March 25 Rating the ports...

  We wake to a lovely breakfast spread for 4, us and the French couple from Toulouse. Pierrre tells us he and Marina (the town lawyer) have sold the property and will move in 18 months to build their own very self-sufficient property where power outages won’t bother them! Ambitious. 

 We take the dirt road out to their reservoir which is sadly low. They have 6 months water supply left at this location. People are walking along the road from nowhere to nowhere. One a mother with bay on her back? They disappear by the time we return. Where do they go?? What is listed as a neat dirt road circular tour is dead, dead, dead. Wine harvest is over so no wineries are open and there is no sign of all the arty workshops or cafes en route. 

  The area is famous for its fruit and dried fruits so we call by the big site on the highway to stock up on dried grapes, apricots, peaches, pears and wonderful fresh figs.

  We go first to DeKrans winery, with multiple awards for its ports, which do not disappoint. We buy a 20 year Port Cape Reserve (not allowed to call it port..) to take back to Calgary. It may be good to put down for 20 years but it sure won’t last that long at 159. 

 WE return to shower in a warmer room, cool this morning, no need for A/C here. Then finish what’s left from yesterday’s cheese board.

  It’s a nice wee walk along the vineyards to BoPlaas, where $6 gets you a tasting of 5 port-like wines. They have discontinued the white, no market here. But are producing a pink, hoping it will catch on I guess.  They also make famous whiskey but we are not up to tasting that. Despite all their awards and platinum stickers, we resist buying here.

  Back to doze at the pool and read, we than walk back to town before dark for an excellent ostrich steak, bakes potato and salad at a small unassuming little resto on the main road. All the people hanging out on the corners have disappeared as we walk back in the dark (past the police station) but we are glad there are streetlights all along the way. Jackets on tonight as it’s cooling down quickly now.