07.25.20

With some degree of trepidation I returned to the United States, Salt Lake City, and with as much as I have traveled over the past few years, this is different. Traveling for me had become “business as usual,” but with masks required every step of the way, plus being around more people than I have been around since we got to Mexico in March, I felt a bit…unsettled. I am now in Salt Lake (Park City), and I feel just as unsettled.

I have been attending business events in key cities in the US for many years and I always enjoyed catching up with friends who are almost family. But how will I be viewed now, coming from Mexico? We had little virus activity in Puerto Morelos, and realistically, someone coming from Phoenix or Miami is probably MORE risky to be around, than me.

What a world this has become this year!

First things first; getting to the airport.

In Mexico, buses rule and they go by different names, including “collectivos,” which are smallish vans, but there is a (full size) airport bus line called ADO which picks up in Puerto Morelos and goes to the airport. When we arrived here in March, not knowing anything or anyone, we took a taxi which cost $35 USD, but unfortunately the ADO buses are on “pandemic leave,” so I took a taxi again. But now I know the ropes—and people willing to help, so it was more reasonable. The Cancun airport ran smoothly considering it is getting more busy with each passing week. Mexico not requiring a 14 day quarantine is a BIG draw for many (Americans) and that may bite us in the ass down here as many of these visitors show no restraint or common sense.

Wearing a mask for the WHOLE flight was a pain in the…, but we do what me must. Kudos to Delta for keeping center seats empty and my direct flight to Salt Lake City was smooth and not too different than before. But passport control was different and a “health certificate” was required both getting ON the flight, plus before landing. It’s all self-disclosure, so that’s as honest as people are, but these forms will probably be a nuisance for a long time.

Will this be a forever thing? Will virus watch be with us the rest of our lives? We all wonder and hope not.

Living in a small town of just 9000 people is a treat and probably not a TRUE representation of “life” in the real world. Not having a car or moving around like I had one is a different world from living in a small seaside village and commuting by foot and bicycle. This morning I did a Walmart run to get some things we couldn’t find in Mexico and even though we all know that Walmart is already in the Twilight Zone, it’s even more surreal now. I’m staying at a nice hotel and masks are required by them as well as the county, so I’m beginning to appreciate even MORE of NOT having a car, not having access to chain department stores and the like.

 

No question, living outside the US for the past 18 months has skewed my version of normal and what I can accept and live with. I appreciated that lifestyle BEFORE COVID and I think I appreciate it just as much now.

 

 

 

#mexico, #walmart, #travel, #flying, #delta, #quarantine