Today started with a trip to Robben Island - the offshore prison which was used to house political prisoners during Apartheid. The island's history starts quite a bit before that, when it served as both a prison and leper colony. In other words, this was never really a place you wanted to find yourself.
As if the tour, fascilities and general atmosphere weren't enough to drive home the occasion, the actual tour through the cell block is done by a former inmate. Our guide had served 7 years on the island, and shared some harsh stories. It just boggles the mind that as I was in middle school, there were inmates in this jail, serving under the harshest of conditions. And now, tour groups of all nationalities can walk through the area.
After the island, we made our way to Goldies, a Kosher restaurant in Cape Town. I pigged out on schwarma and chips, it was outstanding.
We finished the day with a trip to Kirsenbosch Gardens. As botanical gardens go, it was outstanding. There were quite a few plants that I'd never seen anything quite like.
One tip, if you visit the gardens: you can take a path up towards table mountain. Don't, as we did, assume that it loops back around into the gardens. After about 45 minutes of walking, we finally got the hint that we were no longer on the grounds of the gardens. We did indeed make it back without problems, though for future reference, it's a great place to start some long hikes. Just make sure you intend to do this before you set out.
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