Spain 2026-07

Spain 8,

Sept. 26, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Last night and today were not great. I somehow developed a prostatitis/cystitis/UTI/lower urinary tract infection probably from the cold water that I swam in. I was up all night, peeing every 10 minutes with dysuria (burning), frequency, nocturia, but no hematuria (bleeding).

This is old man’s or a young women’s problem. Needless to say, I got very little sleep. I did my washing quickly as I was running out of clean clothes and headed off to find medical care. The local pharmacy would not give me ‘antibiotica’ without a medical prescription. Meaños where I am staying, does not have a clinic, so I drove to Pontavedra 30 minutes away. All the streets are blocked off due to the race, which made parking rather difficult. The first hospital that I went to specialized in gynecology and paediatrics. They laughed at (with) me as I was neither the correct sex nor the correct age. They sent me off to the university hospital.

The ‘University Hospital’ was situated at the top of a mountain overlooking the city. Obviously, they don’t expect a large walk in clientele. The efficiency lies somewhere between Israel and Canada with a tendency towards the later. The triage nurse saw me within minutes and immediately placed me on a stretcher. I got undressed and put on a hospital gown. 1 hour late a nurse came in and took my vital signs. 1 hour later a resident came to see me, took a complete history and physical exam and then went to give her report to the ER doctor. He immediately ordered a complete blood test. The resident told me that the results would be ready in 3 hours.

Everyone was very kind and helpful but I had no intention of waiting another 3 hours. I told the resident that I was a ‘urologue’ and that I really only needed some Cipro and I would be off. She understood, returned soon afterwards with a prescription and asked me to sign a form written in Spanish. It was probably a release form. The hospital took my insurance card and didn’t charge me a cent.

I took 2 pillS and am feeling much better. I finally found a local high quality restaurant, 5 minutes from my hotel. The food is very reasonably priced and very plentiful. I have learned to only order a main course which comes with a salad and bread. I order the local wine by the glass and have been very impressed. None of the restaurants open before 9:00 pm and most people come to eat at around 10:00 pm

I will be up at 6:00 am tomorrow to drive to Pontevedra and secure a parking spot. I must register for the relay at 8:00 and the hang around until the afternoon for the relay race. We are 4 participants in a mixed team and each of us must do the super sprint, 37m swim, 10km bike and 2.5 km run. I am the oldest in my group. Surprise! Surprise!

I had no time to take pictures.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2026-07,

Spain 2,

Sept 21a, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was really ‘a longdays journey into night’. Although far from my 36 hour, door to door voyage that I did last year for my trip to Israel, 21 hours is still rather long for an experienced traveler like myself. Dominique drove me to Trudeau Airport at 2:30 arriving 3 hours ahead of schedule. I had the ‘Yul Express app’ which allows you to skip the line, saving a few minutes. Once through customs, I went over to the BNC private lounge where I have privileges. Unfortunately, many others also have privileges so I had to cool my heels in a regular chair for 30 minutes waiting for the invite to go in. I began my trip in the middle of the afternoon with a Bloody Mary and a piece of cake. What the heck, I am not operating on anyone today, don’t have to drive anywhere or fly the plane, do I might as well enjoy myself.

I had a direct flight to Madrid, but unfortunately the take off time was 5:55 pm. I usually prefer to leave at 11:00 pm which allows me to go asleep and wake up 7 hours later in Europe in the morning. With a 6 o’clock take off time, I didn’t fall asleep until 11:00 and only had 1.5 hours of sleep before arrival. I sat with a lovely girl from Quebec who was flying to Spain to meet her father. He is doing a 300 k walk and she will accompany him for 200 k to be done in 10 days. The walk to Santiago d Compostela is very well known and I will perhaps try to visit it when I am here. (By car, not on foot)

I took a shuttle bus from T1 to T4 with my 2 bags bumping along with minimum trouble. I find that people are very willing to help a short old white haired gentleman with 2 bags of luggage. The shuttle took me to the Madrid train station where I had a cappuccino in a restaurant waiting for my train. I boarded a train high speed train to Pontevedra which took 3 hours. I was able to cat-nap for a couple of hours. From Pontevedra I took a local bus to Vivo airport to pick up my car. I didn’t have any change for the bus, so a kind American lady paid my 1.3 Euro fare, Who ever said that Americans are not nice.

I picked up my Hertz rent a car at the airport and drove to Pontevedra and then to Meana where I am staying. I arrived at 5:00 rather exhausted from the lack of sleep. I am staying in a hotel-apartment with a pool and exercise room. I left the hotel at 9;30 to get a bite to eat in town. The locals go out to eat at 10:00 pm. There are a lot of Spanish tourists here but no Americans, Germans, Chinese or English. Supper consisted of a fish empanada and a salad with a glass of local beer and wine. The portions are very large

I got lost. The roads here are 1 lane wide and it is pitch black after 10:00. A drove around for 1 hour thinking that I might have to sleep in my car. My GPS lady was totally lost and my phone didn’t have a local SIM card. Finally I saw a couple sitting on their balcony at 12:00 am enjoying the evening. I called out to them and they directed me to my hotel. 50m away. I must have passed it 10 times. I went to sleep at 1:30 am.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 20,

July 21, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

This was my last day in TLV so I did the usual things that one does on the last day. Early morning emails, airline check in, swim to the break water, run 5k and pack. All very exciting. I fly to Paris and on to Montreal tomorrow. Let’s hope that I can do it in 12 hours. The last flight here took 36 hours door to door.

This evening I took Vicki out to eat at a beach side restaurant. The food was so-so but the company with Vicki is always nice. No one knows what the outcome of the war will be. Trump is too crazy to predict. There will be an election in October and hopefully a big change in government. The government just voted that studying Torah is equivalent to going into the army. That unfortunately guarantees support from the Haredi group. The country like the rest of the world is in trouble. No country in the world has a good leader now.

When I return to Montreal I have a busy 5 weeks at the office. I then will retire on Sept 1 after 44 years in practice. I have 3 goals this year: 1, learn to speak Hebrew. I will take an online course and them maybe do an ulpan next summer. 2, promote my book, Swords of Iron. I have several speaking engagements which should lead to sales and donations. 3. Learn to navigate. I can race my J 24 well round the buoys but I can’t do long distance navigation.

I have 3 triathlons lined up. The 1st one is in Wasaga Beach Ontario which I have to win to get on next years Canadian team. The 2nd one is the World Championships in Spain. The 3rd is a relay in Spain at the same time.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-07

Israel 5.

July 8, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I am at La Mer restaurant on the beach waiting to be served my salad and beer for the evening. After last nights victory of Argentina over Egypt in the last seconds of the game, everything else today seems to be a denouement.

My 2nd day with MDA today was rather routine. We had 3 or 4 calls that were cancelled on the way to the incident. Our 1st call of importance involved a middle aged male experiencing tachycardia. He walked into a government clinic resembling our CLSCs but much more equipped to handle minor to major cases, before calling an ambulance. The patient felt unwell and was found to have a pulse of 212 and a mildly elevated BP. He was sweating profusely but without chest pain. We diagnosed sinus tachycardia, started an IV, gave him 2 doses of adenosine and combined with a valsava manoeuvre, managed to get his pulse back down to 90. Had we been unsuccessful, and had he been unstable, we would have done a cardioversion and intubation if necessary in the ambulance. As usual everything proceeded efficiently with a well trained MDA staff. We transferred the patient to a hospital and learned that he had been discharged later in the day after seeing a cardiologist.

For the 2nd case we were called to a construction site where a worker had been injured. He had fallen backwards and reported pain in his hip. He had not lost consciousness. The white ambulance paramedics had already placed the patient on a back board and installed a neck collar for precaution. We walked up 5 stories, 3 flights of stairs for each story. We had to climb over several barriers. The paramedics carried up the equipment including a back board, an EKG cardioversion machine, a bag of medications and various other tools. I was happy to be able to carry myself up without help.

We re-examined the patient, changed the back board for a better one and placed him on a stretcher. He was totally immobilized. We then called the fire department who arrived with a hook and ladder truck. We placed the patient on a platform and lowered him 5 stories to our ambulance waiting below. We ran down the stairs to meet the stretcher and placed him in the ambulance. There must have been a dozen firemen, paramedics and other assistants present. Our chief paramedic took charge and quietly organized the rescue gaining the respect of all present by his efficient attitude and his know how. It was really fun and impressive to watch.

Our last case of the day was a small child who had vomited and had diarrhea. He was possibly mildly dehydrated. It was the parents1st child so the mother was notably concerned. We transported the child to an children’s hospital for observation.

I swam to the breakwater and then ran 5k. 2 17 year old fellows ran with me for half the distance. They were impressed that I was working as a volunteer with MDA. They asked me numerous questions about antisemitism in Canada. When you go to hospitals here, and to universities you observe how much the diaspora has donated to Israel to support the country. Our names are seen everywhere as donors. When Oct. 7 occurred, I knew that the world would support Israel for 2 weeks. Israel had to end the war in 3 weeks or lose support. The war has dragged on for various reasons for over 2 years. Israel has lost the propaganda war and we, living if the diaspora are paying the consequences with the unprecedented rise in antisemitism not seen since the 1930s. Israel must do more to support the diaspora or risk losing its support. Qatar spends billions of dollars to support American universities and turn the tide of support against Israel. Israel must find a way to counter act this growing problem.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 4,

July 7, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

Today I did my 1st shift on an MDA ambulance. The day started off slowly and ended up even slower. I was with a very good team so the shift was fun anyway. One of the paramedics was doing his last year of training. He had already done his 3 years of military service and then spent 2 years travelling around the world. He is hoping to get into medical school the following year.

The 1st call was reported to us as a drowning. While racing along to the beach, the call was cancelled as the would be patient started swimming. The 2nd call was for a lady unconscious but breathing and lying on the street. On the way to the scene, the call was cancelled as the lady woke up and walked away.

The 3rd call was a terrible tragedy. We were called to one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. The house was a beautiful white bungalow on a large property that was in the process of being renovated. We were told that a young 22 year old man was unconscious on the floor. The family had not seen him since the evening before. When we arrived it was obvious the man was dead and had been dead for several hours as rigor mortis had already set in. There was a computer with several screens on the desk and empty bottles of psychiatric medications near by. The young man was a Muslim and in service with the IDF. His father was away on business, apparently a CEO of well known bank. The police, 2 motorcycle ambulances, a white BLS ambulance and us in a yellow MICU ambulance were all present but there was nothing to be done except to pronounce him as deceased. I can say no more. We were all saddened by the apparent suicide.

The 4th call evolved an elderly woman living in a hospice. She had a severe history of cardiac disease and had had a stroke in the past. Her medical history, type written on 3 pages was given to us. We made the initial diagnosis of septic shock and did the appropriate management, IV fluids, epinephrine, history and physical exam, etc. She appeared to improve in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. On arrival, she was transferred to the hospital stretcher, placed in an ER room and had medical attention with physicians and nurses immediately. In Israel, I have always been impressed with the efficiency of the medical system when we bring a patient to the hospital.

The last call at 3:00 just as our shift was ending was a psychotic patient who had stabilized so the call was cancelled.

I returned to my hotel and went down to the beach. There were 1meter waves making swimming difficult. I swam ¾ of the way to the breakwater and back twice. Going out any farther would have been dangerous. The life guards were whistling people in if they swam out too far. I then ran 5k on the beach in less than 44 min.

I took a short nap and then went to La Mer restaurant to eat and watch the Egyptian – Argentina game. The place was packed with chairs and tables extending out onto the sandy beach. There were at least 1000-2000 fans present. Everyone was routing for Argentina especially after the incident which occurred after Egypt won their last game. The Egyptian coach ran onto the field after the win with a Palestinian flag saying that the team had won the game for Palestine. Politics are not supposed to be allowed at World Cup tournaments, but the incident was ignored by the refs. Egypt erected a huge high wall between Gaza and Egypt to keep the Palestinians out. I guess that he forgot about that wall. The restaurant was dead silent after Egypt took the lead with 2 goals. I was still hopeful that Mesi would prevail with goals. He did not disappoint us. In the closing minutes of the match, Argentina took the lead with 3 goals winning the match. The place went wild with everyone celebrating and congratulating each other. What a win!!

I struck up a conversation with a gentleman sitting beside me at the table. His name is Mikolaj Zalasinski and is a famous opera singer. He has been invited all over the world to be the lead singer in several operas. He will be singing in the opera, Tosca in the Tel Aviv opera house. He will try to get me invited as a guest. They have been practicing for several weeks. I love opera and will be very excited if he can get me a ticket. He was very impressed that I wrote a book about Israel. Apparently, his grandmother is Jewish.

Love,

Brian

Israel 2026-06

Israel 3,

July 6, 2026,

I slept for 8.5 hours so I think that I am all caught up from sleep deprivation from the time change and my 36 hour voyage from hell. As they say, no pain, no gain.

Last evening I wandered over to Mike’s one of my favourite brasseries on the beach. It was a warm 23C with a cool breeze, just right to have a beer, in a pub, with the Med in the background, and watch the Norway-Brazilian football World Cup match. I was at a table with a family of Brazilians who had made Aliyah to Israel many years ago. They were very friendly and expressive but unfortunately it did not help their team win the match.

At the Maxim Hotel, you are free to sit at almost any table as the hotel caters to volunteers. I played ‘Jewish geography’ with a lady who was originally from Montreal and now lives in Toronto. She grew up in the CDN and CSL areas and we had many common acquaintances. I then spoke at length with a lady originally from South Africa and who now lives in Australia.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach doing my usual activities. I am really a beachcomber at heart. In my spare time there is nothing more that I would like to do. I am not really very intellectual at heart. I was 30C with a slight breeze and only the occasional 2 foot breaker. I swam to the breakwater, 500m there and back with ease. The life guards must be getting used to me swimming out that far as they didn’t whistle me in. I didn’t hear a whistle anyway and I was the only one out swimming that far. I then jogged 5k on the beach knocking off 2 min from my time yesterday. If I continue at this rate I will be down to 0 in 3 weeks which is impossible if you do the math.

I bought a Magnum ice cream bar at 3:30 and got so excited by the prospect of eating an ice cream on the beach, that I got carried away and dropped my credit card on the sand. A ‘kid’ picked it up and spent 135 shekels ($65) before I could cancel it. It must have been a kid, as a pro would have made an attempt to empty my bank account. The store got the thief on their camera and I will review it later in the week. I don’t know if they have ‘wanted dead or alive’ posters here.

I am at the La Mer Restaurant overlooking the beach eating my 1st solid meal in 3 days. I really have not been hungry and except for breakfast, have only consumed liquids. There is a live band here to encourage me as I devour a margarita pizza and a local Maccabi draft beer.

Tomorrow, I will do my first shift with MDA so you can expect a full account of my cases.

Love,

Brian