12/01/17 - On 11/13, we got up at 7 00 am and breakfast at 8 00 am.  Deborah and I then walked to the castle. On our way, we walked by the Parliament and got a picture of the balcony where Nelson Mandella had his first speech after his release.  The castle was open for a self tour. Deborah went up on top of the castle to walk around and I walked thru a war museum and then sat on a bench since I learned there would be a ceremony to open the doors to the castle and ring the bell on the outside. It was quite interesting.  We then caught a taxi to the waterfront.  Deborah wanted to get some coffee and shop and I decided to sit at a picnic table and watch people.  Well, at the picnic table was a gentleman that talked and talked.  Finally, Deborah came back and stated that we needed to get in line to get on the ferry to go to Robben Island.  We got to the island, boarded a bus that took us around the line and gave us a lot of history.  We then had a walking tour around the buildings that had the kitchen, dining area and the actual cells of the political prisoners.  One of the guides was a prisoner for 7 years at the young age of 17.  It was a very interesting tour.  We took a taxi back to the hotel and then walked to a restaurant called "The Fork" for dinner.  Back to the hotel.  Deborah did a lot of her packing since she wanted to do some walking around the city in the morning before we had to meet our ride to the airport.

                                                 The balcony where the speech was given

                                            The march at the castle to open the door

                                        Limestone quarry where Mandell worked every day
                                        that ruined his eyes, worked barefooted