Travel in the Pandemic Era

Last March, I was working for a company that helped Amazon sellers. Increasingly, we had a big problem: Amazon sellers couldn’t get product to the warehouses because China’s manufacturing had shut down due to COVID-19.

It really should’ve tipped me off that I was going to get laid off soon, but I missed that red flashing light. I applied for unemployment and looked forward to my upcoming trip to Argentina the following week.

Are you sensing a pattern of me ignoring big honking warning signs?

Of course, the night before I was supposed to leave, Argentina announced new quarantine measures—if I flew in, I’d need to quarantine 14 days.

Problem: the trip lasted only a week.

So that trip was cancelled. But luckily I’d already booked a flight to Spain the following December—surely we’d have a handle on this thing by then, right?

🚨🚨🚨

Yeah, that didn’t happen either. Nor did the trip to Mexico that I booked for the same date range after my flight to Spain was cancelled.

So what have I planned for 2021? Well, for better or worse I’ve booked a flight to Cairo. I bought new masks and a travel-friendly face shield. I’ve got hand sanitizer out the wazoo (technical term), and I’m eager to get vaccinated.

SURELY, by May of this year I’ll have been vaccinated and ready for a flight to Egypt…right?

🚨

The point is this: optimism. Is it misguided? I mean, maybe, kind of. BUT. I’m gonna keep trying! There’s still so much I haven’t seen, so many places I want to go! I’m going to do it as safely as possible, of course, but after a year with NO TRAVEL I’ve come to realize that I need it more than ever.

I’ll admit this photo of Grandma J makes me want to go to Egypt JUST so I can recreate it