Travel in times of Corona – experiencing a global pandemic

Part 1
In the end, no one asked me the question, but I had mulled it over constantly to myself. Is this trip essential? And my heart and head confirmed to me that it was.

The business that I’d mentally and financially invested in three years ago was being crippled by government indecision and I was experiencing daily loneliness, anxiety, stress and despair. So being presented with an opportunity to partner with an expanding business offering luxury villa rentals in Mexico, I had to go. I assessed the ability to legally travel through 3 countries, multiple barriers and personal risk to myself and others. So, with the support of my partner and family, I grabbed my US passport and booked my flights, via LAX.

There’s very little to say about the journey itself. Everything was smooth and travel truly was a pleasure. Of course I accept the point that if everyone was travelling, we wouldn’t be able to distance on planes and in airport terminals, but considering the circumstances, I couldn’t have felt safer.

Arriving at Heathrow felt like a VIP departure. Currently, most flights have moved to Terminal 2 (The Queen’s Terminal) or Terminal 5. A meet & greet parking service was executed swiftly and trickling into the departures area, there was plenty of distancing, reminders about mask-wearing and hand sanitising. Passengers are no longer able to check in online due to the extra questions, but approaching the Virgin Atlantic desk, I was politely asked for my documents and Covid-19 test certificate. I think I expected to be interrogated, but the entire check in and security process was normal, flowing, but just eerily quick and quiet.

Sadly the extra hour I’d allowed myself for traffic, check in and disruption had to be spent in Pret as everything moved so quickly, there were no shops to browse in, no perfumes on display in Duty Free to spritz and no business lounge to retreat to.

This is not airport travel as we know it. In some ways it’s more relaxing and luxurious. It definitely felt safe. But it’s very sad.

Flying the friendly skies
With 35 people onboard a 300+ seater A350, there was plenty of room to stretch out, wander and think. As subtle as you can be, mumbling through a mask, from 6 feet away, at 39,000 feet, trying not to bother my fellow five passengers in the Premium cabin, I tried to casually quiz some of the flight attendants about the changes to their lives, and what they wanted passengers to know and be aware of, but I was cautiously (and probably correctly) referred to the Virgin Atlantic press office in London. Understandable considering the abuse that airlines have experienced this year from passengers demanding refunds and the toxic media baying for Branson blood. They have yet to respond.

California Dreaming
The first sign that something was different upon landing in LAX was the greeting at the end of the jetway by a rather glamorous lady in a military camouflage dress, high-heeled leather boots, covered by a white lab coat and face-shield, introducing herself to everyone as ‘Dr Julia’ and asking if we’d been in the UK for 14 days. Upon nodding, we were directed to a team of cheery young chino and PPE wearing folks with clipboards and big smiles who thoroughly checked our Covid test certificates. I felt I was being enrolled in summer camp.

Two minutes later, the speech I’d rehearsed for the immigration officials about why I was returning to the US remained unperformed. The officer only asked whether I had any firearms or tobacco. “No”, I wanted to blurt. “But I have my RIGHTS as an American and a burning desire to promote socially distanced responsible travel adventures around California!”. He flicked my passport back at me and waved me away before I could start my protest. I had landed an hour early and got through the airport in 20 minutes. My ride was still stuck in LA traffic on the 405.

I realised some of the problem in the US is the division of duty between state and government. Customs and Border Patrol are federal employees following one set of established and critical entry policies. The Centre for Disease Control is an advisory board who has little enforcement power. And the State of California into which I was arriving doesn’t have the manpower, or authority to over-rule or instruct Federal officials. So the mandatory 14 day quarantine in LA County (into which I was arriving but not staying) doesn’t have a chance of being enforced. I had read something about it after digging around the internet, but following advice from my California hosts, and receiving no instruction from the airline or any officials, I had no official information of what this policy entailed.

What does the other side of the world look like these days?
My short time in California was spent at a friend’s house. The Los Angeles area is still under tight restrictions to protect the current strain on their hospitals, but the situation is improving. Restrictions there were supposedly the same as the UK, but the landscape is vastly different. Parks, attractions, sport stadiums, restaurants, bars are all closed. It’s impossible to curtail American’s from free movement but there was a stark difference in the traffic on the 8 lane freeways; It felt like 1970 when we cruised down to Laguna Beach for coffee (limited choices and take away only), then onward to pick up some take out from the amazing Heritage BBQ restaurant in San Juan Capistrano. Even though the restaurant is closed, people queue for 2 hours on the weekend (masks compulsory) to take home their mouth-watering brisket, smoked on-site. With very little open, our weekend activities were limited to driving the coastal road, walking on deserted beaches, staying at home, watching sea lions bark at the containers being loaded in Long Beach Port and grabbing take out food from anywhere that was open.

    

Activity is definitely hampered, but the US stops short at one thing – they can’t convince people not to spend time together. Human interaction is so critical and even in a small group, the joy of being physically close to other people again, without time limits was all the tonic I needed. We’d all recovered from Covid at some point during the past year and all had been tested in the last week, so i felt protected in my new little bubble. If we’re not mixing in crowds, retaining distance, wearing masks and avoiding groups and gatherings, what can be the harm in spending time with your dearest people? Why should individuals with little or no contact with others on a regular basis be treated the same as families who have 3 kids in school and 2 adults in crowded workplaces?

There is a way to move around safely. Can we just not reward and encourage people more to make wise choices? Every step of the way you make choices – do you wash your hands? Do you ask to be seated away from others in a restaurant? Do you limit your visits to the grocery store? Do you leave an area if it’s too crowded? Do you always wear your mask properly?

The solution has to be greater than the problem itself and observing the damage to people’s mental health, as well as businesses closed, jobs lost, families separated, and not to mention the generational destruction of local and global economies and the heartbreaking destruction of my beloved tourism, theatre and music communities, with this little bit of freedom, I was getting angrier at the country I’d left behind.

I have generally sympathised with any government leaders making these awful decisions, but my tolerance and patience was waning. The constant discrimination towards travel in such a hostile, frightening manner is grossly inaccurate and misleading. I wanted to scream. I travelled to two countries, I reduced my depression, stress and anxiety, I comforted friends, I diligently practiced social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing, I am doing whatever I can to save my business, I supported the economy, I got tested 3 times. Never got the virus. And yes, I also got a bit of a tan.

Is the ‘UK-first’ attitude really the most effective approach?

My greatest fear is that, after a year of negative media and government scare-tactics, we will shy away from the social interaction and realisation of what makes us a global community. All the talk of the UK’s ‘world beating programmes’ is so counter-intuitive. We need to heal together, not ‘beat the world’ at surviving Covid. We read of fervid patriotic Americans refusing to wear masks in WalMart and the arrival of the South African strain. Then we celebrate the UK’s foresight and buying power as we hoard the first vaccines, protecting our care home residents and elderly population. We may glance at the story about the developing world not receiving enough vaccines and the WHO pleading with the likes of the US and UK to share their supply. Secretly we think, ‘but we’re ok, my grandma’s getting hers next week and as long as my country keeps putting needles in arms, then we’ll be back to normal’. How can we be, when half of the world – the uneducated, the poor, the masses – don’t have an adequate vaccination program yet? How can we open our borders and connect with the world when Covid is still out there?

What is the end game? Once hospitals are operating at a reasonable capacity, excess deaths are down and our frontline workers and elderly are offered the vaccine, is it reasonable to think we can start living our lives again, accepting that life comes with an element of risk we’re willing to accept?

We expect international travel to return this summer and we know from the enquiries we’re receiving that people are keen to travel – bigger and better than before. Hopefully with more interest in responsible tourism too. It won’t be back to normal and we will need to expect some inconvenience to the logistics and perhaps higher costs. In the short term, perhaps we accept that pre-departure testing or vaccination will be necessary to travel. It reduces the number of travellers by increasing the cost and inconvenience factor, but at least it allows a moderate flow of visitors to continue.

  

I have had some friends express surprise that I felt comfortable to travel. But I can honestly say it was the best I’ve felt in 10 months. Comforted by the herculean efforts of the medical community in developing an effective vaccine, and the self-sacrifices we’ve all had to make this year to combat this disease, the time was right for me, for many reasons. And when it’s right for you, I hope that you feel safe to travel too. The impact on your mental, emotional and cognitive health might just give you the strength you’ve been missing. It’s time to start the re-investment in ourselves.

Part 2 to follow shortly…..

If you’d like further information on travel in the US, Mexico or any of the other destinations we feature, please contact us on enquiries@odyssey-world.co.uk. We are ready and excited to help plan your return to the world.