I have walked that long walk to freedom...

I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.

Nelson Mandela

The boat ride is only 22 minutes, rocky and rolling. One can only imagine the journey in hand cuffs. Robben Island the maxium secruity prison where many political leaders where held for crimes against the governement was a journey of great significance for me and an interesting way to spend my last day in South Africa. While the journey to the island was different for each of its prisoners, they were united often in the fight against apartheid. Mandela and others were sentenced to life in prison, the story of how they overcame the confinement is fascinating and inspiring, the story of a society who kept them behind bars and sturggled to change it ways is still being told.  

The tour of the prison is given by former inmates who offer and interesting perspective on what it was like to be there. One of the mistakes the government made was to put all the leaders in one cell block, they spent time talking of freedom.

This is the lime quarry where Mandela and others did hard labor, the pile of stones was left there at a reunion trip for many of the political leaders who were imprisoned here as late as 1996.

This is where Mandela spent the first 18 years of his prison sentence, he then was moved to another prison on the main land.

Another photo of Mandela's cell

This is the garden view outside of Mandela's cell, this garden is apparently where they found some of his early manuscripts of his book Long Walk to Freedom.