It has been so windy the last couple of days that the cable car up Table Mountain was not operating. Fortunately for us the winds died down a couple of days before we were due to leave and we made it up to the top of Table Mountain.
The view from the top was magnificent.
From Table Mountain we then made our way down to Bo-Kaap, the historical centre of Cape Malay Culture. Formally known as the Malay Quarter, this area is rooted in Malaysian, Indian, Sri Lankan and African culture, largely a result of the descendants of the slaves who were brought here by the Dutch imperialists over the 16th and 17th centuries.
Cape Malay food which is very similar to our Malaysian cuisine.
Next stop was Robben Island. It was here that Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of the 27 years he served behind bars before the end of apartheid. The tours are extremely popular, most times were booked out days ahead. However we managed to get a late afternoon tour on the day before we left Cape Town. Leaving from Nelson Mandela Gateway, we took a one hour ferry ride out to the island. There, we hopped onto a bus and took a quick drive around the island. And after that we were met with our tour guide for a one hour guided tour through the jail cells. All the tour guides are former prisoners and our guide spent eight years there. How these men could come back here is really a wonder. The stories our guide told us were chilling. Many prisoners did not make it out alive and those who did, leave with emotional, and for some physical, scars for the rest of their lives.
Cell Number 5, Block B. This is where Mandala spent 18 years of his life.
Bare minimal furnishing in each cell.
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