Day 3 – Monday, Oct. 3^rd.

This morning we walked to the harbor to catch a boat to Robben Island, which is about 7 miles off shore in Cape Town harbor.  In the past it was used as a prison, a mental hospital and a Leper colony.   In recent years it was mostly used as a prison for Political prisoners, the likes of Nelson Mandela.   All of the Political prisoners were released in 1991.    Our Tour guide on the Island was a former Political prisoner.   He had been arrested for “High Treason” and sentenced to 30 years in prison.   He was released after 5 ½ years when all of the prisoners were released in 1991.    Robben Island displayed a mix of beautiful natural surroundings alongside a painful and historic past.  Like so much of South Africa, the painful past is giving way to a promising future.   There is still a long way to go to reach equality and justice, but there are many groups working toward that goal.

On the boat ride out and back we saw three whales breaching.   Two of them were close enough to see their tail come into the air as they dove….very cool!!!

This afternoon we took a bus tour of the city of Cape Town, visited a local craft market, stuck out feet in the Atlantic Ocean (very cold!!!!) and watch paragliders fly down from the top of Signal Hill, looked like fun (hmmm?).