Robben Island

this moves you like something crazy. the stories the guides, many i think were ex-’prisoners’ themselves, were heart wrenching.

after reading Nelson Mandela’s “Long Walk to Freedom” I know I have to go see this place in person!

I think it is more for the boat ride there and back than to actually see the place itself, didn’t find the time to go last time when I was in Cape Town, so definitely need to go next time!

Robben Island is a barren little place, just off the Cape coast. Yet it’s history is very rich—it has been everything from a leper colony to a prison and famously is where Nelson Mandela was held captive for 27 years under the Apartheid regime. Ex-prisoners often lead the tours of the island and they are real characters.

I went a few times as a schoolkid and we always took the boat across, but I believe that sometimes you can helicopter in. Boat is quite fun though and you get some great views of the coast