Day 2 - CAPETOWN

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Hi all- Jade here! Oh my gosh- Capetown is amazingly gorgeous!Today was a fantastic day as we went into town and went down to the Wharf. The wharf was so beautiful and Dad and Mum had constant yacht envy. We walked around the Wharf and it was simply stunning. A lot of the architecture was quite old and based of older designs and there were tons of cute little stores. I think Dad's favoutire was the two level adventure store filled with every adventure tool known to man. After going to a really nice cafe and watching the dragon boat racing and the seals playing in the water we walked into the centre of town. It was such a great walk because we really got to get a feel for the city- which is extremely busy but so exciting! We walked to a place called Green Market Square and were immersed in the market life of Capetown. We all had so much fun doing a spot of market shopping and I am proud to say that I bargained for the first time in my life. I bargained the price of a bangle from 50 Rand to 30 Rand- I was quite happy! 😊 😊 We went back to the Wharf and had an amazing calamari and chips and were able to bask in the beautiful sun and fantastic weather of Capetown. After this we made our way over to the ferry that would take us to Robben Island. Robben Island is generally known because Mandela spent 18 years of his life imprisoned here. When we arrived the Wilson Family had to swallow their pride and do the unthinkable........become true tourists. We hopped onto a TOUR BUS! Suprisingly we all enjoyed it immensly and our tour guide Teuer was fantastic- he knew all the history about the island. Did you know that the island wasn't used as just a prison but also a leper colony, military base during WW2 and then the prison. The island is really spooky and it is scary to think that this was a place of the repression of people's rights and beliefs. We also got a tour through the actual prison and our new tour guide was a former prisoner of Robben Island- he had been arrested because he was a student leader and had begun a petition. The tour of the prison was simply amazing- it was so cool learning about the prison from the perspective of one of its past inmates. Our guide was telling us how the main aim of the guards was to segregate the inmates as much as possible- it did not sound pleasant. An example being that each inmate would be tested and then categorized into separate learning levels- based on what level you were you got educated. Although many of the inmates refused to be tested because they believed that " Education is a right NOT a privilege". I completely agree with them and I think that it is amazing that even in prison they stood for their rights and beliefs. We got to see Mandela's cell, such a privilege, and then got to see every other part of the prison. All in all today was fantastic and the Wilsons are loving Capetown.

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Comments

[Kelly]

Wow
What an amazing day you guys had, soulds fantastic. Jade that was beautifully written, so fantasically descriptive and enjoying to read. Keep up the awesome work. Keep having loads of fun and ahsring with us and making us all green with envy... Kel

[aunty deb]

jadey
Jadey, that was such a beautiful written piece. Have to laugh at the note about being a tourist. Well done to mum and dad for finally becoming one. There is a lot to be learnt from the locals on a tour bus. I am so proud of the way you vocalise about your beliefs in freedom ( mine too). Love to you all. miss you. aunty deb xxx