Getting oriented at . . VICTORIA & ALBERT WATERFRONT
Beside the focal point Clock Tower we arrange a 3 p.m. boat to Robben Island
( While we wait . . ) Cape Town Fish Market . . good spot for
Lunch . Atmosphere . People - Watching
Beautiful Harbour . . reminds us of Sydney, Australia
Aboard the Catamaran . . Leaving the African mainland . . Table Mountain skyline.
Life Jackets are required for all young children.
. . It's a warm day . . Water and other Beverages are ready at this counter.
A welcoming committee of thousands of CORMORANTS . .
Boats come here all day every day . . This HYDROFOIL is ours . .
Lime Quary where . . Nelson Mandela . . labored at this prison . .
An event to "recognize men who died during imprisonment" . . .
Nelson stepped forward . . . and laid down one rock
With no pre - planning . . one by one other inmates stepped up to add their memorial stone . .
The pile remains . . and a plaque has been added.
No INMATE successfully swam to freedom . .
The LIGHTHOUSE used in WWII remains . .
Each building was labeled . . B Section . . D Section . . F Section . . etc.
The section Letter signified their Circumstance.
Their "Names" . . were changed . . often derogatorily
. . to further separate them .. from their 'FAMILIES' .. from their 'PAST'.
A 'former' . . PRISONER . . takes us though the INMATES' QUARTERS.
This room slept over 100 men .. on small thin pads like the one on the floor here.
For many years conditions were terrible.
One day Helen Suzman . . from the South African Legislature toured the facility.
She insisted on upgrading many things.
Several released prisoners made public statements of gratitude too
. . about the International Red Cross . . for their neutral humanitarian concern & care.
Exercise was minimal.
With permission Mandela planted a small Garden in the far back corner
Secretly . . he began 'BURYING' pages of diary . . that later would prove to be invaluable
in compiling such writing as . . his Autobiography . . "The Long Road to Freedom".
Finding Mandela's CELL . . .
Everyone wants a picture . .
Is this "IT"? The sum total . . of his goods ?
. . A small Container . . A little combo Table - Chair (metal dish on top) . . A rolled up Mat.
Visitors linger at every angle . . imagining almost 3 decades of his incarceration . .
( During the last years . . he was moved to 2 other Cape Town prisons.)
Our Guide . . a " FORMER PRISONER " . . with a loud . . slow . . deliberate voice.
It's Important to Remember many others besides Mandela . . endured the same hardship.
Interesting story . .
The creative mind . . ( and 'tender' side ) . . of man . . I love it !!
Robben Island
. . between 1846 and 1931 ( 85 yrs ) was used for . . banished "LEPROSY" patients . . .
another important story . . .
not only for this island . . . but about the disease itself . .
and the way the world viewed it . . and therefore 'treated people' . . because of it
Sad . . Sad . . Sad.
Fortunately the story took a successful turn . . eventually !
'Separation' of . . Men and Women . . Fear of . . 'multiplying' . . the leper population.
( Land Layout during Leprosy years )
Leprosy Beds . .
Leprosy Patients . . ( Infection . . affecting Skin . Nerves . Respiratory System ) .
Almost worse than being an "UNTOUCHABLE" . . in India.
Banished lepers needed . . some . . 'way to fill time' . . months and years . .
They played Cards . Knitted . Gardened . Fished
They were required to " Ring the Bell " . . when someone was approaching them
. . to 'warn - the - on - comer' that an . . unclean 'LEPER is near' . .
A Whopper of a Day . .
Rusty and Wrinkles hope this sharing . . educates . . as well as . . entertains.
Life is jam - packed with unending important subjects.
. . Isn't it great that learning lasts a lifetime ! . .
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Yes...Thanks for sharing.
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