South Africa!

If you can stomach the travel (24 hours plus), I definitely recommend South Africa as vacation spot! It is such a beautiful country and I had a great time. I was able to go to Cape Town, Strand, Stellenbosch, Kleinmondt and Robben Island. Everyone I met was so nice and very friendly. I would love to go back some day! The world is such a big place and I love when I can see more of it, it enriches my life. I feel like you only learn so much living in one place. South Africa is rich with history and culture and I am happy I could go and experience some of it.

Cape Town at night.

The view from my hotel room of Gordon Bay.

The other view from my hotel room looking out at Beach Road.

Victoria Wharf

Victoria Wharf and Table Top Mountain in the background.

Robben Island....where Nelson Mandela* was in prison for most of his 27 year sentence.

One of the ex-prisoners was our tour guide around the prison.  Here he is talking about Nelson Mandela and what he did while he was incarcerated.

The quarry where the prisoners would work over 8 hours a day.

Nelson Mandela's cell.

On the ferry on our way to Robben Island, a nice view of Cape Town and Table Top Mountain. 

The food was delicious! The fish was so good and everything I ate was very healthy.  Yummy!

Stellenbosch was a beautiful wine countryside. 

My hotel.

Another view of Table Top Mountain on the way back from the island.  I loved South Africa! 

*Nelson Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative democratic elections. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress and its armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe. He spent 27 years in prison, much of it on Robben Island, on convictions for crimes that included sabotage committed while he spearheaded the struggle against apartheid.