Early in January 1999 my husband discovered he needed to have his right shoulder replaced. He was forty five years old, and arthritis meant he'd already undergone hip replacements. The bad news was there was no surgeon in Zimbabwe qualified to tackle this procedure, so we had to journey outside the country for the operation. The good news was that one of many world's top shoulder specialists lived in Cape Town, a metropolis we would heard a lot about from people who'd been there. At that time Zimbabwe was still six months away from it is descent into the tragedy it is at present, so it was straightforward to make the appointment with the surgeon, arrange the bills with our medical assist company, book the air tickets and speak to a buddy who'd been transferred there a couple of 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, and then on to Cape Town.

Our good friend Pete was ready for us on the airport. After we'd collected our baggage we drove to his house. The drive along the highway from the Airport to Cape Town was our introduction to the town we might be calling house for the subsequent ten days. The highway was in glorious situation, and ran by areas of scrub that flowed away the verges of the road towards distant mountains. Nonetheless ten minutes later we came across shanty cities that had been erected subsequent to the highway.

They had been a shabby reminder than ten years after gaining independence the contrast between the rich and poor has perhaps worsened. The shacks making up the shanty towns were made of every sort of material recognized to man - corrugated iron sheets and rusty metal sheets combined with wood, cardboard and wire to form an especially uncomfortable shelter than a household called home. Even more appalling was the fact that most of the shanty houses had run wires to the overhead energy lines. This harmful link was apparently sanctioned by the electrical energy board - Pete told us that the municipality and the federal government were failing to maintain tempo with the demand for houses for the poorer members of society, and preferred to go away the shanty towns intact! A refuse collection service run by the native authority was operating to assist hold the shanty towns habitable. We noticed a number of shanty towns along the principle highways during our stay in Cape Town.

Pete lives in a suburb called Somerset West, and his dwelling was a practical and very trendy cluster home in a compound of about 30 residences. This fashion of dwelling may be very common in South Africa, because of security and reduced overheads. The complexes are very well maintained because every owner contributes towards the upkeep and maintenance of the complex. Some complexes provide communal playgrounds for all of the resident children, tennis courts and swimming pools. Owners are often able to maintain pets too, because each house has its own private garden. It's also a perfect strategy to live in Africa if one must journey or go on holiday - neighbours will keep an eye on the house while you might be away. My husband and I have been so impressed with this way of life that the following year we purchased right into a cluster complicated my then employers had been advertising and marketing in Harare. When we sold our house hotels in Cape Town 2003 we reinvested the cash in a second cluster home. If one needs to live in Africa safety is essential, and a cluster dwelling advanced provides the best level of security for residences.

Pete's a bachelor, so that evening he prepared a barbecue in his Weber braai unit. His girlfriend Pat got here spherical to assist with the cooking, and we had a wonderful evening. The view from Pete's house was superb. Somerset West is constructed on a hill overlooking the city, and the view from his verandah offered the classic Cape Town view - the sprawling city at the foot of majestic Table Mountain, the lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean. His house had three bedrooms, loos, a large 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 into a private clinic, scheduling the operation for 8.00 the next morning. When we requested husband should go to hospital that night, Mr Vrettos told us to reasonably book in at 6.00 the next morning, urging us to spend the day relaxing and walking round Cape Town. He told the operation would take 4 hours, and that the hospital keep can be just three days! We were delighted. Pete had taken depart to be with us during our keep, so the three of us headed into the city.