is still this uneasy feeling and former prisoners guide you through the prison that really brings home the reality of what happened here. The only creatures who didn’t care about history were the tortoises that were crawling all over the place, apparently because a cold front is approaching Cape Town.
The front gate:
The prison:
Derek, our guide explaining daily routines:
The famous courtyard, where the prisoners had to break rocks into pebbles all day every day and where the manuscript of “The Long Walk to Freedom” was hidden..
Nelson Mandela’s cell, through bars and without, but that’s all that’s to it:
