I have been laying low since March of 2020, and I’m getting ready for my first trip since the pandemic lockdown started. I’m so excited, I got my suitcase out two weeks before departure date, just so I could savour that travel feeling!
My last trip was in February 2020. Though at the time, we had heard of Covid-19, we didn’t think it was something we had to be too concerned about in North America.
In hindsight, I now realize the virus was already likely here, and we just didn’t know it yet. In fact, I did get sick on my trip with what I thought was just a terrible, terrible cold, but I’ll likely never know if it was Covid, or just a regular nasty common cold.
So, after a year and a half of lockdown, mask-wearing, and two vaccines later (Pfizer-Moderna cocktail for me, as per the Canadian mixing approach), I’m finally ready to go on a trip again. I’m keeping it domestic for this first foray – travelling from home base Ottawa to the lovely BC city of Victoria. Luckily, travelling within the country doesn’t require navigating the complicated balancing act of having a negative Covid test within a certain timeframe before travel. I’m hearing from those who have travelled by air within Canada recently that the experience is almost as normal as the “before times”, except for the need to wear a mask while in flight (which really doesn’t bother me).
It’s not just the lack of a trip in the past 19 months that has me restless; I’ve gone longer stretches without a voyage. But put that together with working from home, seeing friends and family only via Zoom, and basically not leaving the house except for essentials, and my vagabond shoes are downright longing to stray!
Taking off soon – Can’t wait!!
