something we had found indispensable in New York. Fortunately this did not
matter as our first destination was beyond the end of the line and it was easy
to know when we had reached this because the driver shouted 'you’re on your
own!' Friendly.
The Cable Car journey itself was very exciting, if a little vibratory. The
fun part (and by fun I mean scary) was when the cable car stopped to let
people on and off, as it did this in the middle of intersections, the only level
piece of ground.
When we got to Pier 41 to catch the boat to Alcatraz Island we could barely
see the vessel. In an ironic turn of events San Francisco was suffering from
London fog! It was so bad that the ferries had to use their foghorns to avoid
collisions - having to distinguish their own warnings from the racket made by
the nearby community of sea lions. Riding through the impenetrable fog made
the journey out to the island very eerie and seemed an appropriate
atmosphere given our destination. The island appeared out of the gloom only
when we were very close to it, and as we disembarked it seemed a very
desolate location indeed.
Although the areas of the island that were open to the public were not
particularly big, there was enough to keep visitors occupied for a good half
day. The island is part of the National Parks Service and straightaway a
ranger orientated us about the island, and the talks and tours available.
During the day we watched two films, one general history and the other about
the island's post prison days; looked round a small museum; took the audio
tour of the cellblocks; and listened to a second ranger talk. These last two