Sept. 5, Day 13

 Another stormy, windy night. Today's temperature was due to be a high of 55 and we expected rain for most of the day. But, like any good traveler who knows they may not pass this way again, we made the best of it.

One of our hosts had mentioned Monkeyland. It sounded a bit quirky, but I found it is a sanctioned primate rescue reserve. It accepts primates primarily from zoos and private owners (it is legal in South Africa to have monkeys as pets). Until recently, it also rescued primates from circuses. These animals roam free in a 56-acre park. Since we visited on a cold, rainy day, we saw a lot of monkeys huddled together for warmth in trees. The brief few minutes when it had stopped raining, monkeys skittered about, fairly oblivious that we were there. We got to see Capuchin Monkeys, Ring-tailed and Black-and-white Ruffed Lemurs, Spider and Howler Monkeys, and even caught a glimpse of a Gibbon as it raced by us before disappearing into the forest. One interesting thing I learned is that apes have no tails and are able to walk upright. We had a great guide and a wonderful time, even if we returned to the car very wet and a little muddy,

It was time to do an indoor activity. Denis found a winery, Luca. As with pretty much all the wineries we have visited, they serve food along with their wine. We showed up and, despite not having a reservation, were welcomed in. We ordered a wine tasting, a Mediterranean platter for 2, and then another glass of wine. It was a lovely way to end the afternoon. Unlike many of the wineries near us in California, the South African wineries welcome "well-behaved" children and pets. This one even had a swing set and slide in the garden. It felt a little like England and the pubs.

When one is away from home for a while, inevitably laundry becomes an issue. Our Guest House advertises laundry service. I brought ours down. They counted up the number of pairs of socks, underwear, shirts, and pants and gave us a total of $47 for wash, dry, and fold. We quickly checked Google and found that while there were no self-serve laundry mats in the area, there were laundry services. I WhatsApped one, even local telephone calls with T-Mobile are pretty pricey, and found they charged by the kilo. I had no idea how much laundry we had but since it wasn't too far away, we decided to take it there. In the end, our laundry, washed, dried, folded and nicely sorted, came to just over $14. 

Since we had a late lunch and the weather is a bit inclement, staying in for the evening seemed like a good option. Once again, we are the only guests for the night. That means, we have the house to ourselves, which is kinda nice - we have a wood fire going in one of the lounges (remember, the bedrooms are not heated) but is also a bit eerie.