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Published: March 14th 2006
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Sore muscles. Pain. Agony. This is the first day after four of continuous walking/hiking throughout Capetown, and it was time to find an internet cafe "to do the blog".
We said goodbye to Peter last week, and had a few days to explore the surroundings of Allison's neighbourhood, Constantia (Nick looked it up in the guidebook and it apparently is one of the posh neighbourhoods-looks like it too with all the big houses). On Peter's recommendation we went to Kirstenbosch Gardens (for all you Vancouverites, it's something like VanDusen Gardens on steroids) for a day. Kirstenbosch is laid out in a fascinating way...plants are grouped together in either family groups or by use (eg. for medicine, food, luck, etc.). One garden was laid out by scent, so we lingered a bit longer there. Kirstenbosch is way ahead of the game, and even has a "Braille Trail" specifically designed for the blind, but also to teach those with sight what it's like to be blind. Nick tried it with his eyes closed and is still convinced that Sarah intentionally led him into a tree or two. In addition to all the plants there was an entire area devoted to large stone
Kirstenbosch
Sarah found her favourite plant. sculptures made by Zimbabwean artists. Awesome! We wanted to take some home for you all but thought we'd be over our weight requirements on the plane. Sorry.
After Kirstenbosch and while Allison was at work one day, we decided to try some exercise by hiking the same Cecilia Forest trail we did before Stanford. We got about halfway before Nick almost stepped on a Berg Adder (apparently one of the most poisonous snakes around Capetown). And so we exercised our right to go the other way. This is the second poisonous snake encounter we've had in South Africa -- we didn't mention it but on the way back to Capetown from Stanford Sarah found a Puff Adder near her ankles. Even some of the people we meet are starting to think there's a reason we're seeing all kinds of snakes. Let's hope they don't bite us.
That night we were treated to a slide show, along with 60 other people. Allison and three others shared their experience of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in December, and showed some amazing photos. What made the slide show most interesting were the details they shared about how cold it actually got, how tired
they became, and just how wonderful it was to reach the summit. They also shared their experience working with youth at a nearby community, which sounded amazing.
For the weekend Allison took us to a friend's place in the neighbourhood of Sea Point...right on the water and on the other side of Table Mountain. One morning we caught the tail-end of the Argus, a 110 km cycling race, and enjoyed watching loads of people in their final kilometre, including a father and 11-year-old son on tandem, a man running in socks carrying his bike, a man with a flat tire frantically pedalling to finish before destroying his rim, and other exhausted people. After that we decided that we were fat slobs and needed to get off our rears for a change, and so we hiked up Lion's Head peak that day. It was a good hike, complete with chains and ladders at points, and Sarah particularly enjoyed the 360 degree view from the top. Just to show that we weren't physically destroyed by the hike up Lions Head, we offered to take Allison golfing at a very exclusive golf course right on the ocean in Sea Point. Nick showed
Sarah En Route
Lion's Head peak in the distance the two girls how it's done, Windsor-style, and didn't even gloat. (Sarah must interject a little truth here - Allison beat us both hands down....keep dreaming Nick).
ANYWAYS, after the golf, we went for dinner to meet another friend of Allison's, and ended up watching an amazing DVD called "1 Giant Leap". Apparently in 2001 two Brits decided to travel to 26 different countries, record music and talk to intellectuals, religious leaders and artists about topics including religion, inspiration, sex, time, death, etc. They recorded it all, mixed it and the result is a fantastic 2 hour, seamless video organized by topic.
Yesterday we finally got to go to Robben Island, home of the prison where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners spent years of their lives during the apartheid government. It was well worth it -- we got to see first-hand how amazing people can be. Between 1841-1931 Robben Island was a leper colony, during the outbreak of WW2 it was a naval base, after the war it became a prison, and then at the beginning of the 1960's they began to send political prisoners to join the criminals. You could say that in it's history,
Hiking Lion's Head
Smile and pretend you're not hurting. Robben Island has represented power...power of the healthy over the sick and weak, the power of the navy to protect, and the power of authority over those who defy it. But during the tour we witnessed where real power came from....we were shown a rock quarry where the political prisoners spent every day in hard labour, at all times under the watchful eyes of the wardens. The prisoners had quarried out a tiny cave to use as a toilet, and it was in here that they were free from observation - it was in here that they began to educate themselves and each other, such that inmates actually began to graduate from university while in the very institution that was supposed to keep them down. Even in the cells, we were shown how groups of prisoners went into the bathrooms to study and debate in the evenings, with a little help from some sympathetic guards who smuggled in encyclopedias and newspapers.
Our tour guides were both ex-political prisoners during this period, and it was their narration that really brought the tour to life. Today the island is a museum, it is home to a community which includes an elementary
11 Kilometres to Freedom
The view of Capetown from Robben Island. school and homes for ex-prisoners and ex-wardens, both of whom work together for the museum. We were blown away by the fact that despite all the hardships the ex-prisoners endured, they were able to come back and face that period, work in the very environment where they were tortured, work with some of their former guards (some of whom are now friends) and turn the whole experience into one of education for the future. THAT is power.
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Stepsis
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Future Career in Blog Writing?!
Hey guys, Another great blog! (yeah, ok I'm biased because I'm in it, but still) So you didn't go with the Peguin Porn title I see? Too bad, I guess Extreme Camel Toe is destined to reign forever in popularity. So Nick, I didn't happen to see the photo of the golf score card!?! But that was mighty big of you to let Sarah tell the whole world the truth about who won! Yeah, you better be resting up, we've got more hiking to do on our next adventure this weekend. I think you two should seriously consider professional Blog writing as your next career move. xo See you Thursday!