The joy of traveling is coming back, but the pandemic reminds us of the need to care for others.
We remember that the beginning of the pandemic, the leading scientists were telling us that it might be years before we would find a vaccine to cure COVID-19. Años. Hundreds of days not being able to visit los abuelos. Cientos de dias not being able to explore the world. You can understand the dread we felt, como que la vida se nos paro.
Fast forward 9 months, and we found the vaccine. The golden ticket to returning life to a “new normal”. ¡Y pa’ viajar! Bueno, it took longer to receive the vaccine (Laurie in March and I in April), pero nimodos. We were ready to travel! Pero whose open? Dubai was. Italy was. France was. So we went off in July and August and had our first taste of freedom in over 18 months. Oh did we need that vacation!
Now that more vaccines are out, now that COVID (appears) to be in its last stages, more countries are beginning to open. Bali, home of our honeymoon, is going to open up in November. Then Singapore said they are opening specific Vaccine Travel Lanes to reach the Lion City. Thailand is dropping quarantine requirements for travelers too. Our home country, the USA, is opening its doors too. The only requirement needed for all these countries? Your vaccination.
Yes, even as the world begins to reopen for new adventures and memories, the COVID pandemic reminds us of the need to take care of one another. We know that not all countries required a vaccine to enter throughout the pandemic (Mexico), and even though we really wanted to go, we knew it was not the responsible to visit Mexico without being vaccinated. We knew that we could easily put our lives, and those that we would have interacted with, in danger of getting seriously sick of even dying. For us, getting vaccinated means freedom to travel safely, freedom to explore new culture, freedom to enjoy life to the fullest.
Bueno, we are heading off to Morocco, Egypt, UAE, Germany, and Belgium next month. Wherever you decide to travel next, travel safely, get vaccinated, and never travel sick otherwise. Our freedom to travel is tied to a communal responsibility of keeping others safe. ¡Vaya pues, a viajar!
Vamos viajando. The world needs to see us (safely)!
Latinos With Passports 