66 Square Feet

Muisbosskerm

Muisbos (lit. mouse bush) is a shrub that grows on the West Coast. I think it is Lycium, but what species? Box thorn in English. Muisbosskerm, the West Coast institution, has walls made of dry muisbos, and a great sandy space inside where huge fireplaces cook fish, crayfish, skilpadjies (little tortoises) and pofadders (puffadders). More about those later. Don't worry. It'll be OK.

Muisbosskerm is right on the beach and has no neighbours. It's just the sand and the sea. You are warned in their online literature and publicity leaflets, which blanket Lambert's Bay, to be prepared to spend 3 hours at dinner. But we were actually whizzed through the whole process in just over an hour. Far too fast given the variety of foods we ate. A little contemplation of each plate would have been a good thing, instead of being hustled like a foie gras goose from course to course.

We took our last bottle of chilled Prosecco with us. South Africa has a long standing and liberal attitude towards BYOB. Muisbos has cottoned on to corkage though, which is fine, given the wine choices on offer. We sat, a little chilly, at a picnic table outside above the beach, beside two Afrikaans couples tucking into their brandies and cokes, and puffing away on a relay of cigarettes. From the other side of the stoep came American voices. Caught between my worlds.

We popped our cork into the sunset and felt good, drinking the bubbly grape juice, and toasting our escape from the hell of the Lambert's Bay camp site.

This was our only moment of repose.

If things had happened more slowly, I would have tasted everything, but as it was, we were rushed from dish to dish and I could not bear to clutter my plates with too many ill-matching tidbits, so I edited, severely, and came away very happy with what looked like the starring items.