The work trip - the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guatemala - 9 flights in 9 days - and I forgot my bloody camera!

Just been to breaky, and now I'll write a post about my work trip from my hotel room in Guatemala.

So I was sent to talk on social media etc at a conference in the Dominican Republic, and then talk with staff in Haiti and Guatemala - 9 flights in 9 days! I read the country specific information at travel.state.gov - a lot of warnings:

- the DR country information

- Haiti country information

- Guatemala country information

On the Human Development Index the DR is 91st, Guatemala 121st, and Haiti is 148th out of 179 countries. To put it into perspective, Canada is ranked 3rd on the HDI. So I knew that this trip will be an eye opener!

I got off to a bad start, realizing on the plane from Ottawa to Newark that I left my camera in the car - bugger it!

Anyway, I'm not one to dwell...

Short wait in Newark, and we departed (I was traveling with a work colleague for the DR part of the trip) for Santo Domingo in the DR. The drive from the airport to the hotel was crazy - there weren't too many road rules, pedestrians were crossing highways, and the houses on the side streets, were very basic - concrete, most without windows.

I spoke at the conference on the first day - it went OK, after a few technical difficulties. In the evening we walked to the Ciudad Colonial (Colonial Zone) - the first settlement made by Columbus and the Spanish explorers in the New World - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had a look round, were given a tour (without asking), and went for dinner in a square.

I forgot my camera, but below are a few taken by a work colleague from Trinidad and Tobago:

The next morning I was picked up by a pre-arranged taxi to be taken to the airport to catch a direct flight on a CAA non-compliant airline (Air Caraibes) to Port Au Prince, Haiti. The taxi arrived on time, and we proceeded to the airport - I can't speak a word of Spanish, the driver didn't speak a word of English - but he knew where to go - the airport to catch Air Caraibes. After about 40mins of driving we arrived at an airport - as we arrived I thought to myself, hold on this isn't the same airport I arrived at 2 days earlier - maybe Air Caraibes flies out of this little airport in the middle of nowhere. So, I asked the driver as best I could - Air Caraibes, and showed him my ticket - as I did earlier - he nodded.


I went into the airport - still had 1 hour before my flight was due to leave, and the first thing I noticed was a bill board that said - Carib Air. I was at the wrong airport! I was meant to catch Air Caraibes and instead I was at a small airport in the middle of nowhere where Carib Air flew out of. This was confirmed after speaking to the person at the airline office.


OK, so it was too late to catch the Air Caraibes flight from the other airport (as it was 1 hrs drive away) - besides the next flight directly to Haiti was the next day with Air Caraibes - and I only had 1 day scheduled in Haiti for work (before flying onto Miami and then Guatemala). So I had to act quick. It just so happened that Carib Air also had direct flights to Port Au Prince in Haiti - the next flight was 3pm that afternoon. It was just after 9am. I rang through to a colleague in Haiti to say I would be late, purchased the ticket, and sat at the airport in the middle of nowhere until 3pm!


Now, the Caraibes Air planes do not pass the CAA safety standards - as I mentioned before. Well the Carib Air plane, I think, was in the same boat. When all 6 of us passengers boarded the small propellered 20 seater aircraft, the flight attendant told us all to sit at the back of the plane - maybe to help with liftoff?! As the plane took off, everything started creaking, and a couple of the overhead storage doors flung open - the plane creaked all the way above the mountainous terrain to Port Au Prince. It was a pleasant flight.

As we were descending into the Port Au Prince airport, looking at the houses and streets, I knew that I was entering a very desolate, under developed country and it was going to be an eye opener.


Haiti has had a long history of political unrest - from the Aristide Era, to the military rule (coup) - all of which has lead to violent demonstrations, and many deaths. And to make things worse, the country was hit by 4 tropical cyclones in the space of 2 weeks in 2008 - Tropical storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, Hanna, and Ike - which devastated the country (deforestation 95% - so during the storms, soil turned to mud and landslides killed many). So the French speaking country is in extreme poverty - there is little electricity - only the rich have electricity, but generators are still needed as the power goes off everyday.


Back to the airport. So I arrived into Port Au Prince (population over 3 million) - someone from the embassy took me straight through immigration (no questions) to a bullet proof vehicle for the 40min drive to my hotel.


Now I didn't have my camera, but the videos below, give you a good indication of what the driving, and housing was like. There are no road rules, cars are barely road worthy - many loose their brakes going down the hilly streets. There are no road signs - only a few traffic signals. People drive their vehicles on any side of the road - what ever gets them to their destination the quickest. There are only a handful of roads that are tar sealed - of which many have huge craters (not potholes, but craters) in them. Many people sit on the back of rusty utes - called tap taps - these are the taxis. In Haiti there are over 8000 UN peacekeepers - many from the Canadian military - there were a few staying at my hotel from Quebec, working as police. So you see many UN vehicles, and a lot of army personnel with automatic weapons. Many Haitians try to flee the country - either over the mountains into the Dominican Republic, or some pay a a lot to be taken by boat in the hope of reaching the shores of the US. They are either stopped by the US coastguard, or they drown. When I was there, there were reports that 70 people were missing trying to get to the US by boat.

So, I arrive at my hotel - I felt extremely guilty that I was staying there - in a neighbourhood that had 24/7 security, big gates/walls, internet access, air con, and a very nice room, good food and cable TV, and a bullet proof 4x4 pick-up drive to and from the embassy.

I met some work colleagues for dinner, and during dinner the power would go out - then the generators would kick in.

The next day, I was driven (40 mins) to the embassy for my days work. The talks went well, and I met some very nice people in the process. I was back at the hotel by about 4pm and started to pack for the flight to Miami, then to Guatemala City the next day.

During the course of the night I started to feel ill. I think I had food poisoning. I was up all night, the next day I was in and out of the loo on the aircraft to Miami, held on during the long immigration process, then back to the loo near my departing gate, then on the plane to Guatemala City, and then my hotel - late that evening, and all through the night, and the next day during my half days work at the embassy. Luckily there was nurse at the embassy who prescribed some antibiotics - 2 days later I am just recovering - and slowly getting my appetite back. I'm knackered!

I'm staying in a very nice hotel in Guatemala City - Hotel Barcelo - nice food, and you can get NZ butter!

My work host drove me out to the UNESCO World Heritage town of Antigua yesterday - it's about 45mins from Guatemala City . Awesome! I went on a 3 hour walking tour with Antigua Tours - with Elizabeth Bell. If you go to Antigua, I highly recommend you take this tour, Elizabeth Bell knows her stuff - has lived there for 40 years and knows many Mayan people - 20% of Guatemalans do not speak Spanish - they speak 1 of the 22 Mayan dialects found in Guatemala. E. Bell also has helped restore much of the city over the years. And no, the world will not end in 2012 - the end of the Mayan calender. It is just the end of the (around) 5800 year cycle of the calender, and they start over again - there will be huge celebrations in 2012. When we were around the back of the Antigua church, we saw a man who had walked from a rural area, to give gifts and light candles for God.

In the afternoon, I spent some money on some local products - very nice - will not mention here, because I am not back in Ottawa yet, and a couple are gifts for Miriam.

The embassy in Guatemala lent me a camera! Saweet, so I took a few picks, posted below.

Work tomorrow, then up early Tuesday (5:30am) - fly to Miami, then Chicago (I then have 40mins to catch my flight from Chicago to Ottawa) - (hopefully arriving in Ottawa just before 10pm). Then back to work the next day - joy!

I apologize for any spelling mistakes or incorrect grammar. I just write - it is an informal blog - no time to spell check and proof read!

Hit a Moose; Chased by a bear; 15mins of fame over 2 weeks; half marathon; Blues; Torn Meniscus; KISS fan for life; and visit from family

Well how about that - It is August and my last post was back in March! Sorry, can I say I was too busy, too lazy, too tired, too sore? Well better late...

It is early morning and I am sitting in a very luxury hotel suite (Barcelo Premium) in Guatemala City - I've put the 'please do not disturb, am sleeping' sign out so that I can finish this and maybe another blogpost. I will write two posts; one on the info in the title above, and the second on my work trip to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guatemala (where I am right now).

So back to March/April. Long time ago, but here is a test of my 33 year old memory.... Yes that's right....Miriam and I had just started training for the Ottawa Half Marathon (May 23rd). It was hard, as always, for the first few runs, but after a while we were enjoying our 3-4 runs per week. It was nice being fit again - I have a torn meniscus now, so fitness is slowly (actually speedily) disappearing, but that is another story.

So in between the training, we decided to spend the Easter long weekend in and around the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec (about 10hrs drive NE of Ottawa). Now, we ended up doing a lot more driving than expected. After a long days driving we arrived at our backpackers hostel - photo below (very cool place - used to be a flour mill - 4 families lived on the land back in the 70's - self sustained living - made and grew their own food etc). While in the carpark I noticed that the car beside ours was almost a write off - roof caved in winows and sides smashed - I thought someone had an unlucky day. At dinner, we met the others that were staying there - a young French couple - the guy studied at Lincoln in Chch back in NZ (small world) and knew a friend of mine. We also met another young couple with 2 young kids - they lived in Quebec City, but were originally from France - they were taking a short vacation around the Fjord. The father of the kids said to me (after a few red wines) 'Today I hit a Moose'. I said, bloody hell, that must be your car in the park then - ' ah wee'. 2 hrs before we arrived (early evening) the French family were 20mins from the backpackers and a Bull Moose came out of the trees and onto the road without warning - the French man acted quickly, swirved, but clipped the side of the Moose - the Moose flew, head hit the roof and windscreen, it then swung to the side of the car, smashed the side, its legs went through the side windows - narrowly missing the kids in the back and ended up on the road behind the car. Now, a Moose is big and top heavy. They have very skinny legs that go up for miles and all their weight is up high - so when cars (unfortunately) hit Moose, there usually isn't much damage to the bumper (as only the legs are hit) - but the top half (the heavy part) will write off the top half of the car - as the Moose usually flies through this part - think of a tonne weight flying at you at 50mph! Bugger that. That is why this family were extremely lucky to have survived, and why the French man was on his second bottle of red wine. They only had a few minor scratches. After the accident, the Moose lay on the road for a few minutes, then got up and ran into the bushes - hopefully to recover, but most likely to die. Apparently no one stopped to help the family after it happened - even when people saw the Moose in the middle of the road - in the end a women reluctantly stopped to help.

I mentioned earlier that we did a lot more driving than expected. Well the next morning we took the french family (minus the dad - as he drive back to Quebec City with the tow-truck) up the road (1.5hrs) to catch a bus back to quebec City. Once we dropped them off, we drove around the Fjord and back to the St Lawrence river. We went whale watching in a little zodiac - very rough swell - saw a couple of whales - no blue whale though - best time for that is now (August).

At the end of May, after many weeks of training ;), Miriam and I completed the Ottawa Half Marathon. We both finished with better times than last year - Miriam did 2hrs 8mins, I did 1hr 38mins. We were both happy, as there was a headwind for the last 8km.

OK, so I mentioned in the title that I had my 15min of fame over a 2 week period. How does that work? Well I made it on national TV twice and had a article published (in a Subaru travel magazine) back home.

The first time on TV was for work. The story was on social media and how it is the big thing at the moment and how employers are looking for social media strategists. I didn't speak, and I was only a background 'extra' - they showed me working at my desk - the back of my head, side and my hands - laugh.

The very next week I was on TV again - this time it wasn't work related, the story was about me, and I was in the opening credits to the evening news! In short, I was chased by a bear in Gatineau Park - must have been a slow news day!

Yes, chased by a 'Big Black Bear'. It was a hot humid, stormy Sunday and I decided to go for a bike ride (road push bike) in the Gats (Gatineau Park - in Quebec - 15mins from our Apartment in Ottawa). I was at the start of the park and I stopped under a tree to wait for a huge downpour to finish. It was one of those strange days - not many bikers out, dark, but still hot and humid. Once the downpour stopped I was in 2 minds whether to carry on biking or head back home. I carryed on biking. I was about 2km before Pink Lake, going at a good speed around a long bend (trees either side), when suddenly a big alpha male bear was right in front of me (3-4 metres) on the road (trying to cross), we both got a huge fright. I slammed on the brakes, but also did a u-turn at speed (fastest u-turn ever) - the bear was running at the side of my bike, I took off, heard the bear behind me, grunting, puffing. The chase was short - I think I gave him such a fright that he chased in self defence - and stopped after a short distance once he knew I wasn't a threat anymore. The whole moment was surreal and was over in a flash. the first thing I did after the chase, was ring Miriam, then a few friends. Then I cycled to the park visitors center to report the happening. Adrenaline was pumping all afternoon.

Anyway, I was interviewed the next day and was on the 6pm news on CBC. If you are a friend on Facebook, the video is on my page. There are a couple of screenshots below. The person who interviewed me was the same girl who did the story about social media the week before!

OK the final piece of the 15 minutes was that we had an article published in the NZ subaru travel magazine - it was about (us) kiwis living in one of the coldest places in the world - Ottawa, Canada - and about our adventures with our Subaru - had to mention Subaru to have the article published. Obviously Miriam wasn't allowed to be mentioned (by name etc) - people who know us well, know why. The magazine is free and avalible at any subaru dealer in NZ - if you get a chance take a look, all the photos are ours, and the a lot of the story is from this very blog.

Canada Day - nice relaxing day that ended with ride on Josh and Juile's (friends) yacht to watch the fireworks from the water - awesome experience.

About a month back, I tore my meniscus (knee) playing flag rugby. I was (and still am gutted) as sport and fitness is a big part of my life. It really sets one back. I was on crutches for a couple of weeks - the knee is still not right. I had a MRI scan before I left on my wrk trip (will get results next week) - physio and doctor have already said they think it is the meniscus though. As the inner part of the meniscus is avascular, no blood gets to it, which means it will not heal itself, which means keyhole surgery! Bugger!

So, we bought the whole pass for the Blues Fest this year - even though the lineup was not as good as previous years - but it was our last, and we thought why the hell not eh! There were still some big names like Jeff Beck, Cake, Stone Temple Pilots, Rudd, Blue King Brown etc. But the best, biggest, and the most OTT concert was the KISS concert. Unreal, I can see why there are a lot of KISS fans - they put on a huge show - fireworks, leader singer went on zip line across the crowd, fire balls, paper guns, everything. The pictures (all 200 odd) tell the story - on FlickR. There are a couple below too. I am a KISS fan for life and I was rocking that night on my crutches!

Oh yeah, a few weeks prior to the Blues fest, my sister Anna arrived for a short stay - from Columbia. She had a great time in Ottawa. We took her to Montreal, Omega Park (which has all the Canadian wildlife), showed her around Ottawa, and took her out on a friend of ours yacht.

Rib Fetsival (they come form all over North America):

Then the next week we had a visit from Miriam's dad (Clive), Suszanne, and brother Kit. We took them to Montreal, did some shopping, went to the Montreal Jazz festival - awesome, and also took them to Jeff Beck and Ben Harper, Holy F**k, at the Ottawa Blues Fest. I also showed them inside the embassy I work at. The day after the Jeff Beck concert, we were in a little cafe (that sold photos of famous people - mainly politicians). The photographer happened to be there, and he also happened to have had a backstage pass at the Jeff Beck concert the night before. He took some close up pictures of Jeff Beck playing - and Clive purchased one off him that day (at cost price).

Below are some pics of some Canadian iconic foods - Beavertails, and Poutine ( fries, with cheese curds and gravy). Below that are the Obama cookies. President Obama visited in Feb (I wrote about it in a previous post) and while here, he visited a bakery in Byward market (Ottawa central). He purchased a cookie shaped in the Canadian Maple Leaf. It now sells like hot cakes - people are purchasing them right throughout the country.

Ultimate Frizbee:

A poser on J&J's Yacht:

That ends this Post. the next will be on my work trip to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Guatemala - 9 flights in 9 days!