mattThis post is my homage to one of the greatest 90s action movies… The Rock… Where Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery must save San Francisco by
An incursion underwater to re-take an impregnable fortress held by an elite team of U.S. Marines, in possession of eighty-one hostages and fifteen guided rockets loaded with V.X. poison gas
Lt Shephard defining the Navy SEAL mission to take the Rock
It is also my busman’s holiday experience for the honeymoon
Day 5 – 20th April
Breakfast started the day off in Honey Honey cafe, a block away from our hotel. Some light fluffy pancakes with fruit for me and the two 2 two for Jen (two pancakes, two eggs, two rashers of bacon). Washed down with a cup of coffee got us ready for the day.
After breakfast we walked over to get the ferry to Alcatraz. I had my eyes on the passengers but none of them looked like they were marines posing as tourists. Arriving on the island we were greeted by US Park Ranger who gave us an introduction to the island which is much more than just the prison that it’s famous for hosting. The biggest residents of the island are now the many birds that are nesting here.
Walking up to the cell block we walked through some of the original civil war fort defences and passed the families accommodation building.
We opted for the audio tour rather than the ranger led tour (no Ranger Bob and the wait for the next guided tour was over an hour away). The tour starts, like the SEAL incursion, in the shower room, although clearly Michael Bay took some liberties when shooting the movie. The tour is essentially of the cell block and the life and times of the prisoners who were incarcerated here. It is described by former guards and inmates and paints a bleak view of life on the rock.
Welcome to Broadway. This cell block housed the most awesome scum in America. I Ranger Bob cordially invite you to become inmates of Alcatraz… Temporarily of course
Ranger Bob, Alcatraz Tour Guide, The Rock
The only opportunity to experience the claustrophobic nature of the cells is in the solitary confinement area of the cell block. Those spending time on Alcatraz were there because they were the biggest threat to reoffending and the mentality at the time was to make the experience unpleasurable so that they are no longer incorrigible. Whilst some of this may still be true today I was pleased to learn that a major reason for the prison closure was a change in mentality around rehabilitation of the prisoners.
For all the confined and locked up nature of the prison, there were definitely some cells that were better than others. Those cells facing west were graced with the light at sunset coming in through the windows adding some warmth to the cells. We learned on the tour that inmates who enjoyed painting would aim to have these cells because of the natural light they received. In addition to the painting there was also a two-channel prison radio system that the men could plug into, a small library and an exercise yard.
The tour talks about the attempted escapees from Alcatraz and how the prisoners fashioned drills and tunnelling equipment to break out of their cell into the utility space behind it, climb up and over the building walls and out to the water.
Nobody is believed to have made it ashore… alive
After completing a walk around the administrative and visitation areas the tour finishes in the large dining room. All in all Alcatraz prison is not a massive establishment and was never fully occupied. It was the first SuperMax prison in the US and must have been an incredibly scary experience for those that were guests here.
Once we finished the cell tour we explored the rest of the island where there are many many birds nesting and making The Rock their home. In addition, the staff and volunteers are doing all they can to reduce the carbon impact of the island and have installed masses of solar panels and battery capacity to keep the island green, there was no attempt to roll through the Steam engine that Sean Connery used to make his escape and re-entry onto the island from the film.
We got on the boat and headed back to the mainland. A very worthwhile visit for anyone who plans to visit San Francisco.
PS. not to spoil the next post about the rest of our time in San Francisco but seeing a yellow Ferrari driving across the old cable car tracks made my day.
