Doctors, nurses and other professional medical staff from South Africa have for years been migrating north to hospitals in the west, but lately the migration has experienced a bizarre reverse with many prospective patients, particularly those looking for elective surgery, coming to South Africa to take advantage of much cheaper rates offered for complex surgical procedures.
The ‘Surgery and Safari’ phenomenon has been ongoing now for quite some time, and certainly in a nation that produced the legendary Doctor Christiaan Barnard, pioneering cardiac surgeon who performed the first successful heart transplant …
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More than 100 swimmers are expected to compete for R10000 ($1400) in a swim from Robben Island to Bloubergstrand (where I live). The 7.4km swim is considered to be one of the most difficult in the world, with strong currents, unpredictable swell, icy temperatures and of course sharks. This is known as the Cape of storms after all.
The race takes place on April 27th and a large turnout is expected as this is the 6th year of the event and a number of sponsored have gotten involved. The race began as a fund-raiser for the Vista Nova school, a school for children with learning disabilities and cerebral palsy and now the race has raised interest for around the world. The swimmers are certainly not in it for the money and the promoters hope this to become the largest event of its kind in the world.
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Cape Town is dotted with markets. Most with curios, antiques, clothing and the obligatory “yellow food” array.
For something a little different, WITW (What If The World), have initiated an organic food, crafts and design market in what was the old biscuit factory in Woodstock.
One can find incredible artisinal breads and locally produced premium olives, amongst all sorts of wonderfull fresh fruits and vegetables. More than 50 stands of produce in all. It is only open on Saturdays and has a huge following of Jamie Oliver and “knit your own yoghurt” types on Vespa’s and unicycles.
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Whether travelling alone or in a group, personal safety features high on women’s lists of concerns. And although South Africa, on the whole, requires less of an adjustment from “Western” women travellers than other parts of the continent - the mix of cultural influences here ensures a great degree of tolerance for all types of women’s lifestyles - there are some travel guidelines to bear in mind.
SA Blog’s Tips for Women Travellers:
Personal safety: we don’t mean to be alarmist, but it’s important to know that there is considerable crime in South African cities, especially theft and muggings, and it’s always safer to travel with someone else. Don’t “look like a tourist” - keep your camera packed away until you want to use it; don’t wear valuable jewellry; enter a shop before consulting a map; and don’t open your purse or bag on the street. Go out at night in groups. Odds are that you won’t have an unpleasant experience, and keeping in a group works very much in your favor.
Planning to travel alone? Find a travel buddy at your destination on the BootsnAll Travel Forums.
Sexual harassment and rape are all too common in South Africa, especially the former. Ignore the pettier kinds of behavior (whistling, shouting, etc.), but make a scene if your personal space is invaded. At nightclubs and bars, don’t let your drink out of your sight. Avoid being alone with unfamiliar men. If you are raped, contact Rape Crisis (national hotline: +27 (0) 21 447 1467; based in Cape Town, with referral services in other parts of the country), which will provide counselling and assist you with the police.
Tampons, medicines and the Pill are available in familiar brands and prescriptions, but it’s more convenient to bring supplies from home. If you’re on the Pill, bring enough to last your entire trip (and remember that severe vomiting or diaorrhea can render it ineffective).
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Winter has arrived in Cape Town at last! - and with it, an ominous outbreak of chest infections and head colds.
Chicken Soup
In the interests of public wellness, SA Blog brings you Your Correspondent’s own fantastic chicken soup recipe, sampled and heartily approved by his Lovely Assistant (among others). It’s five-star cold prevention and ‘flu recuperation food!
SA BLOG’S OWN CHICKEN SOUP
Prep: 15 min
Cooking: 1 hour
Serves: 4-6
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In the ancestor worshipping traditions held by the majority (80%) of South Africans (Zulu, Xhosa, Ndabele and Swazi) the Sangoma is the primary and sometimes exclusive healer and counsellor.
There is no governing body to control who is, and who is not, a sangoma, anyone can claim to be one (there are over 200,000!). Traditionally a new sangoma is called by an initiation illness, often psychosis, headache, stomach pain, shoulder or neck complaints. After which they will undergo “Thwasa”, a period of training including learning humility to the ancestors, purification through steaming, washing in the blood of sacrificed animals, and the use of Muti, medicines with spiritual significance. At the end of Thwasa, an animal is sacrificed to appease the ancestors.
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December 1st was World AIDS Day and no country needs to be more aware of this than South Africa.
To put you in the picture.
Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, our reverend health minister’s public disdain for Anti retroviral drugs and her promotion of beetroot, garlic and lemons instead, makes me worry a little.
Former deputy president and head South Africa’s national AIDS council and Moral Regeneration Movement, Jacob Zuma, caused havoc when during his rape trial he disclosed that he knew the girl was HIV
…
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Alert! According to medical professionals whom Your Correspondent has spoken to on the matter, drinking beer is a good way to ward off mosquitos. Miraculous news!
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New Malaria Tonic
Beer has a lot of Vitamin B in it, you see, which in turn produces an odor in your sweat that drives mosquitos away. So, in addition to taking the malaria-avoiding steps in SA Logue’s Malaria …
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Alert! In the Southern Hemisphere, winter cold is settling in, while in the Northern Hemisphere, spring has begun to blossom - signalling a rash of colds, ‘flu, and hayfever headed your way!
Herbal remedies for these types of ailments being all the rage, some of you may have noticed the floral ingredient Pelargonium in your tinctures and capsules. This extract hails, in fact, from South Africa; the subspecies Pelargonium sidoides has been harvested here as a traditional remedy for coughs, scratchy throats, infections, and so on, for the regulation hundreds of years.
Pelargonium info links: Wikipedia | Pelargonium Page | PlantzAfrica
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Run for your lives!
According to international reports, rat-tailed maggots, every bit as ugly as they sound, have been popping out of basins, toilets and taps across Cape Town, sparking a citywide panic that health officials have tried desperately to calm.
Apparently, you can see the maggots with your naked eye - but that still wouldn’t stop me from practicing the ‘hover position’ (see second article below)!
An emergency call to Cape Town, however, provides some reassurance. According to SA Blog editor Ben Williams, the story has been blown wildly out of proportion - there is no maggot plague, and his own toilet …
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