All Things Cape Town, Volume I

Having conquered the wineries, we headed down to the Cape of Good Hope, with a stop to see penguins along the way. We arrived just in time to watch a storm arrive across the Atlantic, which put a damper on our plans to hike. With the clouds and rain swirling around us, it was easy to imagine how ships could run afoul of the sheer cliffs and rocky coast. As we were heading to a hotel, we just happened to pass Steenberg wineries, which was the vineyard that produced some of the wine we served at our wedding. Clearly, we had to stop, and clearly, we had to buy more wine than we could carry.
Gail is a master gardener, and so the next morning, we went to Kirstenbosch, Cape Town's botanical gardens, and went on a two and a half tour. Natty loved it. He couldn't fathom why I thought a nearly three hour tour was a lot of tour. But it was a gorgeous day and the flowers were lovely. That afternoon, we took a tour over to Robben Island, a maximum security prison for political prisoners during apartheid. The ride over gives you a sense of how formidible the ocean is, as the ferry crashes through the swells, and how terrifying it must have been for the prisoners. They managed to continue the struggle even while incarcerated, educating each other and even the guards. The tours are led by former prisoners, and it's a powerful reminder of how very, very recent apartheid was. Walking through the empty halls and into the open cells is a chilling experience.
(The pictures are out of order).

Prison blocks
The guard tower
Rations: Even in the prisons with no whites, apartheid persisted.


Mandela's cell

The site of Mandela's garden, where he hid the manuscripts for his book, A Long Walk to Freedom
Our guide




The quarry where they worked and held secret classes

Ostrich!



Look, we still like each other even after weeks of being together every moment.

View from Cape Point


Our guide at the botanical gardens

King Protea, the national flower. It's bigger than my head.