Robben Island

On Sunday, I took a 30-minute ferry ride on the Atlantic Ocean from the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town out to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned from 1964-1982 (he was then sent to two other prisons and finally released on February 11, 1990). Political prisoners in South Africa, those accused of opposing a government with laws that were unjust and inhumane, were sent here. Oliver Tambo called Robben Island the "most inhospitable outpost of apartheid."

My tour guide was Itumeleng Makwela, a former political prisoner who was captured on the border of South Africa and Botswana, and sentenced to 7 years for sabotage. He served all of his sentence and was released just as the general release began in 1990. He told us about his work in the kitchen, cooking, serving, and cleaning.

He also showed us the couryard of the section where Nelson Mandela stayed, as well as his cell.

We took a bus ride around the island and viewed the lime quarry where political prisoners were required to do manual labor in the hot sun.

Although the island has a pretty view of the ocean and of Table Mountain - in this photo the "tablecloth" is on - it must have been a bittersweet view to the prisoners. It's definitely not a prison now. In fact it's a conference center. Imagine.