Early in January 1999 my husband realized he wanted to have his proper shoulder replaced. He was 45 years old, and arthritis meant he'd already undergone two hip replacements. The bad news was there was no surgeon in Zimbabwe qualified to deal with this procedure, so we had to journey outside the country for the operation. The good news was that one of the world's prime shoulder specialists lived in Cape Town, a city we might heard so much about from people who'd been there. At the moment Zimbabwe was still six months away from it's descent into the tragedy it's immediately, so it was simple to make the appointment with the surgeon, arrange the expenses with our medical assist company, book the air tickets and call a buddy who'd been switchred there just a few years earlier to request accommodation. It took six weeks to get everything arranged, and early in March we boarded the flight from Harare to Johannesburg, after which on to Cape Town.
Our friend Pete was waiting for us at the airport. After we might collected our luggage we drove to his house. The drive alongside the highway from the Airport to Cape Town was our introduction to town we might be calling house for the following ten days. The highway was in excellent condition, and ran by means of areas of scrub that flowed away the verges of the road towards distant mountains. Nevertheless ten minutes later we came throughout shanty cities that had been erected next to the highway.
They have been a shabby reminder than ten years after gaining independence the distinction between the rich and poor has maybe worsened. The shacks making up the shanty cities were made of each type of material identified to man - corrugated iron sheets and rusty metal sheets combined with wood, cardboard and wire to kind an extremely uncomfortable shelter than a family called home. Even more appalling was the truth that many of the shanty houses had run wires to the overhead energy lines. This dangerous link was apparently sanctioned by the electricity board - Pete told us that the municipality and the government had been failing to maintain tempo with the demand for houses for the poorer members of society, and likered to leave the shanty towns intact! A refuse collection service run by the local authority was working to help preserve the shanty cities habitable. We saw a number of shanty cities along the principle highways throughout our keep in Cape Town.
Pete lives in a suburb called Somerset West, and his residence was a practical and intensely trendy cluster house in a compound of about 30 residences. This model of living could be very popular hotels in Cape Town South Africa, because of safety and reduced overheads. The complexes are very effectively maintained because every proprietor contributes towards the upkeep and upkeep of the complex. Some complexes offer communal playgrounds for all the resident children, tennis courts and swimming pools. House owners are often able to maintain pets too, because each house has its own private garden. It's also a perfect solution to live in Africa if one needs to travel or go on vacation - neighbours will control the house while you might be away. My husband and I have been so impressed with this way of life that the next yr we bought right into a cluster complicated my then employers had been advertising in Harare. After we sold our house in 2003 we reinvested the cash in a second cluster home. If one wants to live in Africa security is essential, and a cluster dwelling advanced affords the best level of safety for residences.
Pete's a bachelor, in order that night time he prepared a barbecue in his Weber braai unit. His girlfriend Pat got here round to help with the cooking, and we had an exquisite evening. The view from Pete's house was superb. Somerset West is built on a hill overlooking town, and the view from his verandah offered the basic Cape Town view - the sprawling metropolis at the foot of majestic Table Mountain, the lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean. His house had three bedrooms, two loos, a big front room, cutting-edge kitchen and outside laundry/storeroom. He told us he spends most of his time on his verandah or in his garden.
The following morning we had our appointment with the surgeon, who was a Greek Zimbabwean - Basil Vrettos. After his examination and x-rays he booked us right into a private clinic, scheduling the operation for 8.00 the next morning. When we asked husband should go to hospital that evening, Mr Vrettos told us to relatively book in at 6.00 the following morning, urging us to spend the day stress-free and walking round Cape Town. He told the operation would take 4 hours, and that the hospital keep could be just three days! We were delighted. Pete had taken go away to be with us throughout our keep, so the three of us headed into the city.
Our friend Pete was waiting for us at the airport. After we might collected our luggage we drove to his house. The drive alongside the highway from the Airport to Cape Town was our introduction to town we might be calling house for the following ten days. The highway was in excellent condition, and ran by means of areas of scrub that flowed away the verges of the road towards distant mountains. Nevertheless ten minutes later we came throughout shanty cities that had been erected next to the highway.
They have been a shabby reminder than ten years after gaining independence the distinction between the rich and poor has maybe worsened. The shacks making up the shanty cities were made of each type of material identified to man - corrugated iron sheets and rusty metal sheets combined with wood, cardboard and wire to kind an extremely uncomfortable shelter than a family called home. Even more appalling was the truth that many of the shanty houses had run wires to the overhead energy lines. This dangerous link was apparently sanctioned by the electricity board - Pete told us that the municipality and the government had been failing to maintain tempo with the demand for houses for the poorer members of society, and likered to leave the shanty towns intact! A refuse collection service run by the local authority was working to help preserve the shanty cities habitable. We saw a number of shanty cities along the principle highways throughout our keep in Cape Town.
Pete lives in a suburb called Somerset West, and his residence was a practical and intensely trendy cluster house in a compound of about 30 residences. This model of living could be very popular hotels in Cape Town South Africa, because of safety and reduced overheads. The complexes are very effectively maintained because every proprietor contributes towards the upkeep and upkeep of the complex. Some complexes offer communal playgrounds for all the resident children, tennis courts and swimming pools. House owners are often able to maintain pets too, because each house has its own private garden. It's also a perfect solution to live in Africa if one needs to travel or go on vacation - neighbours will control the house while you might be away. My husband and I have been so impressed with this way of life that the next yr we bought right into a cluster complicated my then employers had been advertising in Harare. After we sold our house in 2003 we reinvested the cash in a second cluster home. If one wants to live in Africa security is essential, and a cluster dwelling advanced affords the best level of safety for residences.
Pete's a bachelor, in order that night time he prepared a barbecue in his Weber braai unit. His girlfriend Pat got here round to help with the cooking, and we had an exquisite evening. The view from Pete's house was superb. Somerset West is built on a hill overlooking town, and the view from his verandah offered the basic Cape Town view - the sprawling metropolis at the foot of majestic Table Mountain, the lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean. His house had three bedrooms, two loos, a big front room, cutting-edge kitchen and outside laundry/storeroom. He told us he spends most of his time on his verandah or in his garden.
The following morning we had our appointment with the surgeon, who was a Greek Zimbabwean - Basil Vrettos. After his examination and x-rays he booked us right into a private clinic, scheduling the operation for 8.00 the next morning. When we asked husband should go to hospital that evening, Mr Vrettos told us to relatively book in at 6.00 the following morning, urging us to spend the day stress-free and walking round Cape Town. He told the operation would take 4 hours, and that the hospital keep could be just three days! We were delighted. Pete had taken go away to be with us throughout our keep, so the three of us headed into the city.