A day in Jail!

All my bags are now packed and i am leaving Cape town in 5 hours so i should probably go to bed soon but I want to write about today first.

Today has been a real day off and Sue, Ray and I set off for Robben Island, Prison for Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners for so many years in our recent history.

We had to get a boat from the Waterfront which i love anyway and the drive there is so beautiful, it nestles right under Table Mountain.  The sun was shining in a bright blue sky and it was already so hot by the time we arrived there at 10.am.  Boat left at 11 and it was full - i had no idea what to expect in that i had heard mixed reports about the island.  Most people had said it was a place to visit once but some people i know have experienced less than good guides.

We were fortunate. We were shepherded onto buses on our arrival and our guide must have been the best one there. He was called Abe and was fun, informative and knowledgeable. Wow what a place.  How these men suffered there is beyond our human understanding.  The things that went on, yet their spirit was never broken and in the end Apartheid was defeated and oppression (certainly as it was in that time) was over. Sadly there is still oppression and suffering in so many different ways in Africa but a few hours spent on Robben Island puts things into perspective.   We had a bus tour around the island which was a lot bigger than I expected it to be and we were then shown around the prison itself by an ex political prisoner, who again was a lovely guy.  We were able to go into the various sections from A - G and read stories, see the cells and try and understand something of what these people went through.

My only regret is that there was no time to spend just 'being' there or a chance to visit a shop to try and get some sort of guide to read afterwards about the historoy of the island which goes back to a leper colony in the 18th century and also it's importance during WW2.  There were many races on the bus and only a few of us were English. Many jokes were made about the English and the Dutch and we were threatened with being thrown off the bus on many occasions (all in jest though). As i explained to Ray and Sue, the fact that the English made such a mess of Africa explains the fact why we English say 'sorry' all the time! 

Anyway it was a great adventure and then we had to get the boat back to the mainland. It was rather bouncy coming back and Sue felt pretty grotty but we all survived. We had not eaten so we stopped at a Boerie roll stand (an African hot dog) and as we sat down i spotted a marimba band so went to take a photo!  No sooner had i sat down again than i was hijacked and taken tothe band, given a Marimba to play and a hat and had to play!  It was great fun, especially as i had been teaching about percussion just last week in school.  A marimba for those who don't know is like a huge xylophone on a stand played with huge beaters. There didnt seem to be any right or wrong notes to play so i played freely for a good 5 minutes along with Djembe drums and other marimbas.  I finally go to eat my boerie roll and watch the seals swim around and the boats come in.

The traffic was heavy as we returned home but we managed to beat the girls home  from school and then Ray and I popped to the shops on his bike (hooray - another ride) to buy a new watch for me as mine has decided to stop working!  I really have  not had much luck with technology etc this last week.  The traffic was heavy still so we had do lots of weaving and out of the traffic. In true Ray style we had had to jump start the bike to get it going as somehow the battery was drained (I say nothing) and of course a short trip to the shops did not charge it so as predicted (by me!!!!) it wouldnt start at the shops so I was sent out to find a likely helper. I found some Germans (typical) who were driving a BMW and i asked them to help jump start.  It was quite amusing as it was a borrowed car and we opened the bonnet and there was no battery!   We eventually found it in th eboot and they got us going. We had a slightly longer trip home to try and charge battery (good excuse for a longer drive I thought) and came over the mountains that lead down into Fish Hoek!  Oh wow!  What amazing views, an open road, a bit of throttle and in much too short a time we were home.   It will definitely give me something to look forward to returning to Cape Town for though (obviously apart from seeing everyone again!!!).  I fear I am hooked but i might be fussy who I drive with!

Anyway Sue made a lovely spag bol for dinner and we had a relaxing evening, packing my stuff, doing dishes andi have even managed to check in for the morning.

Tomorrow I need to be up at 3.30 - departing at 4 for the airport, have to check in bags by 5.10 and am hoping for a sympathetic check in guy so my extra bag for the school won't cost me too much. My own luggage is quite underweight so i will compensate a bit with that.  Then the next stsage of my journey begins. Lesotho is calling me and I hope that Bryan has remembered that he is picking me up in the morning at Bloemfontein at 7.50!  That will be an early mornign for him too but it will be good to see my 'American brother and sister' again having left my South African ones behind. 

A few nerves and apprehensions sit with me tonight but on the whole i am looking forward to the next 3 weeks.  I dont want to think about the fact that 3 weeks tomorrow i will be on a plane returning to England. I will take life one day at a time and deal with whatever is thrown at me.  This week has been interesting and challenging and quite a rollercoaster ride and I don't expect anything different in the days that follow.

Next time you read this, i will be in Lesotho.  No motorbike riding there I don't think so you can all stop worrying!!!!!!!!!!
See you there.

Jenny x