April 16

Today was a traveling day. We were already packed and had to return the keys to Garth and Louis. By 9:30, the car was loaded and we were on our way to the cheetah outreach on the way to Arniston. I chose to sit in the back and because everything did not fit in the trunk, I was wedged into a cozy small place.

At the outreach we chose to interact with the young cheetahs. They were no longer babies and seemed as big as the parents, but we were told that they were friskier to interact with. To get into the enclosure, our hands and the soles of our shoes were sanitized twice. We met two eleven month old cheetahs, Ebony and Warrior. While the cat was held by the trainer we were allowed to kneel on one foot behind the cheetah to pet it. You could hear the contented purring as your hand passed over the cheetahs' body. These human raised cheetahs can never be returned to the wild so they are sent to places where they will be lovingly taken care of for the rest of their lives.

Now we began our two hour drive to Arniston. The scenery we passed was beautiful, filled with contoured farms, cattle farms and sheep enclosures. The time passed quickly and we were registered and in our  cottage by two. We brought in our luggage,organized it and then headed out to stock some necessities. Once we were back, we put our purchases away, had some lunch and headed out to the strand.

Arniston is a vacation cottage community very popular during the summer. There isn't even a shop here! It is akin to Cape Cod in the middle of October at this time of year.

It was quite chilly with heavy winds, just opening the door made me think of Mary Poppins blowing in through an open door. Despite the chill, i look off my shoes and socks to walk bare footed in the sand. I did try to walk just at the edge of sand and water, but the water was much too cold. Gila wandered about for a while taking outstanding shots with her iPad. Her intent was to sit out on the rock and sketch, but was somewhat concerned about being out there alone. I strolled back to the cottage to get something to do and had returned to the beach before Shelley came to fetch us. With the cooler temperatures and the strong winds, she was concerned that my cold would worsen. There is a time to be agreeable and this was one.

Dinner was at a house that was running like a restaurant. It was ' off the main road, past a field and a school, at the bottom of the beach road  and under Orion's belt. With so little light, the sky was deepest black and all the stars and the Milky Way were clearly visible. After several missed turns, Shelley found the right place, but hardly any lights were on. We wandered toward the back and asked the cook in the kitchen if the restaurant was still open. He directed us to the front door we had by passed because it was not lit.

The restaurant promised home cooking in a very simple room and home cooking was exactly what we got. Gila and I wanted lamb, but there was none left so we both had fish, probably caught that day. With some salad sand buttered potatoes, it was a peasant enjoyable meal and way to pass the evening.

Getting home was almost as big an adventure as finding our way there, but I credit Shelley for her calmness and great sense of direction. We will travel tomorrow and  visit a game reserve before our next stop in Seweweekspoort.