© Richard Randall

Caribbean

Sundries

ROBBEN ISLAND

The trip we took to Robben Island was excellent in terms of interest and value. We paid R100 which covered the entry fee and the ferry fare. The ferry departed hourly from 8am-4pm daily, we decided to go at midday as we hoped it would be quieter due to people preparing for lunch. It was a good idea, there were not too many of us. Robben Island was the main site of South Africa's liberation struggle and was intended to silence apartheid's domestic crisis, instead it became an international focus for opposition to the regime. The whole Island was declared a UN World Heritage Site in December 1999. We arrived at the Islands small harbour, Murray's Bay, then we had a bus tour round the island before we went on a tour of the prison. The bus tour was good and various historical landmarks were pointed out to us, the first was the Kramat, a shrine built in memory of Tuan Guru. Tuan Guru was a Muslim cleric from present day Indonesia, imprisoned on the island by the Dutch in the eighteenth century. Once released he helped to establish Islam among the slaves in Cape Town. Other sites, were a leper graveyard, the island was a place of exile for leprosy victims in the early twentieth century. and a church which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. There is also the house of Robert Sobukwe, leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, where he was held in solitary for nine years. His original sentence was three years but a special law was passed, the Sobukwe Clause, and his sentence increased to nine years as he was considered extremely dangerous by the authorities. We were also shown the lime quarry where Nelson Mandela and other inmates spent hours of hard labour. It was the brightness of the soft pale stone under the summer sun that caused many eye problems for Nelson Mandela and other prisoners in later life. The bus drove on along a stretch of coast that was dotted with shipwrecks and sea birds, among which is the Egyptian sacred ibis. With the bus tour over we were interested to visit the prison building itself. Before this we all stretched our legs, looking round at the landscape. The island is six square kilometres and a rather bleak looking place, windswept with areas of scrub. The Island was eerily quiet, it certainly felt that we were a lot further from the bustling waterfront, which was just a few kms away, than we actually were. We were taken into the Maximum Security Prison by a former inmate. As you would expect, the prison is a forbidding place, made up of H blocks and set on the edge of the island. We were taken on the Footsteps of Mandela tour through the famous B Section first. Then we were all taken into a large open room with seats along each side, we all sat down in silence. Our guide and ex inmate began to tell us what life was like in the prison, and though we didn't expect it to be a holiday camp, we were surprised to hear just how terrible the conditions really were. The really sad and shocking part of his story was just how differently inmates were treated, depending on the colour of their skin. The cell which Nelson Mandela called 'home' for so many years was set out as it would have been whilst he was there, all of the other cells were empty and locked. It was weird to think we were actually standing where Nelson Mandela 'lived' for almost two decades. After the talk with our tour guide we were free to wander round, the word 'free' seemed to hold new meaning. As well as being able to see Nelson Mandela's cell there were plenty of other things to look at. In A Section, were the 'Cell Stories', an exhibition which gave the feeling of the sheer sparseness of prison life, showing donated prisoners personal items, such as a saxophone which had been made using found objects, there were also quotations, photographs and recordings. In D Section, communal cells, was the 'Smuggled Camera Exhibition'. This showed mounted life size pictures that the inmates had taken of each other with cameras that were sneaked onto the island at the end of the 1980's. You got a sense from the relaxed expressions that maybe they knew the end was within sight. In F Section, was the Living Legacy tour, where you could listen to ex political prisoner guides talking about their lives, and ask them questions.

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As we spent quite a long time in Cape Town and South Africa in general, we had the luxury of taking our time to do the things we wanted to do. The weather was great, the people were friendly, the food was excellent, and we were in no hurry to go back home to the U.K. We would often go for a walk round the area where we were living and find nice little shops and craft markets. Cape Town doesn't really have much indigenous arts and crafts like some other areas do, most of the goods on sale are originally from other parts of Africa, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia. Never the less we did find a very large market almost opposite to our accommodation which sold lots of interesting goods. Also just round the corner from our place was a branch of Bierodrome, which we used to go to a lot back home in London. It's your typical blonde wood, modern decor, casual place. They serve a good choice of delicious beers and nice food. Although our local branch in London had a wider choice of beers available. When we walked into the main town centre we spent a lot of time in Long Street, so named as it runs the full length of the city centre. When we were there it was rather shabby, but with signs of regeneration, with a couple of good modern restaurants opening. Apparently in the 1960's Long Street was a very sleazy road full of bars and whorehouses. They were still there when we visited but they seemed less evident, having delicatessens, pawnbrokers, antique dealers, secondhand book shops, cafes and secondhand clothing shops as neighbours. Long Street was also home to more backpacker lodges per square metre than any other street in Cape Town, along with which came student travel agencies and cheap car rental places. We found a particularly good bar along there and as usual I can't remember the name of it, and that's not because of the drink, I just have a terrible memory! Anyway, it was a very basic no frills place full of men who took their drinking very seriously. We ate in a very modern restaurant there one evening as well, once again name unknown. The service was good, tall dark handsome waiters, my favourite, and the food was Mediterranean in style. We didn't spend all of our time in Cape Town although we could quite easily have done. We fancied a little journey on a train.

SIMON'S TOWN

The train to Simon's Town from Cape Town was a really lovely trip, the final part of which had excellent views as the train skirted particularly close to the shoreline and we watched the sea crashing up against the rocks. The train was fairly empty, the journey took about an hour and we arrived quite early in the morning. Simon's Town is South Africa's principal naval base, and the country's third oldest European settlement. Apart from the naval dockyard, where you could occasionally glimpse a squaddie parading in his brilliant white uniform, Simon's Town was such a pretty place. The train was met by rikkis which can take you on excursions to Boulders or Cape Point, but we didn't wish to. We spent a lovely few hours walking round and we visited the Simon's Town Museum, situated inside the Old Residency which was built in 1772 for the Governor of the Dutch East India Company. The building was also the slave quarters and home to the towns brothel. Inside there were lots of displays about maritime life and a very large amount of the museum was dedicated to a famous local dog, a Great Dane. He was called Just Nuisance A.B. He was the only dog to serve in the Navy! He was adopted as a mascot by the Royal Navy during World War II. Apparently before he 'signed up' he used to help sailors find their way back from Cape Town to Simon's Town on the train after they had enjoyed a few drinks too many, apparently he too enjoyed the refreshing taste of the odd pint or two! That's why they made him an Able Seaman so that he could travel on the train without being kicked off! After reading all about the seafaring Great Dane we walked round Jubilee Square and the Marina, where we found cafes and shops a pleasant harbour, and we stopped off for brunch at a cafe. Strolling along the broad walkway by the harbour we saw a statue of Able Seaman Just Nuisance. After our delicious brunch we walked a little more and we found a pub, we thought it would be the prefect place to end our day in Simon's Town, and enjoyed a drink before catching the train back to Cape Town.

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