We caught the catamaran
to Robben Island. It runs every hour from the clocktower at the harbour. The boat ploughed
out of the protection of the harbour into a stormy sea. The trip became a roller coaster
ride and we were thrown this way and that. The catamaran was going at full speed.
Countless times it left the water to crash back down with a heavy thump. This was a boat
ride African style and what a ride it was.
An
ex-con was our tour guide and he told us what it was like to be a prisoner on Robben
Island during the period of apartheid.
The prison was a depressingly grey place
which made us realise all the more what a monumental figure Nelson Mandela was, to become
president of South Africa after all those years of incarceration.
