Slowing Down Before We Speed Up

Friday night was a great night. A big group of us visited the V&A Waterfront and watched the sunset.

After the sunset, we found this Belgium restaurant,  Den Anker, and ate on the dock over the South African bay, then went a rode the Ferris wheel at V&A. 

Today (Saturday) was one of the few free days we have on our journey, but in the morning we all went as a group to Robbin Isalnd to visit the prison where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 19 years. 

My morning started to Matt waking me up and telling me I had 15 minutes until the bus left for the wharf. No breakfast, no shower, but I did remember to brush my teeth, fix my hair and wear my Pi Kapp shirt. We rode to the wharf, and boarded the Dias to make the 30 minute journey from Cape Town to Robbin Island, a distance of about 6 kilometers. When we got there, we took a bus tour around the islan, which concluded at the maximum security area of the prison, where Nelson Mandela was held. Our tour guide for this portion of the tour was an actual former prisoner of Robbin Island, arrested in 1983, and was released in 1991 when all of the political prisoners were released. It was  very interesting to hear about life on Robbin Island from someone who actually spent time there.

On the ferry ride back it started to rain but luckily we had our bright orange three season jackets, dubbed The Brennan Beacons by our group. Wet and cold, we arrived back to the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront to find lunch, and Brooke Jane and I chose Café Alfredo. After lunch, we came straight back to the hostel, and slept. I napped from 3-7, and woke up to find that most everyone had already left to go to dinner, or had just gotten back so a few of us went to Randy Warthog, the bar and restaurant at our hostel.

Like I said, today was pretty much uneventful besides Robbin Island. Tomorrow is when the real work starts, and we began to really set up and prepare for the Habitat build. Today was also what I'm considering to be my rut of the trip. Tired and missing home, I got a bit sad for a bit, but then remembered why I'm here. After talking to Momma, I know I have no worry about anything, no stress, and I'm  ready to serve God, alongside my fellow bears and Habitat South Africa.

Reed