07.04.21
Today is a national holiday, Independence Day, and what better time to celebrate the new freedom we are just starting to experience—with travel.
After almost 18 months of travel confusion, the view is more clear domestically, as travel is back up to almost 2019 levels! TSA recently screened the most people on that given day than they did two years ago, so that’s a positive sign. Meanwhile, international travel is still a checkerboard of different rules and regulations. A COVID test, at least an antigen test, is a given, and the vaccine (which one?) may or may not get you into certain countries and possibly avoid a COVID test prior to arrival. Some countries are still off limits, at least to Americans, and others are only accessible to citizens or those with a legit reason to go.
And the question I asked myself many times over the last year was, “What good is having a travel blog (and guidebooks) on TRAVEL, if we are not able to travel?”
That question perplexed me for 15 months while I whiled away the time in the beautiful seaside village of Puerto Morelos, Mexico, just south of Cancun. When Kathleen and I arrived there the third week of March 2020, we had been chased by COVID from Southeast Asia, landed in Ohio for a wedding, and then quickly left the US for Mexico for a (supposed) two week stay.
I felt like a Gilligan’s Island refugee for those that know the show. They left for a three-hour tour, got stranded on an unmarked island, and were there for three years, ie, seasons. Thank God the Professor knew how to make a still so they could get drunk.
But now, the next stages are being laid out, and summer is a huge catalyst for countries to be more lenient since, if they miss THIS summer, that would be devastating to their economy. What happens when summer is over and another cold winter returns? Who knows?
As I write this in July 2021, Kathleen is back in Ohio for the summer to spend time with her new baby grandson and her new step-grandkids, and am in Oaxaca (pronounced Wahacka), south of Mexico City. I have no ocean, which is always a bummer, but the town is amazing in its own way. It has lots of charm and so far, some AMAZING food!! At 5000+ ft elevation the weather is more chilly than I have been used to, and the air is thin. Daytime temps are about 10 degrees cooler, and nighttime temps almost 20 degrees colder, BUT, it’s rainy season and that it does—every day! Sometimes torrentially, and it can stop as quickly as it starts.
While here I am taking a six-hour bus ride to the coast, a town called Puerto Escondido, to compare from Puerto Morelos, and today I am booking my first “big” trip in a while-Ecuador- on August 6. My six-week window until mid-September will be between there and Peru, the next stop. Chile is still off limits to Americans. Both countries at high altitudes, and I must be prepared for that, since altitude sickness IS a real thing, and Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is 9350 feet above sea level, which will be an all-time high (no pun…) for me. I have never had any altitude issues, but time, years, and everything DOES take their tolls, so I will be careful.
The past 18 months has been such a mixture of emotions for the entire world. Bad, good, stress, frustration, even sickness and sometimes, death, have been a part of everyone’s life. I wish I could believe that it is ALL over, but I think it will be a while yet.
Airlines are bringing planes out of storage and bringing people back from furlough. This SUMMER will be interesting as people get on the ROAD (they already are) and back on trains and planes.
I met wonderful people in Puerto Morelos, mostly expats from the US and Canada. I truly believe that as the world gets more “complicated” and frustrating in those two countries, people will continue to bail in record numbers. Between cost of living, quality of life, and government restrictions and interference, it’s no wonder.
Life is about independence- YOUR independence- to live the life you want to live. Enjoy it while you/ we can; it ain’t going to last forever! Happy holiday!
