Our last big trip was to Cape Town for about 3 days. Even though the weather kind of screwed up our schedule, we managed to see just about every tourist site possible, in addition to checking out some lesser known sites.
On the first day, there was some confusion and juggling with our hostel, so we didn't do a whole lot, but everything still turned out okay. We started out at the District 6 Museum, which is a museum that commemorates the people of the District 6 area who were removed from their homes during Apartheid and relocated to other areas, many of them being placed in the Cape Flats township. It's a very solemn place. Like museums and monuments that help us to remember war victims, you can't help but be more serious and respectful than usual while you're there. The museum reminds Cape Town and the rest of the country who the people of District 6 were and what was lost when it was claimed by the government in the 1960s. District 6 was a very vibrant and diverse community and by virtue of the Apartheid system, all of that diversity was lost when the people were relocated. In addition, the very neighborhood itself was lost during Apartheid because District 6 was flattened. The only things that survived were a church and some homes. And though many of the homes and the people are gone now, this museum has brought a piece of District 6 into the present to ensure that it's not forgotten
On the first day, there was some confusion and juggling with our hostel, so we didn't do a whole lot, but everything still turned out okay. We started out at the District 6 Museum, which is a museum that commemorates the people of the District 6 area who were removed from their homes during Apartheid and relocated to other areas, many of them being placed in the Cape Flats township. It's a very solemn place. Like museums and monuments that help us to remember war victims, you can't help but be more serious and respectful than usual while you're there. The museum reminds Cape Town and the rest of the country who the people of District 6 were and what was lost when it was claimed by the government in the 1960s. District 6 was a very vibrant and diverse community and by virtue of the Apartheid system, all of that diversity was lost when the people were relocated. In addition, the very neighborhood itself was lost during Apartheid because District 6 was flattened. The only things that survived were a church and some homes. And though many of the homes and the people are gone now, this museum has brought a piece of District 6 into the present to ensure that it's not forgotten
After the District 6 Museum, we headed to the Two Oceans Aquarium at the Waterfront. Though for me, it seemed like almost everything in South Africa was different from the U.S. in some way, the aquarium was very similar to aquariums that I've been to in the U.S. One thing that I really enjoyed about this aquarium were the many inspirational quotes, mostly concerning water and oceans and their conservation.
After the aquarium, we headed back to our hostel in Muizenberg, a small surfing town outside of Cape Town. They had this really cool public market there for the night that we went to for dinner. It was held in an old auto shop, and they only held it once a week, so we got lucky. They had several pop up restaurants that sold some of the best food that I've ever eaten. It's a really interesting spot that I wish we could have experienced more of while we were in Cape Town.
The next day, Mandela Day, we went to Robben Island and then to a winery in Paarl, just outside of Cape Town and near Stellenbosch. Originally, we weren't supposed to go to Robben Island on Mandela Day, but I'm extremely glad that we did. I think that going there meant so much more to me personally on that day than going on another day.
The tour of Robben Island has two parts: a bus tour around the island and a walking tour through the prison. We walked through the prison first. We started out in the larger cells, which is where most of the lower level political prisoners were held. They put 40 prisoners in each cell, and though no one there was a political leader like Mandela or Mbeki, the prisoners still used their time there as productively as possible. The prisoners would hold classes, where they would teach the illiterate prisoners to read and write, and they would discuss the political literature that they had smuggled from the leaders.
The next day, Mandela Day, we went to Robben Island and then to a winery in Paarl, just outside of Cape Town and near Stellenbosch. Originally, we weren't supposed to go to Robben Island on Mandela Day, but I'm extremely glad that we did. I think that going there meant so much more to me personally on that day than going on another day.
The tour of Robben Island has two parts: a bus tour around the island and a walking tour through the prison. We walked through the prison first. We started out in the larger cells, which is where most of the lower level political prisoners were held. They put 40 prisoners in each cell, and though no one there was a political leader like Mandela or Mbeki, the prisoners still used their time there as productively as possible. The prisoners would hold classes, where they would teach the illiterate prisoners to read and write, and they would discuss the political literature that they had smuggled from the leaders.
From there, we went on to see Mandela's cell, where he spent 18 years of his 27 year prison sentence. It has been kept exactly the same as it was when he was imprisoned there.
After the prison tour, we took a bus tour around the island and we stopped at one of the sites that I found most moving on my trip to South Africa. We stopped at the limestone quarry where the political leaders worked during their imprisonment. For most of their imprisonment, they were forced to carry limestone pieces from point A to point B, in an effort to demoralize and debase them. In spite of this, these political leaders used their time and the cave in the quarry to continue educating themselves and some of the others that they worked with. There is also a pile of rocks in the quarry. When Robben Island was made into a museum, Mandela and the other leaders went back to the island and the quarry. Mandela picked up a rock and placed it at this spot in the quarry. Everyone else copied him until there was a pile of rocks of all different shapes and colors, which, to this day symbolizes the diversity of South Africa and the ability of South Africans to coexist without segregation. It symbolizes the fight against Apartheid that Mandela and countless others fought against for decades.
The winery was also excellent, and the views were incredible.
Our last day in Cape Town was spent doing many things. We took a trip to Camps Bay, Table Mountain, Cape Point, and the Cape of Good Hope. I actually was unable to go to Camps Bay because I met up with a relative back at the Waterfront. Though I was not expecting it, I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet up with my cousin's husband's brother, who is from Zimbabwe. He lives in Stellenbosch with his wife, and though we had never met before, it was really nice to have that connection to family while I was in another country.
Next was the trip to Table Mountain, which is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Cape Town. The day that we went, it ended up staying foggy on the top of the mountain, so we couldn't get a good view of Cape Town. Regardless, it was still an incredible experience.
Next was the trip to Table Mountain, which is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Cape Town. The day that we went, it ended up staying foggy on the top of the mountain, so we couldn't get a good view of Cape Town. Regardless, it was still an incredible experience.
From Table Mountain, we headed to our last destinations, Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope. Cape Point is where two major currents in the Atlantic meet and Cape of Good Hope is the most Southwestern point of the continent.