The new Blog, covering our 2013 trip to Italy, can be read at:

www.mcleodscruising.com

This blog will become redundant as of now.

End of this blog.

Well, its only been 15 months since I added anything to this blog.

I'm going to start a new blog for our Italian phase and will let you know what it's called.

Health Update

The operation to remove the offending gall bladder is now slated for tomorrow, August 14th 2012.

The operation will be at the John Fawkner private hospital, Coburg.

The specialist uses a keyhole technique, that requires four small cuts to the abdomen, through which, (I assume), the gall bladder is dragged out.

I will be kept in over-night and provided that there are no complications, will be released on Wednesday.

Then a couple of days recuperation, and back to business!!

Thanks for all the emails and calls of support.

Cheers, Rod

Another Health update

A few people have complained that I am not keeping this blog up-to-date on my medical saga. So for those nice folk who care, this is where we are at.

I've been visiting the specialist every week, where he reviews the previous week's blood tests, decides that some aspects of the liver function are still not quite right, takes another blood sample and asks to see me same time next week.

In the mean time I'm still on a "3 glasses of red wine a week" liquid diet, and I have cut out all the foods that I like.


I am reminded of a novelty tray that Mum and Dad had hung on a wall at home. I never really understood the words as a kid, but it makes sense now. 

"Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening" 

The tray had two saying on it. The second one, (which I still don't understand) was:

"The best ten years of a woman's life are between 28 and 30"

Anyway, we had decided a date to have the gall bladder removed - July 24th 2012.

This morning's consultation was short and sweet. "Mr McLeod, you have a cold coming on. The surgery is cancelled."

"See me next week and we'll review your blood tests and see how your cold is progressing."

So, still waiting.... Maybe we'll do the operation in August.

Is all for now..... Cheers

Health Update

Many thanks to all those who have been inquiring about my recent health.

As some of you will know, I was hit with "obstructive jaundice" while we were at the Kruger National Park in South Africa last fortnight, and, after tests in a Johannesburg hospital, was advised to return to Australia for specialist treatment.

Last week, back in Australia, I had blood tests and an ultra scan, which confirms that the "obstructive jaundice" was indeed caused by a gall stone.

If I understand it correctly (and I probably don't!), the gallstone blocks the bile duct and instead of the bile passing through into the digestive tract, it has nowhere to go, so it is absorbed into your system.

The spread of bile throughout your system causes your skin to go yellow, your urine to go brown and your faeces to go white! 

Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and gut pain become the norm.The liver is also impacted - liver function levels becomes elevated.

So, the specialist tells me that there is residual "sludge" in my gall ladder, which means the gall bladder will have to be removed - but only when the liver gets back to normal.

So. it is a special diet of vegetables, lean meat, selected fruits and NO alcohol!!

I am seeing the specialist at the end of May, when he will take more blood samples to determine if the liver has improved, and we will then assess when the gall bladder is to be removed. 

This could go on for some time. 

The specialist thinks that I am "lucky" - there is no evidence of anything more sinister (cancer) and he thinks the problem was almost certainly a gallstone which has subsequently been passed. I received a good talking to about diet, weight and fitness. 

Obviously, further travel is not an option until this is all sorted, the gall bladder removed, and then only after some sort of recuperative period.

Which means that we will have to stay in Melbourne for the duration. This means renting a house or apartment, which means, as very few places lease for less that 12 months, we ain't going nowhere for a while!

Meanwhile, although tired, I am feeling better, the urine and faeces seem to be returning to normal, so that is probably also an indicator that the stone has passed and I am slowly returning to whatever for me is normal. 

We are staying at the old Brunswick Towers Motel on Moreland Rd until we find a suitable apartment - we are looking at 5 or 6 places in the next few days, so as soon as we get settled, move in, get the furniture of storage, services connected etc etc, we will try and get to see those of you who are around Melbourne.

I want to acknowledge Su for her excellent care and concern! She's been a rock!

In the meantime, as they say in the classics, "Keep taking the pills!"

Cheers, Rod

SPECIAL NOTICE

INTERRUPTION TO ADVENTURE

We apologise for this unscheduled interruption to our latest adventure, but circumstances beyond our control have forced an early return to Australia.

As noted earlier in the blog, Rod has had some digestive problems- which intensified last week (April 24th).  He was bedridden for two days, and, after a phone diagnosis, was sent to see a local Doctor, who diagnosed "Obstructive Jaundice".

The Kruger park safari was terminated and Rod was flown back to Johannesburg for a CT scan at the Milpark hospital, where a gall stone was identified. Further tests and a possible operation was mooted. Advised by the Doctor that there was a travel window of around three days, Rod and Su returned to Melbourne on Tuesday May 2nd.

The blog will be retrospectively updated as time (and energy) permits.

We are currently staying at the Motel Dolma, Brunswick.

Wednesday April 11th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel
Laps:0 Steps:0

By 9:00 we have disembarqued the ship. It was sad saying goodbye to team JERBBS  (Jack, Elaine, Rod, Robin, Barbara Su). They were a lot of fun to be with. We hope to catch them up in UK in the coming months.

Get 100% ripped off by a taxi driver taking us from the ship to the hotel. I don't begrudge this, as it is absolutely essential that this happens when you first visit a new city. Fare:150 rand. Current exchange rate is 7.8 rand to the Oz Dollar. To get an idea of prices, I divide the rand by 10 and then add back a third, thereabouts. So, 150 rand is $15 (divide by 10) + $5 (add back a third of $15) = about $20.

By 10:00 we were at the hotel. We had been advised by Arcadia that one of the best places to stay is the Victoria and Alfred (Victoria's son) waterfront area. We had booked a hotel very nearby - attached to a business school run by the universty.

Very stylish and comparatively cheap ($110 per night) compared to some of the rooms we were offered in Australia (up to $300/night).  After checking in, we went to the V&A complex - yes, another giant shopping complex. Albeit complete with waterfront, yachts, some music and a mini London eye.

We will try that when we get back from safari. We decided to walk into town - about 45 minutes. Found a nice cafe, had a meal and drank some wine. Prices are good - about 75% of that which you would pay in Australia.

                                                               Not another salad!

We get a taxi back to the V&A "Minimum fare is R50" says the taxi driver.

Thursday April 12th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel 

We buy an all day "hop-on, hop-off" ticket and get to see the Cape Town sights, and hear the history. The bus also takes us to the Tabletop mountain cable car. Fare: 140 Rand each. Good value.

The Tabletop mountain absolutely dominates the city. Everywhere you look, you see bits of it. It's a fabulous view from the top when clouds are not obscuring the view. Today we are lucky - it's as clear as a bell.

Back down the mountain to the city, then dropped off in the city late afternoon.  Su buys some Tee Shirts for the grandkids in Green Market square.

                                                                   Su's new friend


 Take a taxi back - on the meter this time - R31. Getting cheaper every day!

So, we are beginning to realise that the hotel is pretty isolated, apart from easy access to the V&A shopping centre during daylight hours. We are told a taxi is the only "safe" method of getting around after dusk.  Still unsure what to believe about safety in Cape Town, we are hesitant to walk down the dark streets to the V&A for a meal, which anyway, is a bit of a tourist rip-off. We lose some weight.

Friday April 13th 2012 - Cape Town - V&A hotel 

Feeling a bit poorly with this flue thing.... Su is coughing badly, and Rod has a recurring stomach complaint as well... eeeerrrrruuuuupppppppttttt!

We decide that this hotel is wrong for us. It is nice, but tiny - and the rooms have some serious design flaws not initially recognised when we booked it. For example, the toilet and shower area is bounded by floor to ceiling glass. It is frosted up to head height and clear at the top. In the middle of the night, when someone uses the toilet, the lights shine directly into the bed area. And, for those of us with sensitive natures, sound attenuation is a big, big problem. The room is quite small - 6m x 4m x 3m high.

Time to introduce the "Body Volumes" concept.  All this started when Carolina was keening about her poor dog, Gringa, which had been placed in a kennel when she and Nick were travelling. Someone suggested that in terms of "body volumes", Gringa was doing much better in the large kennel, than living in her small dog house.  This is all very approximate.  If you convince four people to stand comfortably close together (but not cramped), they would take up a footprint of about 1 metre in floor space and around two metres in height.

This is approximately 2 cubic metres of volume. So each of the four individuals could be said to have a body volume of approximately 0.5 m3  If the room is 6x4x3 = 72m3 This means a couple will have 36 body volumes of room each. This may sound like a lot of space, but when you consider that our St Kilda house was probably 18mx6mx4m x two stories = 864 m3, then Su and I would have had approximately 430 body volumes each for living space.
 
So, back to our little cramped, badly designed hotel room. "No", the hotel had no rooms bigger than ours. They are all identically sized.  So, I did some research on the net and found a likely two bedroom apartment in Camps Bay, a beach suburb of CTown. High end, expensive, but hell we're on holidays!

Off to have a look. Taxi fare: On the meter: Rand 180. Had a feeling we went the long way round. Great body volume size (around 150m3pp), right on the beach, great balcony looking at the sea, next to cafe's, restaurants, and regularly patrolled by security people into the late hours. We agreed to take the Camps Bay apartment. www.placeonthebay.co.za    

Feeling energised, we risk taking a "local" bus back to V&A waterfront. These local buses are privately run, 14-seat vans which have a defined route, but no formal bus stops. You get picked up at the terminus, or flag them down along the route.  van camps bay  They drop you off almost anywhere you want on the route. They are cheap. We get one which says it goes to V&A, but language can be a problem. Cost 8 Rand each (Wow!! value for money here!!)

However, we end up in town and its getting dark! Nervousness starts. Should we get a taxi?? I'm determined to get a local bus, but Su is cautioned by a local South Africaan lady "Don't do it, they'll muck you round, take a taxi" However, I'm determined, so we pile in, and in ten minutes, Su recognised where we are and we stop - delivered to the door! Cost 4 rand each. I just love it!!

Saturday April 14th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

We check out, get a refund on our two unused nights accommodation, and grab a cab.

Straight there this time - 80 Rand. Better. This apartment has a kitchenette, Yippee! back to basics food! We buy some foodstuffs at a little supermarket, and eat in tonight. Baked Beans, yum.

Sunday April 15th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Veg out today - wind gets wild tonight.


Monday April 16th 2012 - Capetown Camps Bay 

Another veg out day. Feels like a real holiday. Terrific community here in a beautiful picturesqe setting - crashing sea on a pearly white beach below rugged mountains... idyllic!

                                                                       Camps Bay

Tuesday April 17th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Send lots of postcards.... Found free wifi at a great cafe here, .... beginning to understand why it's called "Camps Bay"

Wednesday April 18th 2012 - Capetown Camps Bay

Local bus to Seapoint, along thecoast - Rand 7 each, explore shops and sights, buy a soft sided bag for Su to take on safari, buy some liquor. Local bus back: Rand 7 each.

                                                               Another new friend

Sunsets are the best I've ever seen...

Thursday April 19th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Sunset walk.... Beautiful.

                                                                View from our balcony

Friday April 20th 2012 - Cape Town Camps Bay 

Lazy day - write up these notes.

Saturday April 21th 2012 - Fly to Joburg