Travel in times of corona – Mexico

Some might think Mexico has a peculiar attitude to life and death. A strongly Catholic population influenced by polytheistic foundations, Aztecs and Mayans believed in the protection of many spirits and multiple gods. This combination results in a belief that a greater force is at work. Life and death is indivisible. There is an acceptance of death from THIS world. This can be seen all over the country on Dia de los Muertas (just after All Saints Day, November 2), where the recently bereaved are remembered and celebrated by donning colourful costumes, decorating skeletons and parading through streets filled with laughter, music and dance. During this period, the popular belief is that the deceased have divine permission to visit friends and relatives on earth and enjoy once again the pleasures of life. It doesn’t mean a family doesn’t mourn or experience grief when a loved one passes, but the general acceptance of it allows a greater tolerance for when risk lies ahead. In times of pandemic, the added realisation that the government won’t be able to financially support those not in work means that people must keep calm and carry on, boosting each other, being as safe as possible but keeping life moving and the world turning.

Visiting American friends now living and working in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the contrast of life was astounding. Masks are worn, by most, hand washing/sanitising is encouraged and distance preserved. Daily life is not controlled by statistics, specifically how many people have died in the nation yesterday of Covid-19 in another city 1,000 miles away. Businesses are open, construction is ongoing, music is jamming, market vendors are haggling, whale watching trips are ongoing….this place is ALIVE! Restaurants offer limited capacity, bars are regulated. People are hurting, the economy is struggling, unemployment is higher. Hands, face, space…the message is the same. But what destroys Mexico most are the travel restrictions in force by countries that typically produce the greatest number of visitors – Canada, the US and Europe. A typical resort town in Mexico epitomises the strangulation that tight Covid restrictions in the Western world are having on the rest of the world.

In Mexico, where borrowing power is restricted and national debt isn’t something you can just brush under the carpet for future generations, there is little support for families who can’t work. Businesses have to stay open to retain their workers and keep people employed. When you walk the streets of Puerto Vallarta at night, among the flashy LGBTQ bars, street musicians and pumping house music, it’s easy to tut at the brashness of ‘all this irresponsibility going on during a pandemic’. But look a little closer and you’ll see the open fronted bars have no customers and very little money passing through the till. The street hustlers can try as hard as they like to entice people in, but with travel restricted from Canada, Europe, the US and South America, the reality is there’s no one to entertain. Many businesses won’t survive.

The world can only heal when we look at the inequality happening outside our borders. The huge rush to secure as many vaccines as possible for the UK has been applauded and the roll out truly remarkable, but we tend to look the other way when WHO is pleading with us to share our stash. Not only will developing countries be last in the queue to receive the vaccines, their lack of purchasing power means prices have been driven up. With vast numbers of un-vaccinated populations in Africa, Asia and South America, it will elongate the lifespan of the pandemic, limit their return to tourism, continue their decline of their economy and create further world disparity. If vaccine programs there aren’t supported by the world’s richest countries, it will be 2024 before there’s any chance of continental or global immunity. Wealthy nations like the UK and Europe will do well to remember that ‘nobody is safe until everybody’s safe’ and work with the WHO on fair distribution of the vaccine. Lengthy pandemic restrictions in poorer countries will have a negative effect on our movement and economies. We are so much better when working as one.

However, certain desperate measures imposed by some countries currently make international travel almost impossible as we head towards what might be the final stretch of our crisis at home, namely proposed hotel quarantine in the UK and Canada, declaring leisure travel ‘illegal’ and cancelling visa-free travel for most countries into the US.

Before I travelled back to London, the latest tactic being discussed was hotel quarantine. With our Transport Secretary previously stating that approx only 1 in 1000 Covid cases are arriving from abroad, this seemed another desperate measure to appease the public, while having little actual impact. I discussed with my friends and family what would happen if enforced hotel quarantine came into play before my return. The Canadian government are already being sued for implementing this illegal detainment of it’s citizens, and I am strongly against being forced to pay for forced quarantine, potentially in a room with sealed windows, the uncertainty of wifi preventing me from running my business, when i have a safe home to quarantine at just 80 miles away. But if the UK is already doing everything it can at the borders and this is the only way to further reduce the spread, I understood it had to be considered. My personal decision would have been to stay where I was until the restriction was over. This could have been weeks, months maybe, but giving up my current state of relative freedom, mental stability, business control and comfort was not something I would have sacrificed if the decision presented itself.

Thankfully, my return trip was scheduled before the UK government got its act together and I felt assured that measures would be in place to restrict Covid entering the UK. Upon arrival at Heathrow, it wasn’t very busy, but i was so disappointed to notice the following:

• My negative Covid test was glanced at by a queue monitor. Every other country had scrutinised it. It’s easy to see why there are so many fraudulent certificates surfacing.
• My Passenger Locator Form was barely glanced at and not checked again.
• No one in the queue was encouraged to stand apart from the person in front of them
• No announcements about social distancing
• No one asked me why I was traveling or where i’d come from
• No interaction with Border Force – simply popped my UK passport in the machine to enter.
• I’ve had one generic text about isolating since i’ve been home. I always planned to fully isolate at home for 10 days, but no-one’s checked.

If the UK can’t get the basics right, how can they justify implementing such an expensive, unpopular, restrictive hotel quarantine policy that will all but stop safe and sensible essential travel currently conducted by a small minority, and create a tougher climb to travel freedom for the global population?

A strong argument for releasing strict measures is detailed in the Great Barrington Declaration. My instinct is to support this movement, however this is a controversial approach for all countries to adapt. Without yet having other tools to combat Covid outbreaks such as annual vaccinations and effective therapeutics, this ‘focussed protection’ approach may be too risky to apply for most countries. By next year, however, we may have a greater medical structure so draconian lockdowns and isolation don’t have to be repeated.

Odyssey World exists to create meaningful, authentic travel experiences for guests who wish to explore the world in a responsible way. Our only product has temporarily been declared ‘illegal’ by the UK government, as a public health measure to protect citizens of our island. We always believe travel must have a positive impact on the world. A return to international tourism and the re-connection of the world is essential for the long term health of billions of people around this planet. We long to be part of this recovery.

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.