After the wonderful week in the game parks with family, Marion and I headed to CapeTown, where I was to be visiting professor at Groote Schuur hospital. We splurged by arriving on the famous Blue Train from Pretoria. 36 hours of pampering, with great (too much) food. The landscape was rather monotonous until the mountainous Cape region.

Table mountain is iconic and the whole area beautiful. I first visited Groote Schuur in 1973, which started a lifelong association, and a special friendship with the godfather of gastroenterology in South Africa, the legendary Solly Marks. I wrote about him earlier. My host this time was Sandie Thomson, Chief of the GI section, and our schedule well organized by Karin Fenton, thank you both. We had fun meeting the physicians, surgeons and a variety of trainees, gave a few lectures, and took part in a training workshop for ERCP. I was particularly impressed by the structured teaching methods demonstrated by Sandie, his colleague Sean Burmeister and by Shrisha Hebbar, visiting from England (thanks for your photos).

                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some will recall that Groote Schuur was the site of the first heart transplant procedure, by Christian Barnard, almost exactly 50 years ago. The museum dedicated to it is superb.

It was not all work. Marion and I were treated to great food and wine, and we snuck in some golf (thank you, Flip).

So, home with good memories of a wonderful visit. We are lucky people.

(Apologies for the poor formatting, I am still struggling with word press)