• Around the World in 180 Days
    The prison gateOur tour guide spent seven years imprisoned hereA prisoner's bedThe fourth window from the left was Mandela's cellMandela spent 18 years in this cell1View of Table Mountain from Robben IslandAfrican penguin colonyDrinks with our friend Gideon2Game meat feast at Karibu Restaurant1Panoramic view of Cape Town from the ferry

    Cape Town, South Africa (Day 2 of 3)

    April 5, 2023 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    An early morning excursion for us today. When we were last here, we had tickets to visit Robben Island on our final day in Cape Town but the trip was cancelled because the waters were too rough for the ferry to make the crossing. Today, the conditions were excellent and we got there.

    Robben Island was a common stopping point for passing ships in the 16th and early 17th centuries and was a Dutch and then a British penal colony. The island housed a leper colony from 1846 to 1931. From the mid-1960s to 1991, the Island served as South Africa’s maximum-security prison. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there from 1964 to 1982. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Interestingly, it’s also home to a colony of African penguins. Tours on the island are conducted by former prisoners. Ours was led by a man who was a political activist and spent seven years there.

    In the afternoon, we had drinks with a friend from Cape Town we met on a trip to the Galápagos Islands in 2018. Wonderful to catch up in real life rather than through Facebook after so many years.

    Brad and I then feasted on game meat - kudu, springbok, impala and ostrich - at a South African restaurant on the waterfront for dinner.    Read more