Thanks to a friend of Ed M.
A Naturalist’s Field Guide on Living in Texas
Chapter 95 — International travel in the age of Covid
This communication is targeted at all those over 55 years old contemplating international travel in the coming year, while Covid-19 in all its guises continues to smolder across the world. The reason for selecting this demographic is that navigating the world requires complete familiarity with today’s technology. While my 8 year old grandchild would have no problem, many of us don’t have the nimble fingers, the practiced reflexes and the well-honed confidence.
The recommendations are based on two recent trips when we tried to do everything correctly and failed miserably. A visit to Barbados resulted in their refusal of our PCR test, claiming that it was inadequate. We were placed in solitary confinement overnight, deprived of food and drink, until a repeat test confirmed that we were plague free. And getting a test before coming home from Greece proved to be challenging. So be forewarned — travel is not easy. Despite this, I recommended it as much as Sir Richard Francis Burton did in the 19th century — “Of the gladdest moments in human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of Habit, the leaden weight of Routine, the cloak of many Cares and the slavery of Civilization, man feels once more happy.”
Everything and anything written here could change in a heartbeat, aside from the overcrowding in the well known tourist hotspots, which you should plan to avoid. Not only is the coronavirus mutating apace, but each country changes its rules as often as one changes underwear (or should).
The thing to remember is that the smartphone is your new best friend. Learn all its foibles. It is the only way to navigate in today’s world. This isn’t only because of the maps. You will need it for pretty much everything. Check with your cell phone company to ensure that you have unlimited data while abroad. If they force you to pay it’s worth the price. You will be scanning QR codes to read menus, museum directions and numerous other documents that were once printed. You can have a conversation and read foreign languages with Google Translate. The phone has many tools that come in handy aside from the camera, which is now indispensable to keep back-up records of your documents, including vaccine card — from an alarm clock to a flashlight. About the only things lacking, at least on mine, is a thermometer, a nice sharp knife, a bottle opener and a corkscrew. Ensure that you have the appropriate plugs for charging. On the recent trip to Greece, I discovered that while the pins were correct, there was a flange on many new outlets that would not allow the plug to be inserted. Also remember that when leaving a room, the electricity turns off when you remove the key card from its holder. So don’t expect your electronics like a laptop, Kindle reader, electric toothbrush, phone, or anything else needing an infusion of power to charge while you are out of the room.
At least for the foreseeable future it is likely that the USA will require some kind of testing in order to be allowed home. This can prove to be challenging, depending on your location and schedule for your flight back to the USA. Here are some does and don’ts;
- Avoid reading the CDC guidelines. It is dozens of pages long, covers every possible contingency and is written in classic, incomprehensible bureaucratic lingo. It rivals the IRS tax code in opaqueness. Better to call a friendly travel agent and have them divine the latest regulations for you. Let them suffer instead.
- Ignore the CDC recommendations for which countries are unsafe. Assume that all are as dangerous as Chicago and as infested as NYC. If you listen to the CDC you will be confined to your basement for the rest of your life. Take reasonable precautions. Never wear any jewelry in Naples.
- Avoid the home Covid tests with remote tele-monitoring. These require a laptop computer with a camera and a stable strong Internet connection. While trying to use one in Greece, I even rebooked my hotel for the last night thinking that a major international hotel chain would have decent internet. It did in the lobby, but not in my room. Holding the computer at a 45 degree angle for twenty minutes without any movement so that the proctor could watch the process tested my intention tremor to its limit.
- Instead consider using the Covid testing service now available at most major airports. They will happily certify that you are plague free and ripe for return to the USA. There are generally many other local options available.
- Have a backup plan should you test positive. Each country has different requirements, so know your options before you go. Anticipate spending another week on vacation. Avoid making major commitments for at least 10 days after you return such as an important wedding or court hearing.
Despite these minor inconveniences, the value of travel for many of us is inestimable. Nobody said it it better than Mark Twain;
—“Travel is fatal to bigotry, prejudice, and narrow-mindedness…Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth… ”
—“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.”
The Cowtown Curmudgeon