Last day in Tel Aviv

It is amazing how quickly the time went on this trip - the week on the bike ride seemed to fly by.  The 5 days of riding were incredible - our challenge group worked well together.  I had 5 riders that pushed me to my limit.  Day 1 was really tough when I struggled with heat and wind and thought the ride of over 110 km  would never end.  Most of us were hurting from that ride, but how quickly we forgot the pain when we enthusiastically climbed Mount Hermon the next day in over 134 km of challenging climbs and steep descents with tight switchbacks.

Day 3 was a rest day for me while the challenge group did a punishing ride with two major climbs.  I was happy to ride 60 km with Nimi on the tourist ride around the Kinneret. The scenery around the Kinneret is beautiful and at a more leisurely pace, I was able to really enjoy it.  When we returned to our resort, we immediately changed into swim wear an enjoyed a refreshing swim in the lake.

Day 4 back on the challenge ride was great.  My legs were fresh and I was happy to work with the lead group at a fast pace.  The last day was shortened to only 60 km as we rode in the Jerusalem forest from Latrune back up to Jerusalem past the Hadassah Hospital on a nice long climb to Beit Halochem.  Our bikes were packed up in their bike boxes by the bike company and were transported back to our hotel in Tel Aviv.

Deciding to do something different when we returned to Tel Aviv, the next day Nimi and I went for a bike ride - we borrowed old low tech bicycles from the hotel and did a touring ride along the Mediterranean actually looking at all the beautiful scenery along the way.

As I make this journal entry in the hotel lobby, a rainbow appeared in the horizon over the sea.  I captured it here on the tablet.

Bike ride from Golan Hgts - first ride

We sent a wonderful day in Tel Aviv yesterday - weather was amazing.  Most of the time we were on the  beach - the water is quite warm and the sea was calm - ideal for swimming.  Of course we walked a lot as well.

In the evening we were taken by bus to Kibbutz Hagashrim in the Golan Hgts - had a late dinner and hit the sack early to get ready for an early start the next day.

Nimi enjoyed her ride with the "tourist" group - not so hilly and not so long.

My ride was hilly, long - 110 km with over 1500 metres of climbing.  The weather was  hot and windy making it even more challenging, however, I survived it.  My riding is certainly not as strong as before - must be an age thing.

Will have pictures in a few days from our photographer.

From Nimi's perspective

Thought I'd update you on what I've been doing  as my story  isn't reflected in Richard's blog.

Despite my intention to sleep in and relax I've  been up by 6:30 a.m.. every morning except one. The sun is up and the cacophony of sound around the apartment begins then. There are birds squacking, cats meowing, kids running and squealing, the front door slamming, babies crying. I can hear cars roaring and TVs blaring. Everyone lives with windows wide open. We're on the first floor right near the front entrance to the building. Every one's noises are shared by everyone else. So being up anyway I meditated. On the first morning I went shopping. $9.00 for a box of Post Great Grains cereal. $5 for a jar of pasta sauce. (converted from shekels of course.) Money really does disappear like water here.
The good thing is that everything I need is just a couple of blocks away. That's one thing about Jerusalem, everyone walks to get groceries with their bubbie cart or shleps home bags which they carry

I brought some work with me to do, so some mornings I did that until Richard came back and as there were fewer patients than usual he came back earlier than usual every day. Two mornings I went to a ladies' gym that's close by and worked out. The most exciting thing that happened to me was that I found a diamond ring in a toilet stall in the Dan Panorama hotel. Although it was tempting to keep it and use it to pay for our trip, I decided to do the right thing and turn it in. I left a note on  a paper towel telling the person if she came back that 'the thing you lost is at the main desk.' I hope it gets reunited with it's owner.

There are some sort of biting insects in Jerusalem and we have no screens on the windows so Dad and I have been well bitten.  It's been very hot and surprisingly humid in Jerusalem

We've spent evenings with Peter and Susan except for one night when they were busy. That night I made spaghetti at the apartment, somewhat of a juggling feat given that it has only one pot. It was yummy and we had it for lunch the next day too. We used to go out with the Dans and some other dentists 40 years ago. It's nice to become reacquainted. I've enjoyed them both.

We were hoping to drop our bike boxes and bikes at Beit Halochem in Jerusalem but the guy who was supposed to help us was useless and the logistics proved impractical so we ended up calling the guy who took us to Jerusalem and he picked us up and took us to Beit Halochem in Tel Aviv and then to our hotel. We went for a long walk today in search of a place to buy Gluten Free challah. It doesn't look good for bringing some home. It seems the challah is back ordered in Tel Aviv and the store near the hotel isn't open after Shabbat ends, so even if they had the bread I'd have to buy it before 3 on Friday then hope it stays good till I get it home Sunday.

Tomorrow we may spend some time on the beach or rent some Bixi bikes to ride along the boardwalk. Then we go with the group by bus up north and begin the ride Sunday.

Tel Aviv - just before Beit Halochem bike ride

Our driver Yosi picked us up from our apartment in Jerusalem at 9:30am and took us first to Beit Halochem where we left our bikes unassembled with Nimrod our bike guide. Then, Yosi dropped us off at our hotel where we left our luggage until our room would be ready. We had made good time - it was only 11am.

Nimi searched the Internet for gluten-free health stores and restaurants  Our little tablet is proving to be very handy.   Then we took a stroll on the boardwalk by the beautiful Mediterranean beaches in search of gluten-free challahs she could take back to Toronto when we get back to Tel Aviv next Friday.  We were successful on locating the store and products.

It is quite hot here and I hope it will be a little better when we head north -  not so nice pedalling in the heat.

After a light lunch at Tel Aviv port, we headed back to the Sheraton to get our room.  We sorted our clothes and gear we will need for the bike ride and will leave the rest of the stuff at the hotel until our return - then a short snooze was in order.

We re on the lookout for fellow riders staying at the hotel to possibly get together for supper.

Its great to be back in Tel Aviv - seems like people along the beach really enjoy life.  Check out the little kids playing in the outdoor showers on the beach.

Last day in Jerusalem - Day 6

Peter and I put in our final day at the clinic and were both happy to have a productive day with more kids to treat.  The week seemed to go much too quickly.  We both enjoyed our time here.

Hopefully, now that the major Jewish holidays are past, there will be an increase in children coming to the clinic for treatment.    

Today, computers were installed at each chair so that soon the staff will be able to input treatment and access patient records on computer.

Nimi and I went to the Old City so I could place notes in the Western Wall for two friends in Toronto who are receiving palliative care for cancer.  Doesn't hurt to pray for them to get better.

I always enjoy wandering through the Old City and revisiting such spectacular sites as the Mount of Olives, the Western Wall, the Jewish quarters and of course the Arab market.  There were two medieval  performances taking place at the entrance to the Jaffa Gate and Celtic-like music carried all the way back to King David Street so we could march up the many steps in time to the drum beat.

Nimi and I met Peter and Susan at the Olive restaurant for an excellent dinner and then headed back to the apartment to finish packing our stuff and getting ready to be picked up early the next morning to go to Tel Aviv.  Our friends will also be at the Sheraton so we will meet again for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Day 5 Jerusalem

Another hot and sunny day - it was disappointing at the clinic that we are not seeing as many patients now as in the past - the Israeli government now has a subsidized dental plan for kids -not the comprehensive care we provide at the clinic, but none the less, for 25 shekels each visit -under ten dollars, children can get treatment at a number of clinics throughout Israel.  It is sort of like our Canadian social assisted plans covering only very basic dentistry - in Canada because the payments are so low, only some dentists participate .  I understand that the quality and consistency of care is not to the same level as we provide.  I hope that DVI survives - I believe that in order to continue, the clinic may need to also participate in the government plan.  I don't know where that will leave us volunteer dentists as I think it will only be valid for dentists with an Israeli licence.

We went to the Herzl museum on Mt Herzl with our friends Peter and Susan in the afternoon and then rode the new LRT back along Yaffo St - very impressive high tech train.  We walked along King George a lo...ng way to the Olive restaurant we wanted to get into only to find that you needed reservations. We refused to walk much further so we went to the restaurant next door which was not busy, for a very disappointing meal.

Nonetheless, we had a good time.

Day 3 - Jerusalem

Another sunny hot day in Jerusalem - put in a full day at the clinic and none of my patients fainted on me. I did lots of fillings on kids and some simple extractions - all my patients were most cooperative and easy to work on. Nimi did a grocery shopping and now we have real food to eat in our apartment.

We attempted a bike ride to Yad Kennedy in the afternoon, starting out on the new bike path going towards the Bibical Zoo but the path is not completed yet.  It will be amazing when it is.  We navigated to the zoo on the streets but the traffic is terrible and it is becoming dangerous to ride in traffic so we headed back just beyond the entrance to the zoo.

We met our friends Peter and Susan for dinner later on, had dinner on the outdoor patio of the restaurant as the evenings are still very warm.  Afterwards we wandered around Ben Yehuda and Yafo streets and checked out the many stores open late.

Day 2 - Jerusalem

I started work at the clinic today.  Because the clinic was just opened after two weeks of holidays - Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, et al - many patients were not confirmed for their appointments and so the day was booked lightly.  A good thing for me because a young girl I did a simple extraction on, fainted immediately after I dismissed her from the chair.  I caught her as she collapsed and placed her back on the dental chair, head down and feet high up. We monitored her pulse and found it alarmingly low.  It took a long time for her to come around even with an oxygen mask on but when she did, some warm tea with lots of sugar seemed to normalize her quickly.  Because Magen David - the ambulance/paramedic  service is right next to us,  three paramedics hanging around came right over with all their rescue gear. I think I needed them at this point more than my patient.  Of course, they ignored me and checked out my patient who by this time was doing much better.

The day went much better from that point on and after returning back to the apartment for a short snooze, I went for a short bike ride to check out the new bike path on an old rail line that will eventually wind down to the Bibical Zoo, quite a distance from here.

Newly developed bike/walking trail

admired wild grasses on path

Our first day in Israel

We arrived at Ben Gurion airport around 4PM Israel time and after waiting for more than 30 minute at the oversized luggage area for our bike boxes, I decided to check elsewhere and found that they had in fact been offloaded at another oversized luggage area even closer to the regular luggage carousel.  Our driver was waiting patiently at the terminal entrance for us.  Yosi Altman, a funny, upbeat character, insisted on loading our bike boxes and luggage into his Land Rover himself - "you are on holiday - don't worry about a thing". With his funny political and religious quips and anecdotes, he made our drive to our apartment on Uziya enjoyable. He will also be a good contact for our next year's project of bringing our kids to Israel for Marya's Bat as he knows the better tour guides and companies in Israel and he is willing to help us make contact with them.  

All the grocery stores were closed for Shabbat, so we headed out to a favorite restaurant  open on Shabbat and an easy 20 minute walk from our apartment.  After a satisfying meal, we headed back to unpack and I assembled our bikes for the next day.
We were up early on Saturday morning and for breakfast, Nimi made her gluten-free oatmeal with banana and apple she had brought, and I had some fresh bread I brought back from dinner the night before and a granola bar. Not exactly filling, but we were keen to begin our bike trek to Har baHar, a scenic rest/restaurant stop popular for cyclists and tourists high up in the Jerusalem forest.  It's only 25 km from the apartment, but the long, steep climbs make it seem longer. The sky is perfect clear blue but the temperature quickly rose to over 32C.

On our return to the city, we cycled directly to the YMCA ( a beautiful old building) near the King David Hotel for a leisurely, well-deserved lunch on the patio. Their terrace restaurant is a popular stop as almost all the other restaurants are closed on Shabbat.
On our return to the apartment, Nimi immediately collapsed on the sofa.

We will relax until Shabbat is over and we can get our much need groceries.
We should hear from our friends Peter and Susan arriving today and will meet them for dinner.
Tomorrow, Peter and  I start work at the clinic.

Departing for Israel again

bike in a box

It's Thursday morning - will put in a short day of work and then head home to get ready to leave for the airport.  Originally the flight was supposed  to leave around 6:30 but has now been changed to 10:30PM.  That means we will not get into Jerusalem before Shabbat starts  We made arrangements to be picked up at the airport and driven to Jerusalem with our bike boxes and luggage and we will be staying at the same apartment we had last year on Uziya St near Emek Rafaim.  My dental school classmate, Peter is also working at the clinic this week and we will contact him on Saturday to get together for dinner.   All being well, Nimi and I plan on doing a training ride Saturday morning in the Jerusalem Forest to Bar baHar, a restaurant stop near Beit Shemesh.