It’s 8 in the morning, and outside the sirens are getting closer and closer.. I jump out of bed, get dressed and just as I walk out of the door the police cars are stopping in front of me. DAMN. BUSTED!

But it’s a beautiful day to go to jail, so without any resistance I get into the police car for a short ride to Pier 33. Me and some 100 other persons are lined up and waiting for the transfer to Alcatraz!

The boat transfers us to the isolated island. We get dropped off. Then it’s a short walk up to the main prison. This is it! Will I be locked for ever behind these walls? Or will I be able to escape?

Once I am inside I am surrounded by gates, I follow a red marked trail on the floor to a person handing out audio sets. In today modern prisons all criminals arriving they get audio sets with instructions about where to go and what to do. So I choose my own language, click in the start button and start walking.

It’s busy today - many prisoners arrived. The tour takes about 40 minutes and is told by an old office called Patrick Mahoney. Patrick tells about his live on the family, how he and his colleges worked with the inmates, how they saw people got killed, and how people tried to escape. He and his family lived on the island in a different part of the island, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco.

The tour is great and gives lots of information about the 29 years operation of Alcatraz. Walking along the cells gives you an idea how the prisoners lived here or maybe better said, didn’t lived here. It must have been very lonely for those prisoners. I also remember that Patrick said ‘Not only the prisoners where the prisoners, but also the guards who lived on the island with their families.’ All guards and their families lived on the island, and where able to get to San Francisco by boat, but always returned to stay the night on the island.

After the audio tour I saw my change! My change to escape! There was a door open, and a boat coming with more prisoners. So I took my change, ran outside towards the boat, jumped on and luckily no one saw me doing that.

It’s been a great experience and a must see here in San Francisco! Alcatraz - been here, done it!