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 7,

Sept 25, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I finally had a relaxing day after 1 week of travel and a day of racing. I went to bed rather early after washing all my salt drenched equipment. I was up at 10:00, bright and early for the day. I had my usual cappuccino-cake-croissant at my usual cafe where they are getting to know me as a regular.

My first stop along the way was a beach town called O Grove. I found a comfortable spot on the beach and took some sunshine for an hour. I continued on my way for a few kms and found a rather secluded beach at the bottom of a steep staircase. This was a perfect location. There was a restaurant nearby playing American soft rock allowing me to fall asleep. I had a lemonade and caught up on my emails. I walked along the beach, dipping my toes in the water. However the water was Atlantic cold and I didn’t feel like a swim.

I continued my journey to Sanxenxo which is a beach town with an impressive port. I have eaten here in the past and there is a good supply of restaurants on the boardwalk overlooking the sea. It is off season now and there are only local tourists here. I just polished off a salad and langustine. The portions here are huge and always accompanied by a generous supply of the local bread.

Tomorrow, I will go to Pontevedra to register for my super sprint triathlon. We have several Canadian teams with 4 persons on each team. We all swim, bike and run for half the distance of the sprint. The race is on Sunday and I take the train to Madrid on Sunday, picking up my motorcycle on Monday.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2026-07

Spain 6,

Sept. 24, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I am staying in Dena-Meana, about 20 km from Pontevedra. There are very few rooms available in Pontevedra where the Triathon is taking place. Nirvana books up all the rooms 1 year in advance and then sells it back to the public at double the price, Most of the Canadians are staying out of town and taking a bus or a train to the race. I rented a car for the week which was disappointing at first. However, all things considered it gives me the possibility to visit the area.

I woke up early in the morning. Not wanting to make the mistake as last time, being undernourished for the race, I ate a substantial breakfast and drove 20 minutes to Pontevedra. The traffic in the city was horrible and everyone was looking for a parking space. I squeezed into the smallest space in a free lot and walked over to registration where I got my body markings for the race. I dropped off my bike in the transition zone and memorized the spot. There were 4500 bikes present. It was cool with a cool breeze and my race was to start at 4;00 pm with a water start. The water was cool so I wore my wetsuit.

I ate a light lunch and waited patiently for the race to start. I drank the sugary energy drink that I bought yesterday and carried the chocolate bar with me. I also have a recovery pack, a powder to be mixt with water for after the race. My water bottle was filled with a mineral liquid to be drunk during the bicycle part of the race. I was all set.

The swim was ok, with my wet suit I was warm enough. Surprisingly I don’t swim as quickly with a wet suit. I came out of the water feeling ok and jogged off to get my bike. My age is written on my calf so I usually get a lot of cheers and encouragement. I mounted the bike and took off. The bike part of the race was very difficult. It consisted of 1 long hill interspaced with curves and then downhill for the 2nd part of the race to the finish line. I didn’t even peddle as I was going too fast.I was exhausted. I stopped twice to catch my breath and 2 motorcycle refs stopped to ask me if I needed help. I waved them on and continued. The girls start their race after the oldest guys so i raced in a pack with the girls. They all shouted encouragement to me.

I dropped off the bike, took a drink and jogged off for the run. The run consisted of 2 lengths through the streets of Pontevedra lined with cheering crowds all yelling ‘go Canada’ for me. I was proud. The run had 1 hill after another. All along the way they give you water in a glass. I drank a bit and spilled the rest over my head to refresh myself. I finally got to the finish line and a pretty young put a finishing medal around my neck.

By the end of the race I was soaking wet. The temperature dropped and I started shivering. I walked into a restaurant and crashed onto a chair. The lady took one look at me and knew exactly what I needed. She gave me a huge bowl of chicken noodle soup followed by a yogourt and a tisane. After an hour I was ready to take on the world.

I took my bike and bag and wandered off to find my car. The ride home seemed long and I went straight to bed on arrival, sleeping of course with my medal around my neck.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2026-07

Spain 5,

Sept. 23, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I ate breakfast at my usual café and slowly made my way to Pontevedra. I managed to find a tight spot in a free parking lot. Hopefully I will find my way back to it as my iPhone has run out of battery. The super tiny battery bank does not seem to like my iPhone. I may have to buy another one which is always more expensive, bigger and heavier. Oh well those are the trials and tribulations of travelling in a foreign country.

I picked up my rental bike in the parking lot and had the fellow adjust the seat and put on my own pedals. It is super light with semi automatic gears which  the fellow had to  explain to me how to change gears. Sometimes modern conveniences are above my level of comprehension. I managed to find my way to the registration counter and was able to register without too much difficulty. People here take an extra bit of time to help white haired seniors find their way around.

It was 16 C this morning but has warmed up to 30 C now at 3:00. I race tomorrow at 2;00 pm so the heat should really be fun. There are a lot of stands at the site selling various foods and drinks for the race. Last time I made a mistake and was tired and dehydrated at the end of the race. I found a stand selling foods and beverages and was served by a young knowledgeable young lady. I explained what happened to me last time. She gave be a drink to have just before the race, special energy bars for the bike ride and run and a recuperation drink for afterwards. She also gave me a water bottle with an electrolyte drink which I can fill at will.

I will be off to the assembly area in a few minutes to meet with my team. There are 4500 athletes here from 60 countries. All the countries assemble by continent and in alphabetical order. We take a group country picture and then march in under our respective flags through the cobblestoned streets in front of 10,000 fans cheering us on. Wow!! Everything is filmed for local and close circuit TV.

Continued:

My iPhone was not working as the connection was loose. I found a great telephone shop with a knowledge salesman. He seemed to be happy that Canada will have EU status and would immigrate to Canada if at all possible. He fixed my phone and sold me a new battery pack, somewhat heavier than the one I have but with more memory and much much faster to charge. It took some time for him to set everything up, but it was worth it. I missed the team photo but got several photos of the parade. I marched in with the Canadian team. It was really fun. 4500 athletes and 1000s of spectators with a lot of camera men. The World Championships Triathon is very important all over the world except North American.

looked for the Israeli team but could not find them. I am not sure if they were with Europe, Asia or the Middle East group. I saw one group of individuals with a Free Palestine flag. I walked by, showed them my dog tags and told them I was with the IDF. I was with a large group of Canadians, mostly looking big and strong, so my risk was minimum.

I am eating supper at 10:00 pm, in a restaurant overlooking the water. Life is beautiful. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2026-07,

Spain 4,

Sept, 22, 2024,

I woke up at 9:00 am this morning and I think that I am getting used to the jet lag. I wandered down the street to my usual break patisserie and had a cappuccino which comes with a small croissant and a cup cake. Not realizing this I ordered a rather large sized pain au chocolate. This should keep me going until lunch. The sun rises later here in Spain and also sets later at night. At 6:00 am it is still pitch black.

I went into Pontevedra to see what was going on. The workmen were just setting up the tents and registration was not yet up and running. I decided to drive up to Santiago de Compostela which is a famous town marking the end of the long walk that religious Catholics do for various reasons. There have been several films describing the 300 km journey. People usually walk 15 to 30 km a day and either camp out or stay in small pensions. Many of the pilgrims have staffs or walking sticks. Maybe I will try to do the journey one day when I am older and have more sins to atone for. The road went through lovely county side for 1 hour before arriving. This area is much richer than the part of Spain that I visited 2 years ago which was much more arid. There are vineyards every where.

The outskirts of Santiago is nothing special buy the inner city has been well preserved with narrow cobblestone streets in car free neighborhoods. There are cafes and restaurants galore every 10 meters. I did not observe much tourist junk for sale that often plagues other known historical places. In the middle of town is a beautiful medieval church. The church is free to visit but you must pay to see the ‘museum and church treasures.’ Needless to say I didn’t feel like paying money to see money.

On the way out of town I saw 3 young hitch hikers, 2 young girls and a fellow. It is rare to see hitch hikers now a days. It reminded me of the time I travelled for a year in 1970 and hitch hiked for 6 months. It was safe in those days but hitch hiking is rare now and somewhat dangerous. They thanked me profusely and then spoke a language among themselves that sounded familiar. When asked, they responded that they were from Israel and were travelling around after their time in the army. I told them that I had just spent 4 months in Israel, volunteering with the IDF and MDA and proudly showed them my dog tags.

I drove them a few miles out of my way to a small town where they were staying. I was in no hurry to get anywhere which is the way I usually like to travel. O to be young again. We went for a beer/coffee in the town and chatted for 1 hour. I explained to them that I write a blog and that I had just completed a book on my Israeli adventure which they promised to purchase on their return to Israel. We exchanged email addresses and may hook up in Israel the next time I go there in the spring.

In the evening I met up with the ‘over 70 Canadian Triathlon Club’ for dinner in Pontevedra. Dinner was set for 6:00 pm in an Italian restaurant. I arrived at 7:45 just as they were finishing dinner. I can’t eat dinner at 6:00. In Spain dinner begins at 10:00 witch is closer to my style. Everyone wakes up late here and seems to have breakfast from 9:00 to 10:00.

Love,

Brian

Spain 2026-07

Spain 3,

Sept. 21b,

Hi Everyone,

I went to bed at 100 am last night and with 2 sleeping pills managed to sleep until 1:00 pm today. I think that I have caught up on my sleep loss from the voyage. I had a quick breakfast with a cappuccino and a croissant in a local patisseriea and was set for the day. I drove down to Pontevedra to get accustomed to the Triathon site. It is 20 minutes from my hote which is ok. A ‘clever’ company called Nirvana, books up all the hotels at various sites around the world where there are athletic events. They they resell them back to the athletes at double the price, compensating everyone with a bicycle mechanic if you need one. I booked my own apt 20 minutes away like many of the Canadian athletes.

Pontevedra is a nice little Med town with narrow streets and a fair number of restaurants. They were just beginning to set up the race. The swim is in a bay and hopefully I will not be required to wear a wet suit. I lose a lot of time ;pulling it off after the swim and I find it rather tight to wear.

I picked up a local SIM card for 30 day which is rather cheap. I will call with what’s app when necessary. Many of the narrow streets end up at a staircase and I almost went down one by accident. That would have been bump.bump, bump.

I am siting in a local taverna, fish restaurant overlooking the Atlantic in Sanxenxo a fishing/touristy/beach village. The seafood was excellent.Spanish is everywhere. I have not heard English in days.

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

Spain 2026-07

Spain 1

Sept. 1, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

It seems that I just finished a trip and I am off on another adventure. I am in the National Bank Lounge at Trudeau waiting for my plane and enjoying a Bloody Mary. 

I am on the Canadian National Triathlon Team and am headed to Pontevedra Spain for the World Triathon Championships. There will be 4500 athletes from 60 countries. I participate in the sprint triathlon, 750 m swim, 20 km bike and 5 km run. I used to do the Olympic triathlon before covid which is twice as long. I would finish in just under 4 hours. We are 350 athletes on the Canadian team with only 3 in my age group. Overall, there are 29 athletes in my age group. I am also on the super sprint relay team and will race the following day.

In Canada, the world championships are not that important. However in Europe, it is a very well attended event. The whole city will be shut down in the central area and there will be over 25,000 spectators lining the route. The race will be on closed circuit TV. You can subscribe by looking up, ‘World Triathon Championships, Pontevedra, Spain and paying a few dollars a day. I will let you know what time I will start my races. 

I will be in Pontevedra for 1 week. Afterwards I will pick up a motorcycle in Madrid and will ride for 10 days. I rented a Honda, Rebel 500 which is a light weight bike well suited for the narrow Spanish country roads. I planned out my whole trip in advance, including the routes that I will take and the hotels that I will stay in each town. I chose tertiary roads, choosing very, very hilly and very very curvy roads which should make for a challenging ride. I usually ride for 5 hours a day and then take off a day to see the local sites.

I will journey from Madrid to the east coast of Spain. I will pick up a ferry in Denia and go to Ibiza for 3 days. When I tell people that I am going to Ibiza, they usually laugh, saying that Ibiza is a party island frequented by the under 30 age group. That explains the high prices of hotels there. I will then take another ferry to Majorca where I will stay for 3 days. The final ferry will take me from Majorca to Denia and for my ride to Madrid.

I then fly to Rome and will see some old friends in Tuscany. Afterwards I will fly to Paris to visit with my medical school buddies in Caen, Reims and Paris.

You can follow me on my blog at:  gobriantravel.com

Don’t forget to purchase my book:  Swords of Iron’ which is available on Amazon and Indigo web sites. The book is based on my 3 months in Israel where I served on an IDF base and as a physician/paramedic on Magen David Ambulances. All proceeds of the book will go to MDA to purchase an ambulance. To date, I have sold 400 books and have received $25,000 in donations. On my return, I have several speaking engagements to promote my book. If you know any group that would be interested in hearing me give a talk, please refer them to me.

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 19,

July 20, 2026,

Hi Everyone,

I got to bed at 1:30 after watching the World Cup disappointing Final game. But as the saying goes, ‘you win some, you lose some.’ This one ‘we’ lost. I was up bright and early at 9:30 just in time for breakfast which is served from 6:30 to 10:00. I met my Australian friends, M & W, from last night so we had cappuccinos and cinnamon buns together. We arranged to meet at noon to go down to the beach for a swim. W is a good swimmer and a swimming instructor so we swam out to the breakwater together. That is the 1st time in 3 years that I have ever seen a swimmer go out that far. She told me that in Australia she would never go out that far from shore due to the danger of being eaten by a shark. Why tempt fate. They left for Haifa later in the afternoon. They are on a 3 month world tour, ending up in Vietnam which leaves me drooling with envy. Next year!?

After my usual, I took a beach cold water shower and had the 6:00 soup and wine provided by the hotel. This evening, I decided to visit the beach side, 5* hotels. I have photographed them from the beach many times but have never ventured inside them. I took the initial picture from the outside from several angles. I then went inside to photograph the lobby. The final photo was taken of the main restaurant.

All of the hotels are beautiful and worth staying in if 5* hotels is your ‘thing’ and of course if you are willing to spend the money. I usually avoid 5* hotels when I am travelling, trying to stay in B&Bs or 2-3* hotels. I will stay in a 5* if a medical conference is being held there as we always get a group rate. The hotels did not disappoint me with their overall decor. The lobby’s and the restaurants were all tastefully decorated. The food prices, except for the Kapinski, were on par with the local nice restaurants. The prices of the hotels ranged from $500 to $1000 to $2000 per night. A pasta meal or a big Israeli salad could be had for $30. A fish meal was double that except for the Kapinski where the prices are much higher. Kapinski is really top tier, followed by the Hilton and the Sheraton. The Carlton, Renaissance, Herod, and Crown Plaza are just 1 step down but still nice. There are other nice hotels here but I concentrated on the ones on the beach. Next time I am here, I will have an Israeli salad in each one for comparison.

I am sitting in one of my favourite beach side restaurants that I have frequented in the past. The sea is black and I can hear the waves lapping the shore. There is soft rock music in the background, not loud enough to disturb. I am on my 2nd Tuboug beer to go with a falafel. It is 25C with a cool breeze. There is no better way to spend an evening in TLV. I walked on the board walk for 2.5 hours to do my photos. There must have been 1000s of people out, strolling, running, skateboarding, bicycling, and scootering. TLV has to be one of the nicest places to be in the summer. There are very few cities in the world of this size which have a beach-waterfront so easily accessible.

Love.

Brian