Purely by chance (so Rob says) our visit to Cape Town happily coincided with the Cape Town rugby sevens. Very surprisingly and very luckily, when Rob happened to discover this coincidence, when we were back in Stilbaai, there were still two tickets available. We booked them forthwith and planned our day.
Sunday 9th
Rob set off early again for his second morning on his bike. 
and I managed a quick run, sticking firmly to recognised paths.
By 10.30 we were back, breakfasted, showered and on our way to the Cape Town stadium. 
Rob spent a lot of time telling me about how impressive the building was but I had much more fun watching the thousands of people who had turned up in totally random variations of fancy dress.
The stadium was relatively quiet as we watched a few of the plate games but as the first of the quarter finals of the cup competition approached, South Africa versus Scotland, every seat filled and the stadium erupted with noise and energy. This also meant that Rob had to move across the other side of the walkway from me. When we thought our tickets were too good to be true it turned out they were. Although they were numerically ordered 11 and 12. They weren’t actually next to each other but we didn’t allow this to mar our day and soon made friends.😊
The Springboks victory over Scotland ensured that spirits remained high and even though England lost to USA whom, in my ignorance, I thought they’d have no problem beating, the overall atmosphere meant we couldn’t feel despondent. 
It was a really great day and I should never have underestimated the USA as they were brilliant against New Zealand, scoring my favourite try of the tournament and even putting up a good fight against the mighty Fijians who were amazing from the start. South Africa managed third place with England finishing fifth – I’m hooked, roll on the London sevens in May!
Monday 10th
Rob’s last morning with his bike. 😢 Although it wasn’t quite as high spec as he was used to or what he would have chosen, he’d definitely grown quite attached to it. I wish I’d taken a picture of his cycling shoes, they definitely weren’t from this decade, possibly not even this century!
After I’d had another run and we’d both got ready for the day we hopped on the tour bus to go and be tourists. We arrived at the V&A waterfront (which we wrongly thought was the Victoria and Albert but was actually Alfred after her son) and had a wander before our 3pm departure for Robben Island. I bought a few little decorations for the villa in Koh Samui where we are staying over Christmas
before, quite by accident, we discovered the food market. Obviously Rob and I both love food so this was heaven. 😊After perusing every available stall I even found I had a choice of available gluten free options – so good. We both chose warm frittatas and freshly made smoothies and enjoyed them in the sunshine.
Although we were both eager to do the Robben Island tour it was a little disappointing. There was quite a lot of waiting around for the ferry, the journey was about 35 minutes and fairly dull. I had hoped it might have been more informative in creating a backdrop for the tour but although there was a video playing the sound wasn’t working in our section of the ferry.
On arrival to the island we were herded straight on to coaches of about forty per coach and given a tour guide. Although I sometimes have some difficulty understanding different accents, with concentration I have been fine, particularly on the different tours we have been on. This tour guides accent was indecipherable, not just for Rob and I but for many others too. Consequently people began to chat a little amongst themselves making comprehension even more impossible. Half way through the guide and the driver swopped and we hoped for greater clarity, unfortunately this was not to be! This part of the tour allowed for no exploration – the only time we were given to explore was at the shop, the highlights being a cold drink and seeing penguins.
We were so relieved when the coach tour was over and we were taken to the very best twenty minutes of our day. This part was delivered by a lovely man who was an ex political prisoner on The Island. His stay overlapped with Mandela’s but he only served seven years of a twenty year sentence – he was only 17 at the time. His first hand descriptions of Prison conditions was very clear, concise and humbling. He didn’t try to dramatise anything, he didn’t need to as the cells and communal areas have been preserved as they were. 
Above is Mandela’s cell
Our hosts most striking words were about how he has found forgiveness and acceptance. He now lives on the island, working as a tour guide. He suffered dreadful conditions and unnecessary abuse at the hands of the prison guards but does seem at peace with the perpetrators who ‘were doing their job’ and with his surroundings.
The ferry journey back, although the same, seemed quicker. We had lots to think about! We were also delighted by an added bonus of seals waiting for us at our destination. 
Although there were parts of the three hour tour that could definitely have been improved, the twenty minutes of first hand narrative was exceptional and totally made the experience worth while.
Rob & Emma's Trip 
🏉👍
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