Brazil!

I am off to meet my friends Suza & Rick in Brazil. We will meet in Fortaleza and sail from there up the coast. We hope to explore a little of the Amazon and continue north along the coast of South America. I am looking forward to spending time with them and seeing new places. I will update my blog as internet access permits.

Majuro, Capital of the RMI

   I am at the end of a short (originally unplanned) stop in Majuro. For the last few days I have been working with a group of people that run the Canvasback Kumit Wellness Center. Diabetes is very prevalent in the Marshall Islands, over 50% of adults have Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes.
The team here has developed and implemented a diabetes reversal and lifestyle change program for the Marshall Islands. They have intervention and education programs, exercise programs, a cafe that serves healthy breakfasts and lunches, and they even grow many vegetables they use in the meals they serve.  It has been great to see what they have accomplished with a small team of people.  I just wish I had more time here!

Part of the team at the Canvasback Kumit Wellness Center

The link for the center's website:
http://pacificdiabeteswellness.com/diabeteswellnesscenter_002.com
The Canvasback Kumit Wellness Center would appreciate any support!

Mission accomplished!

Canvasback has finished the orthopedic and dental missions on Ebeye and Ennubirr (Third island). It has been a great experience. The orthopedic team performed 30 surgical procedures including 8 knee replacements and 3 hip replacements.It is the first time knee replacements have been done on Ebeye.
The dental team saw almost 700 patients in two weeks, they were working non-stop and were ready for a little rest. On Ennubirr there is no air conditioning and working outside was a different experience for most of the team.
For me this was a great opportunity to be part of a team that gives to the community where many of the people I worked with live. Ebeye is an island in Kwajalein Atoll, near Kwajalein Island, where most of the Marshallese people who work on Kwajalein live. Ennubirr is the island where most of the Marshallese who work on Roi reside. It had been a few years since I had been on Ennubirr so it was interesting to see the changes.

Next, I will be stopping for a week on Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands. Canvasback runs a Diabetes Wellness Clinic there and I will see what I can do to help. Diabetes is a significant issue in the Marshall Islands and they are working to help people understand how they can change their diet and exercise to improve blood sugar levels.

Some of the ortho patients and the medical team

Anne Alrick assisting dentist Victor Au-Yeung on Ennubirr



Some of the kids on Ennubirr and me



Jacque Spence, co-founder of Canvasback Missions

If you are interesting in learning more about Canvasback Missions, their website is http://www.canvasback.org/


Back in the Marshall Islands!

It is great to be back in the Marshall Islands!

I am here for a few weeks volunteering with Canvasback. Canvasback Missions, Inc.is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to serve remote Pacific islands with needed health care and health education. Volunteer medical professionals provide various kinds of medical and dental services to the people and they send several medical mission teams to the Marshall Islands every year. I am working as a team coordinator and am fortunate to be working with such amazing people. We have been working on Ebeye for one week now and it has been wonderful to see what this orthopedic team can do for people with such need. They have performed 5 knee replacements, two hip replacements, numerous arthroscopy (and other) procedures in the first week. It's great to see people who have been wheelchair bound, walk again. The medical team are some of the most talented, kind, giving and fun people I have ever met. I have been able to observe a knee replacement and a hip replacement surgery. Now that is something to see!

A dental team just arrived and will be working on Ebeye this coming week and then on Ennubirr the following week. More on that in the next post.

Ecuador in October

Fifteen days was not enough time for a visit to Ecuador. A friend (thank you Nell!) organized a group of seven to spend a little time in Ecuador. Two of us flew into Guayaquil a day early and spent some time on the Malecon. It is a boardwalk that is one of the highlights of Guayaquil. The next day the rest of the group arrived and we were driven 3 hours to a home on the beach in the small village of La Entrada. La Entrada is approx. 15 minutes north of Montanita which is a popular place for surfers and all the fun that surfers bring with them....


Our entertainment the first week included horseback riding, SCUBA diving off Isla de la Plata ("the poor man's Galapagos"), and canopy (zip lining). I am a fan of zip lining and definitely not horseback riding (let's just say that I will pass on that activity in the future). We had a great addition to our group, the person who manages the house joined us for most of the week. His fun personality (and translation skills) were a huge plus! 


After a week on the beach we headed back to Guayaquil. Most of the group went back to the states and 3 of us flew to Cuenca. Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and an attractive colonial town at ~8200 feet above sea level. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is attracting Americans as a retirement location. The city has beautiful cathedrals and churches, a number of Museums, and largest Inca ruins in Ecuador are nearby. Transportation by bus was nice and very inexpensive. I would love to return and visit all the places I did not get to see - looks like another trip to Ecuador in the future.  :)

On the Malcon in Guayaquil

Colorful homes in Guayaquil

Artifacts in the Cultural Center in Guaya quil

Our home in La Entrada

Relaxing in the rainforest

Shiny Penny  at the dive operator's office

Yes, the water was chilly

Zip lining was a lot of fun!

Canopy (zip lining)

Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción

Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción

Cuenca

What are we eating?

We know it comes from the sea....

Turkey Pics - finally...

Well soon is a relative term. I had planned to post pictures before mid July, but I just did not get to it. Kwaj time was short and I was getting packed up and saying goodbye to friends. It is a great place to live, but Kwajalein has its challenges.
I am now in the states getting some quality time with family and it is amazing to me how quickly time flies. And how fast nieces and nephews grow!
My goal for the next year or so it to spend most of my time traveling, preferably on a boat. The Vasco da Gama Rally was a great experience and I would love to see more of the world that way.

So, back to Turkey.
We sailed to Alanya Marina and spent time there getting reacclimated to having access to anything we would want. Alanya is a pretty, though very touristy, town. We spent a day wandering around.
On the weekend I spent a day with a wonderful couple from Haifa, Israel touring the towns of Perge anad Side. The amazing thing about Turkey is that everywhere you go there are ancient ruins. You feel as though you are in the cradle of civilization.

I spent a few days in Istanbul with a couple of friends. Ute from another boat on the rally and Joi who flew in from the states. It was great to enjoy the sights with friends.
If you ever get the chance to get to visit Turkey - go! The people are friendly, the food is great and the history is incredible.

Alanya  fortifications

Alanya

You can just make out Alanya Marina in the distance

The ruins in Perge, some from the 5th century BC



Perge

Perge

Side, Temple to Apollo

Side resident

Side, ancient stadium

Dolmabahce Palace with live guards (in boxes)

Topkapi Palace

Tile work at Topkapi Palace





Blue Mosque



Blue Mosque interior



Hagia Sophia



Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia

Basilica Cistern

The head of Medusa - Basilica Cistern

Friends from the Rally

It's great to see the sights with friends

Back in the real world (sort of...)

After spending a wonderful 6 days in Istanbul, I returned to Alanya, packed up and left for Kwaj on May 28. My itinerary was crazy - Alanya, Antalya, Munich, Hong Kong, Osaka, Guam, and the island hopper to Kwaj. After a couple overnight stops (some unplanned due to missed connections) and too many overnight flights, I arrived on Kwaj on June 1st. I will be leaving here at the end of June, spending time with family in the states, and then who knows what I will do next. The world is too big a place and there is still so much I would like to see.
I will post some pictures from my travels in Turkey soon.