History Still Present
- mtbersagelbraley
- May 17
- 2 min read
By Amelia (Nursing, ’28)
Starting the day early in the morning we departed for a trek down to the V&A waterfront and stopped at a cafe for breakfast and coffee. After the meal we went over to the Robben Island Museum to take a fairy over to Robben Island. On the boat ride over the group relished in the views of the Table Mountain, Cape Town and the Bay Area. Ships, commercial and private, lined the water side and mountains towered in the distance.
Once on land again we piled into the Robben Island bus tour, which went around the island providing the history and foreign involvement on the island. We stopped for a walk outside of the bus to view Table Mountain and our first sighting of penguins!
Once reaching the sight of the prison we were handed off to a new tour guide, Monde, who was a prisoner from 1977-1982 due to is involvement with the Soweto uprisings. Taking the group into the main part of the prison he detailed life for the black community during and after apartheid and his time as a prisoner. His talk was very powerful and evoked such emotion from his detailed stories. We then walked over to the private quarters where Nelson Mandela was kept. Monde explained what their life was like. We were able to view Mandela’s cell.
Back on the ferry we headed back to the mainland where we broke off into groups doing different things around the marina. I went with a group that headed over to the aquarium; we saw many different types of tropical fish including eels, puffer fish, jellyfish and many more. We even got to take time at the touch pools where we got to feel different plants from the ocean like dead man’s fingers. We even got to feel anemone! One of the favorite parts of the group was definitely the ability to see African penguins up close at one of the exhibits. Ending the day, I am sure everyone will be early to bed!
Great pictures from Table Mountain! (Your description of the hike up makes me a little embarrassed to have to catch my breath walking up to the fifth floor of Murphy!) I was happy to learn more about the history of the Scalabrini Center, too, and to hear it's still going strong despite funding cuts. Thanks for sharing pictures and reflections of your amazing journey!
Have you encountered any opinions about the recent controversy about White South Africans coming to the US as refugees?