Robben Island

2 Things:

1) Last night we had our Cape Town Debrief meeting and it was AMAZING.  So much fun, so much laughter, so much sharing, so much singing, so much worshiping.  It really is a gift when 16 people bond like we did.  So thankful for our time together. We were able to all share nuggets of specific ways we have been impacted.  It was so encouraging to hear from each other and dream for the future.  

2) I am going to divide this post (Tuesday) in to 2 post. Too many pictures to fit in one!  

So Tuesday was, I think, one of my favorite days.  

We took a ferry bright and early Tuesday morning to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison.  

It was a beautiful island and full of so much meaning and history.  

This is a view of Table Mountain and Cape Town from the island

One of the coolest things about the tour was that a man who was in prison with Mandella was the guide.  He shared so much history and was just amazing.  

This picture below was a cell where 60 men would stay.  It was super small to fit so many men

He took us all over the jail and shared with us specifc facts of his and Mandella's time there.  This man was in prison for 5 years.  He was put in prison when he stood up for his rights to not only learn the Afrikans language in the schools.  He thought he and the others who stood up would be heard, but instead they were attacked with tear gas and put in prison. when asked how long he was in prison he replied with an answer like, "5 years that felt like 5 minutes when you are fighting for freedom."  He and the other prisoners really fought to keep their perspective on what they were fighting for even during the long prison days.  Staying focued made it worth it and made the years spent much more barable.  

 

This is Joanna, Amy, and I on the island.  Go CM Team!  Love these two

And another view of the beautiful ocean and mountains from the island.  I mean the beauty of this place totally captivated me!  

And this below was Nelson Mandella's private cell.  He spent 18 years in this tiny cell.  

I read The Long Walk to Freedom before spending a summer in Pretoria in 2004, but honestly I have forgotten so much of the book.  Going to Robben Island really made me want to read it again.  There is so much rich history in South Africa with Mandela and others who are fought for equality and the ending of the apartheid.  It really was such a educational and impactful morning touring this island and learning from our guide.  

This picture just really makes me laugh.  When you get on the ferry they take your picture.  A group of us got in one shot together. So when you get off the ferry you have the option to buy.  Of course all were cheap and didn't buy the picture.........even though it was only about $2.  So what did Adriana do??? She took a picture of the picture and sent it to us.  Maybe this is not the best thing to do, but I don't think anyone there really cared.  and now we have a low quality image of us!  

I love this picture of our team.  You see the African couple in the pic with us?  The guy saw our group and REALLY wanted a picture with us.  so sweet!  We were already posed like this to take a team picture and they just jumped right it.  Love it!  

Robben Island was only half of our day on Tuesday.  I will blog about the rest of our day in the next post!