Sunday 29th November:

Another beautiful warm day, and our cheapo trip to Robben Island. The ship tour, which turned out 99% the same as ours was priced at $149, we paid via the hotel R300, or around $25. What they got that we didn't was a man with a flag and coach ride which took us a walk of 12 minutes. What they didn't have was the most amazing young man, Thabo, our coach tour guide on the island. I was shocked how emotional I was with the most powerful of stories, and narrated in such a clear & powerful way.

The story of Robben Island is too long even to precis here, but having bought The Long Walk to Freedom some considerable time ago, it is now time to read it when I get home. The other key figure apart from Nelson Mandela to look up is Robert Sudugwe, leader of the PAC, Pan African Congress, and the man who led the protest against the "Pass Laws". His book is called "How Can Man Die Better", or something very similar.

After the tour with Thabo, we were shown round the sections by an ex-prisoner; he had been imprisoned in 1972 for 5 years for leading a protest in Port Elizabeth. I guess he would now be in his sixties. The other memorable point in the tour was "The Quarry" where prisoners would be punished with hard labour over a period of 13 years. Inside the quarry was a cave which was the only place that various prisoners could meet without being overheard, a cave which is now known as the first chamber of democratic government.

An excellent tour, a lot better than I had imagined, although I'm not quite sure what I had imagined, and of course great value for money.

Starting to get used to the ship but not before some more standing in line. First face-to-face immigration in the Cruise Terminal, and then another line queueing for the VAT refund. The customs man looked very long and hard at the invoice for Lorna's diamond earrings, and then asked to see the goods, which of course we produced. It appears we should receive a banker's cheque some time in the future, just have to keep fingers crossed.

My digestion is beginning to concern me a little, acid reflux, but that's not new, but what is, is the heart flutter/palpitation that seems increasingly prevalent, sometimes when I wake up in the night, sometimes during the day. Various theories such as a side effect of the Mepradec, so stopped taking those after three days, bread, after Sunday lunch with quite a bit of bread, but I'm not sure it's related to a particular food. One theory is a hiatus hernia, seems to fit some of the symptoms, and it feels like the gullet or the top of the stomach is constricted when swallowing food, or even drink. It has come on a bit in the last few weeks, because I had absolutely no issues out in Mongolia.