Final days

Although we had accomplished the primary objective of the ride, Highwood Pass, we still had 190 km of riding left over the last two days, including a second consecutive 130 km ride to Pincher Creek.

We awoke to light rain which had started during the night.  We met for breakfast at the hotel across the street before getting dressed to ride.   The rain was now a little lighter but there was low cloud all around.  We started out of Longview immediately hitting a long downhill followed by a long uphill.  This was apparently what the ride was going to be like today.  Still it was not raining and we did not have the notorious cross-wind in that area.  We went thru a moderate squall that lasted a few minutes and continued on.  About 20 km into the ride the rain became heavy and we got soaked quite quickly.  Ben met us down the rode and we decided to stop riding and just drive to Pincher Creek.

Down the road it had stopped raining and the pavement was dry but nobody seemed very interested in  getting out.  There were ominous clouds in all directions and besides we were pretty tired from the day before.  Ben was able to phone the hotel to arrange an early check in and we were able to roll in get to our rooms and shower, after which we ate the lunch we were supposed to eat along the road.  We spent the rest of the afternoon napping or reading. 

Around 1500 we had a thunder storm accompanied by hail.

It was hard not to observe that we would have been pulling into town around that time if we had kept on riding.

We ate at the pizza place next door, Luigi's and went back to the hotel.  Mary and I used the hot tub and Mary even went down the waterslide. 

The next morning was cloudy but not raining.  We had 60 km to go to Waterton Lakes Park.  After breakfast we loaded up and started out on the rode.  This featured a series of significant climbs punctuated by short downhills so we were gradually climbing up.  

Ben met us at Twin Butte for a nutrition break.

The weather was by now deteriorating and I decided to put on my rain coat and almost immediately it started raining soaking my uncovered legs. We kept plugging on and Ben met us a few km up the road.  At that point we were about 20 km from Waterton and the rain was lightening a bit, so we decided to go on and put on our rain pants.  Of course it stopped raining a few km later.

We could now see the mountains and were about 10 km from Waterton.  We had a long mostly downhill ride from there before arriving at the park.

Ben met us and we rolled on past the park gates, to where there was a paved bike path.  A paved bike path in a natural park, what a concept.  We kept on down the path which went up and down randomly for a few km.  Finally the famous Prince of Wales hotel came into view.

We kept on to the road to Red Rock Canyon where Ben met us for lunch.  We decided to ride the 15 km to the Canyon.  What was an extra 30 km after what we had gotten thru and besides Ben had phoned and our rooms weren't ready. We set up first climbing a steep but short hill.  The road was newly paved but only two lanes with no shoulder which meant cars had to either slow down or go into the next lane to pass us.  The road was a gradual uphill with steeper sections.  We rode for about 9 km before looking ahead into what looked like bad weather and decided to turn around for a nice 9 km of mostly downhill.

 

We then kept on downhill to the Waterton townsite.  Ben met us at our hotel and our rooms were ready at the Waterton resort which is a complex of individual buildings with rooms on both floors.  We showered and changed and explored a bit.  

Waterton townsite is what a national park town should be, small non-chain stores and independent restaurants and hotel.  The surrounding area is spectacular.

Moreover the sun actually came out in the late afternoon and evening.

I cannot believe I waited almost 59 years to visit this incredible place.  

We had our last supper together at Vimy's the restaurant attached to the hotel.  

After dinner Mary and I strolled around a bit before returning to our room for the night.  The view from our window was so nice we didn't bother to close the drapes.

The next morning we packed up, had breakfast and set out.  It had been an incredible journey possibly my best vacation ever but I was ready to go home.  It was initially sunny with some clouds but we did have some rain along the way.  We dropped Eric off in Calgary and Theo off at the Calgary airport and then Ben, Mary and I had a three hour drive to Edmonton where Ben dropped us off at our home.

We cannot say enough about Ben and Mountain Madness which Ben owns.  We realize that Ben does this for a living but it was really like travelling with an old friend.  He was always happy and positive and willing to go out of his way to help.   We have been on other fancier bike tours but this tour blows them out of the water.  

Highwood Pass

This was really a 2 day journey. 

We started in Canmore where it was raining lightly.  The ride to Kananaskis was about 60 km, easy to miss but at the same time a nice warm up for the longer ride the next day.  We decided as long as the rain stayed light we could ride but we could jump in the van if things got worse.

We headed out of Canmore on Highway 1A towards Exshaw.  The road was fairly busy with not a great shoulder.  It was rolling with both uphills and downhills.  By Exshaw where Ben met us it had stopped raining enough to doff the rain pants.  We rolled on and it was a little more scenic past Exshaw, benchlands with Yamushka to our left.  We had a strong tailwind.  After a while we turned onto 1X which lead past a dam and reservoir to the TCA where we rode on the shoulder for 3 km with cars whizzing by us before turning onto Hwy 40.  

We met Ben at the parking lot of the Stoney Nakada casino for lunch.  The clouds were looking very ominous so we ate quickly before heading south for Kananaskis.  This was a steady uphill, punctuated by the occasional downhill.  About 10 km in, Ben met us at the side of the road.  Apparently a grizzly was grazing in the ditch ahead.  He suggested that we ride in a pack with the van.  I had heard that the cardinal rule of travelling in bear country was always to make sure you are travelling with somebody slower than you and unfortunately I was that person.  Fortunately the bear had left by the time we biked by.

We arrived a the turn-off to Kananaskis Village.  Ben directed us to a paved trail that would take us to the lodge but after about a km, the trail was closed due a bear in the area, so we ascended up the road which was a moderate climb.  Same altitude gain either way.  We then arrived at the Delta which is a very nice hotel.  

We spent some time in hot tub and chilled out before having dinner at the on-site Italian restaurant, then off to bed for the big day ahead.

The following morning was overcast, low clouds and rain in the air.  We ate at the hotel breakfast buffet.

The ride today was to be 130 km over Highwood Pass to Longview.  We set out descending the long hill from the hotel and onto Hwy 40.  We had about 30 km to ride before the pass started.  This was rolling country with a gradual gain in elevation and we eventually reached the start of the pass where we filled out water bottles and ate some snacks.

The climb started easily but soon became steeper.  The was the odd flattish section and even one downhill.  Vehicle traffic was relatively light.

This is me about 2/3 of the way up.  

The clouds had lifted a bit and it was possible to see most of the peaks.  We kept on climbing and as we neared the top it seemed to be the steepest although it was possible to see the top of the pass or what we hoped would be the top of the pass.  Finally as I turned the corner I would see the sign and Mary and Theo who both climb faster than me waiting there.

Ben had parked in the picnic area below but rode a bike up to meet us.

We had one of the most satisfying lunches I have ever eaten in the parking lot.  

Despite all this we were not even half way and we had 80 km to go to Longview.  The weather however was a lot better and Ben assured us that it was mostly downhill. 

Leaving the parking lot we had a long and satisfying descent before having to climb a short hill and descended more.  It was a gradual downhill with some steeper downhills and the odd climb for many km.  The scenery was awesome.

About 30 km from Longview things flattened out again.  We were now in rangeland with cattle grazing on both sides of the road.  The was a headwind so for the last 30 km we range in a pack which made our progress faster.  We could finally see Longview and one small hill later we rolled into town, where Ben was waiting at the Blue Sky motel with cold beers that we had brought from Canmore.  Longview is a small town although one with two bars.  There are also a few galleries.  

After showering and changing we ate at the restaurant next door before returning to our rooms for a well deserved rest.

Bow Valley Parkway

After 3 days in the mountains we were looking for a nice ride along the Bow Valley Parkway and Legacy Trail to Canmore.

Around 2300 the night before the power went out in the hotel.  It also started raining quite heavily.  The power was still out in the morning.  We went down to the restaurant for breakfast but they were only serving a cold continental.  More importantly no coffee.  We grabbed what we could from the diminishing food supply at the buffet.  Going out to the van, Ben made coffee on a stove which was appreciated.  It had stopped raining or at least was raining more lightly.  

We headed out of Lake Louise passing over 2 cattle guards and up the hill to the Bow Valley Parkway. The Parkway heads thru the forest with occasional views of the mountains.  There were more hills than I remembered but it was overall downhill.  The road was smooth and fast.  Along the way we passed a large group from Backroads heading in the opposite direction.  After about an hour we arrived at Castle Mountain junction when Ben met us, we had a snack and refilled our water bottles.  From there we pushed on along the parkway until we hit the highway at which point we went on to the Legacy Trail.  

While it was cloudy there had been no rain up until then but we were hit with a deluge just before Banff which we rode thru and met Ben at the Banff train station.  From there we headed thru Banff and then back on the Legacy Trail but were hit with another rain storm.  We met Ben in the park on the north side of the highway.  It was raining quite heavily by that time and we ate lunch in the van.  We had planned to ride the Minnewanka loop before heading for Canmore but we decided to just make a run for Canmore.  

Of course back on the Legacy Trail after about 300 m it was not raining and the trail was completely dry.  We rode on to Canmore only getting the odd raindrop.  Mary and I often ride the Legacy Trail between Banff and Canmore and after riding so far it was funny ending on a familiar trail.  We wine to the Ramada where Eric and Theo were staying and then Mary and I went to our house in Canmore.

Later in the evening we ate together at the Brazillian Steak House in Canmore which was a pleasant surprise.

The next day was a rest day before pushing on to Waterton.

Big Bump 2

Our third day of riding was Saskatchewan Crossing to Lake Louise.  This involved 2 big climbs, the second over Bow Summit.

After rain overnight we awoke to sunny skies.  We all ate breakfast together at the buffet, fuelling up for the climbs.

We first descended out of the hotel down into Saskatchewan Crossing before starting a 7 km climb.  The grade was "only" 5% making for a steady but not excessively painful climb.  After finishing the climb we rode on for 5 km to our first rest stop.  

We continued on thru rolling hills gradually upwards to where Ben met up just before what he also calls the Big Bump, Bow Summit.   The grade here is rated as 4-6%, more like 6% with in Ben's words a "kicker" at the summit where the road goes to about 8% for 300 m.  We all slogged up this hill, all except Jake who took off, went to the top and then descended and climbed it again.

The road had two lanes heading uphill so most of the traffic moved into the other lane as they passed us.  There are of course always the idiots who want to see how close to you they can pass you.  

After quite a long climb the road became more steep.  This would have been discouraging had I not known that I was now in the kicker and was almost at the top, where Mary and Theo were waiting for me.  Jake was still on his second climb (at least he didn't lap me).  

With barely time to catch my breath, Ben had us ride up to the parking lot at Bow Summit.  There is a look-out at Bow Summit which is usually clogged with tourists but Ben took us on a short hike to a less crowded but still spectacular view of Peyto Lake and the surrounding area.

From there we descended to Bow Lake where we had lunch.  We then had a long descent into Lake Louise on the newly paved road making for a pleasant time after two hard climbs.

Where the Parkway met the Trans Canada we went onto a paved trail which took us to our hotel the Lake Louise Inn.  We stashed our bikes in the store-room. It was there that we met Eric who have joining us for the rest of the tour.

After a shower and a session in the hot-tub we had dinner at the Lk. Louise hostel across the street.  Ben then took us in the van to Moraine Lk which even in the evening was still busy with some creative parking attempts.

I hadn't visited Moraine Lake in several years so it was nice to revisit it and we walked up to a viewpoint overlooking the lake.

After that we had a quick visit to Lake Louise again still crowded even in the evening before going back to our hotel.

The Big Bump

Oh course when I signed up to ride the Icefields Parkway, I knew there was going to be some climbing.    The highlight or lowlight of the day would be the climb to the Icefields 3 km of 8% hell called by Ben, the Big Bump.  

To get there we of course had to ride 30 km.  

We had a rest stop along a lake 9 km before the big bump.  The 9 km went by very quickly and before we knew it we were climbing.  There was a rest stop/pull out 700 m up where Ben was waiting for a final word of encouragement and we proceeded on taking advantage of 2 more viewpoints to rest our legs and catch our breath.  Jake of course sailed up and then descended to take another crack at it.  Along the way we met a couple on a tandem bike carrying all their equipment.  We finally arrived at the top a little wobbly legged and proceeded to the Glacier Centre for lunch.  

The real highlight of the day is the 7 km descent off Sunwapta pass, which some people find fun while the last time I rode my brakes down, something I decided to repeat.  The day had been nice if a little cloudy up to then but we could see dark clouds in our path.  I briefly considered putting on a rain coat but didn't.

The descent has vehicular traffic travelling in both directions mostly campers and trailers so you are pretty much forced onto the shoulder.  That and there are cracks across the shoulder every few metres and a few cracks in the direction of travel that you could catch your wheel in.  As I started the descent the first raindrops hit and these gradually intensified into a torrential rain.  Ben had passed and we were to meet him at the Weeping Wall several km away but I was glad to see him in a pull-out near the bottom of the hill.  I joined everybody in the car and we decided to wait out the storm which didn't seem to relenting.  It finally seemed to lighten and we were a little warmed so we ventured out again and rode for a few km to the Weeping Wall where Ben met us.  It was decided at that point that 3 of us would abandon the ride while Jake would continue on the Saskatchewan Crossing.  As we drove on, our decision seemed justified as the rain was being blown horizontally into the direction we would have been riding.  By the time we had reached Saskatchewan Crossing it had stopped raining.  

The Crossing where we stayed is a large complex of hotel rooms, a restaurant, gift shop, gas station and a pub.  When we arrived there our rooms were almost ready and we hung out on the balcony drying off our clothes while we waited.  Our rooms were finally ready and we showered and then went to the pub where we sat on the balcony and enjoyed some beers.  

Saskatchewan Crossing is one of the better kept secrets in Alberta, a large valley with spectacular mountains all around it.  

Sunwapta Falls.

This is our second time down the Icefields Parkway so we thought we knew what to expect.  This day was supposed to be a 60 km ride to Sunwapta Falls with two medium size hills.  Ben of course had other ideas.  The night before, he asked if anybody was interested in first riding to Marmot Basin or Edith Cavell.  I was a little shocked but politely declined.  It was decided that Ben and Jake (who we were learning was in fantastic shape and a little crazy) would ride up to Edith Cavell before breakfast which they did.  It was decided that after breakfast and checking out we would ride our bikes a few km before securing them and Ben would drive us to Edith Cavell for a short hike and lock around.  The few km turned out to be about 5 km uphill to the trailer drop off point from where we were driven to Edith Cavell. 

From there we drove back to our bikes.  For our earlier efforts we were rewarded with a few km of downhill and proceeded down 93a to Athabasca Falls, a much quieter ride along the Whirlpool River with a moderate climb up to the falls where Ben was waiting with lunch complete with an umbrella.  

After lunch we continued on up the main 97 for about 30 more km with a longish uphill before a brief descent into Sunwapta Falls to the lodge where we were staying.  The lodge reminds me of places we used to stay at in the the 1960s on vacation complete with totem poles outside.  Despite this the rooms were extremely comfortable with a king size bed.  Ben suggested a hike up to a rock outcrop but beers on the deck sounded better and so we had two followed by a brief nap.  Supper was in the restaurant.  We spent the evening watching the Eskimos game resting up for the hardest day of the ride.

Jasper to Waterton first days

Last Wednesday Ben arrived outside out house with his van and trailer to take us to Jasper to start our trip.  We loaded on our luggage and bikes and  met our two fellow travellers, Jake a young man from Ontario and Theo a man about my age from Germany.  Leaving Edmonton we went West along the Yellowhead.  We stopped at the Tim Hortons in Edson to get a coffee and a snack and to gas up the van.   Theo noticed that large number of pick-ups in Edson and asked if everybody in Alberta drove one.  No just almost everyone.  Leaving Edson we got our first view of the Rockies and it was neat to see Jake and Theo who had never seen them before react to the first site.  We passed on thru Hinton and the Jasper gates before turning into Miette Hot Springs, a place we had driven past but never visited.  Ben suggested we might like to ride our bikes from the hot springs as we headed upwards (meaning we would ride back downhill) the idea looked attractive but then we headed downhill (which means riding uphill) and reached the hot springs, where we changed an soaked for a while.  Miette Hot Springs are much nicer than the hot springs in Banff and worth a visit, even though they are 17 km from the highway.  After our soak, Ben drove us to near the highway and Mary, Jake and I rode to Jasper about 40 km away.  Theo who had arrived from Germany the day before passed on it.  

The road to Jasper is predominantly downhill and even with the head wind we made pretty good time. Eventually we let Jake go at his own speed and he peeled off at amazing speed.  We continued on into Jasper into a headwind which got stronger as we approached town. In town we stopped at the Bear Paw bakery for coffee and pastries before riding the final 3 km to Becker's Chalets where we were staying.  When we got there Ben had already got us checked in and we were able to ride to our cabin. Becker's Chalets are a mix of faux and genuine log cabins along the Athabasca River.  We had stayed there a long time ago.  Our rooms were extremely comfortable.  After showering and cleaning up, we joined the other three at the on site restaurant for what was a great meal.

The next day according to the itinerary was supposed to be a chill day but Ben's definition of a chill day is different.  After the buffet breakfast we loaded our bikes and headed for Maligne Lake.  The road to Maligne Lake is predominantly uphill so the plan was that we would drive to the lake and we would ride down.  We had an exhilarating ride down, broken up by a couple of uphills until we met Ben down the hill and he took us to the top of Maligne Canyon.  We walked down the canyon along the path.  Despite living in Alberta for 24 years, it was our first visit to Maligne Canyon which really is a must visit.  Ben met us at the bottom of the canyon so we wouldn't have to walk back up. 

 From there we went to Pyramid Lake where we ate a late lunch.  

This elk was just hanging out in the picnic area.

From there we went to the Gondola.  Jake and I rode up while Mary and Theo were driven back to Becker's to chill.  There was a thirty minute wait for the gondola plus despite standing together in line Jake and I ended up on different gondolas.  It was a little cold up at the top plus it was getting late in the day so I decided to go down.  There was unfortunately a long and somewhat disordered line to go down so I waited for 30 minutes.  Jake who stayed up even longer waited 40 minutes.  

We had another dinner at the restaurant and went to bed to rest up for the first ride of the trip.  

Rwanda, final days

Somebody reminded me that I hadn't written much about  my last week in Rwanda.

The week started leaving Ngungwe.  We had decided to leave early to get back to Kigali at a decent time.  We had breakfast at the guesthouse and Magnifique picked us up and we headed back on paved road through the park.  About an hour into our ride, M pulled up, he had heard something coming from the back of the truck.  Sure enough when we stopped to look, one of the wheels was loose, the lug nuts had not been tightened.  M got out the lug wrench and tightened them, standing up on the wrench for extra torque.  Unfortunately in the process he broke one off.  There was a discussion but we felt that with 4/5 nuts we were pretty secure and we proceeded on.  

In time we left the forest into the heavily cultivated land to the east of the park. It was interesting to think that hundreds of years ago this land was part of the same forest we had just left. It was quite beautiful with rolling hills extending far off into the distance.  We arrived at Butare and re-fuelled there.  I was standing outside while we re-fuelled when a local man got in my face and started yelling at me.  I don't understand Kenyarwandi, but I did hear the word Muzunga repeated over and over.  He may have wanted money like so many people do, he obviously needed some guidance in how to win friends and influence people.  Hey though I have been yelled at by crazy people in Canada too (frequently while at work).  

It was not M's day.  About half an hour out of Butare he got pulled over for speeding.  Speeding is taken very seriously in Rwanda, the traffic cop is accompanied by a soldier with a sub-machine gun.  The traffic cop took M's driver's licence and sent him back to the town we had just passed to get the 10000 Rwf fine.  After some driving around M couldn't find anywhere to get the cash so he asked my for a loan which I would have given him earlier if he had asked.  We paid the cop and his friend and proceeded uneventfully to Kigali where M got the cash to repay me and I paid him his tip.  

Simon and I walked to the Serena for a shower and swim and then had a nice Indian dinner before walking home.  

This was our last week teaching and I really felt we hadn't really connected with the residents so I was hoping for big things in the last week.  Monday was the teaching day, and Simon gave a very good talk on cardiac physiology, to which I added a few salient points.  Tuesday we were in the OR at CHUK in the morning before I left in frustration for lunch and a swim.  We were at this point going through the motions.   Wednesday at the military hospital I remember as not productive.  We were supposed to be at KFH on Thursday but when we asked our driver about getting a ride there, he informed us that Thursday was a holiday due to it being the first day of Eid (10% of the population of Rwanda is Muslim).  As we were taking Friday off our work was suddenly over with a whimper.  

Simon who had to be back earlier was leaving Thursday, my flight wasn't until Friday evening.  I did make a half hearted attempt to get on the Thursday flight with KLM but ended up spending most of Thursday and Friday chilling at the Serena Hotel.  When I left Friday, I told the ladies at the pool, that I was leaving.  "We pray you will return soon," they replied.

So it was Friday afternoon I was all packed and Christophe got a taxi for us.  Christophe who likes to take care of us just doesn't get any taxi but it had to the right one.  He insisted on coming a to the airport with me.  We talked on the way.   He told me he hoped one day to visit Canada and that he hoped I would be coming back soon.  I asked him if he needed taxi fare back but he said it was taken care of.   I gave him a large tip; he had really taken good care of us in the four weeks we had spent there.  

I was having some mixed feelings leaving Kigali.  I have spent 8 weeks in Rwanda, mostly in Kigali between 2011 and this trip but I knew I wouldn't most likely ever return.  I like Rwanda but there was a feeling of disappointment about what I could have done on this trip.

Like many airports in the developing world it is necessary to go through security before even entering the airport.  Despite this the check in process and further security went quickly and I was soon in the departure lounge, which to my disappointment didn't have a bar.  There was an overpriced restaurant with even by Rwandan standards, slow service and some souvenir shops where I was able to unload my remaining Rwandan currency.  

To board the plane we had to go thru security again (because you can never have your hand luggage Xrayed too much) and then to another departure lounge before walking across the tarmac to board our  plane.  

Sitting in my seat, I noticed the flight attendants busy trying to get an oxygen mask on a small baby.  This baby was going to Germany for heart surgery.  They were having trouble with the non-rebreathing mask, so I finally identified myself as a doctor and showed them how to put the mask on properly.  They were very grateful.  I had to explain this again to the new flight crew who took over at Entebbe.  After dinner was served I managed to sleep until we landed in Amsterdam.  After a couple of hours in Amsterdam airport I flew to Toronto.

In Toronto airport, I had my luggage searched by Customs.   I am not sure how I got picked out, it could have been my complicated itinerary.  The Customs man asked me if I had bought any carvings which I had and he inspected it.  Turns out he was just looking for insects.  He asked my what I had done in Rwanda and I said I had been teaching.  That completed, I re-packed my bag which had been torn apart, and re-checked it.  

I was hungry enough to have a meal and a few beers in the Toronto airport before flying on West Jet to Edmonton where Mary met me in the airport.  

Guayaquil and Cartagena

Many years we take a little trip after the mission.  This year we decided to visit Columbia, specifically

Cartagena.  We did consider other options in Columbia most of which involved a lot of travelling which means a lot of packing and unpacking and time in airports.  Going to Cartagena gave us the option of staying in one place and taking day trips.

To get there we have to go to Guayquil first.  We have never visited there before so it was a place we had to check off.

We finished our surgeries on Friday but Mary had to go in to the hospital for a couple of hours to look after the post-ops before we transferred those still in hospital to the local staff.  Many of the mission left earlier in the morning for Quito to spend some time there before flying home on the red-eye.

Many years leaving Ceunca has been a frantic adventure with late buses, large groups and crowded airports.  With just 3 of us this year and a 1430 departure we felt we had things in hand.  Unfortunately in Cuenca it was Carnivale a yearly festival perhaps corresponding to Mardi Gras.  Because of parades on Saturday, no taxi was able to get to our hotel.  The hotel staff were very helpful and helped us carry our bags a few blocks away, and flag a taxi that would take us to the airport.  We ended up arriving way to early and had to wait about an hour to check in but were eventually on our way to Guayquil. 

Cuenca while near the Equator is at 8000 feet and is quite temperate.  Guayaquil is at sea level and we were warned to expect hot and muggy conditions, which we found when we landed after a one hour flight.  We got our bags and tried to get a taxi to our airport.   In what seems to be an increasingly common event,  the taxi driver did not know where our hotel was but I now expect this and had the address which also didn't seem to help him but he radioed and somebody gave him directions and so about 10 minutes later we were at the Marriott Courtyard.   Some people may like authentic local hotels.   I do too but we had an early flight out in a day and besides I knew that without air conditioning we wouldn't sleep much.  

It was later in the afternoon when we arrived.  In the humidity we were content to just chill in our room. I did go up to the pool on the roof which was quite small, fairly warm and had a couple making out at one end so I didn't stay long.

The hotel directed us to a Peruvian restaurant at an adjacent large shopping mall which was really good for supper.

We had a day to explore Guayaquil before flying to Cartagena.  Based on advice from people who had been there before, we took a taxi to the Iguana Park.   This is square adjacent to the Cathedral with... Iguanas.  Lots of them.  Walking around, climbing trees, sunning themselves.  We spent a little time there then went off to look in the Cathedral which being Sunday was actually being used as a church, not as tourist attraction.  Not as nice as the Cathedral in Cuenca.

We then walked a couple of blocks over to the Maracon which is a long walkway adjacent to the river.  The river is in itself interesting just for the amount of vegetation floating slowly down it.  The Maracon itself was a bit of a disappointment.  Lots of fast food joints.  A parade came by on the adjacent street which we watched for about 15 minutes. 

We walked along it a km or so to Las Penas and then climbed the 400 steps getting a nice view of Guayquil from the top.  We walked down, stopping for a cerveza on the way down before catching a taxi at the bottom back to our hotel.

Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and so we just had pizza in our room and watched the somewhat dull game.  We had an early flight the next day.

Monday morning we took the hotel shuttle to the airport.  We found out that our flight to Cartagena was not direct but rather that we changed planes in Panama City.  Confusing things was that both flights had the same number.  The airport was not that busy with none of the bustle and confusion of many South American airports.  We had an uneventful flight to Panama and after a brief stop flew to Cartagena.  

Arriving in Cartagena we learned that Canadians have to pay what is called a reciprocity fee.  That is a fee equivalent to what it costs for a Columbian to get a visa for Canada.  The US also requires a visa for Columbians but their citizens don't have to pay this fee.  Because we came from Panama they weren't expecting any Canadians and so had to get somebody from his siesta or lunch to process our payment. 

We were met at the airport by Brian our guide.  I have never met another Brian in Latin America.  He and the driver drove us to the walled old city and then through the busy, crowded streets to our hotel.

The Ananda Boutique Hotel is one of those Died-and-went-to-heaven places.  It is a hacienda style hotel with a courtyard pool at which I could have spent the entire visit and a rooftop patio with a refreshingly cool jacuzzi tub.  Our room came with a rain-fall shower and a large tub as well as its own small balcony.  The restaurant in the hotel is considered the best in Cartagena which is both good and bad.  Good because it is close and bad because you need to make reservations.  We couldn't get a reservation for the first night but the concierge got as one at a nearby restaurant.

We got out and walked the walls of Cartagena before venturing into the crowded streets.  Like Cuenca Cartagena is a Spanish Colonial town only the architecture is slightly different.  It is also quite flat.  Finding our hotel again we had a dip in both pools before heading out to Alma a nearby restaurant for the first of several excellent dinners in Cartagena.

Ecuador mission the rest.

Every year I vow to keep up on my blog however I never do and I am home now.  There are a number of factors. Firstly this year we were really busy, often not getting home until the evening and after dinner I just didn't have the energy to type.  I also blame Skype.  Whereas when I first went to Ecuador we used to make long distance calls from a call centre for a ridiculously low price; now many people on the mission communicate with their families by Skype which means that in the late afternoon and early evening, the Wifi in the hotel slows to a crawl.  

I normally don't like to criticize my hosts when doing missions in the developing world but it is hard this time not to.  Five years ago we moved to Santa Ines from Monte Sinai at the invitation of Santa Ines.  We did this because we were offered the use of 2 operating rooms which were larger than the one OR we had at Monte Sinai.  We felt that this would enable us to do more surgery and maybe finish earlier in the afternoon.  We met with the medical director and got the usual Latin American welcome, Mi Casa, su Casa.  This worked well for the past 5 missions.  A couple of years ago they took the monitors out of the rooms which meant scrambling to make sure we had monitors of our own but even that hadn't been a problem for the last two missions.

In December we got a letter from the medical director telling us we could only have the operating rooms from 1300 on.  This meant in order to have 8 hours of OR time we were really looking at 2100 hour finishes.  Keep in mind that the recovery room and floor nurses would stay 1-2 hours after the end of surgery.  Now you could say, okay you have the morning off but again the floor nurses have to be there in the morning and doctors have to round etc.  Makes for a long day.

We were able to get a compromise that maybe we could start one room a little earlier.  

It ended up however being a frustrating week, waiting around in the am to be able to start as soon as a room was ready and late days.  We also worked Sunday in order to get a few extra cases.  We ended up doing 34 or so total joints including 2 bilateral and one revision, which is only a little less than the 40 we normally get done but with a lot more time spent at the hospital much of it just sitting around.  

The hospital we work at is a for profit hospital like most in Ecuador.  In 10 years I haven't quite figured out the medical system which is a mixed public private system that right wing politicians would like for Canada.  There are public hospitals but a lot of public work gets contracted to private hospitals.  I often wondered how I would have reacted if our hospital told me that a surgical team from another country were taking over 2 ORs at my hospital for a week.   Probably with enough notice we would have just taken vacation as we do when the surgeons or the hospital close rooms for other reasons.  Anyway just saying that maybe with enough notice we could have accepted doing fewer patients or staffed differently to accommodate longer days.

The whole issue of voluntourism and should teams from the developed world even be doing surgery in the developing world is of course another topic.

I can't say enough about our team because as I say we worked some fairly long and irregular hours in order to accomplish what we did.  We do come down to help people but we also come down because we enjoy each other's company before, during and after hour and because we love hanging out in Cuenca.

Ecuador Mission 2016, getting there.

I am right now almost half way through my 10th mission to Ecuador.

This year our son Bill came down with us. I went down to Canmore a couple of days early to mostly chill but also to nag him about packing, making sure he had found his passport etc.  We left Canmore about 1700 on Wednesday to go to the Delta Airpot hotel.  Our plane was to leave at 0640 the next morning and quite frankly being able to just walk across to the airport is priceless.  We of course had the ubiquitous mission hockey bags 4 in total plus our own stuff.  In Calgary I was able to find long term parking quite close to the terminal.  There didn't seem to be a shuttle but there were luggage carts so we wheeled our bags about a km to our hotel.   Mary was coming down by Red Arrow and arrived just after 7.  We had an expensive meal in the hotel restaurant after which we tried to sleep.  We all awoke shortly after 3 am, got dressed,  drank some coffee and then checked out picking up our bags and rolled across the street to the departures.

Even just after 4 am there was a huge line to check.  Fortunately I had managed to get Prestige status which meant we all got to go the head of the line.  This didn't help much as it was a long slog through customs and security.  One wonders how much productivity is lost through the long process of crossing borders, especially having travelled in Europe.  The US departures area in Calgary is much inferior to that in Edmonton in terms of places to eat.  We had pastries of indeterminate age from Starbucks and sat down to wait for our flight.  Gradually other mission members trickled in including my work colleague John Soong from Edmonton, the Pediatric team from Calgary and a few members of our adult team who were flying through Calgary.

After finally boarding, it was a 3.5 hour flight to Houston which I spent trying to sleep or read.  In Houston we went to our usual go to place, Pappadeux for a feed of fish and of course a beer.  We had a 5 hour stopover in Houston so this only killed about an hour, the rest of the time we spend wandering around, reading etc.   It was a 5 hour flight to Quito which was long if uneventful.  We cleared customs in Quito in an acceptable time, picked up our bags without event and were outside.  We had to wait a bit for the bus to our hotel and also for the bus which would take our bags to Cuenca (they are too heavy for  the plane to take off).  We stayed at beautiful and comfortable Hacienda style hotel about 20 minutes from the airport and were in bed by shortly after 2 am.  

We got to "sleep in" as our flight wasn't until 1230 which meant leaving the hotel around 1030 so we awoke around 8 am got dressed, had a nice buffet breakfast before loading ourselves back on the bus to go back to the airport.  Our flight to Cuenca was a short hour flight.  Unfortunately it was cloudy and we couldn't see much until we approached Cuenca.  We landed, got our bags and were greeted by the Rotarians who help us out every year.  We went in two buses through the crowded streets of Cuenca to our hotel the Inca Real.  It sounds hackneyed but after 9 years I find Cuenca and the Inca Real to be a second home.