Perplexed in Puerto Morelos

Well, we have done it again. Last January, against our better judgement, we went ahead with our plans to travel to Oaxaca. What began as an intention to live quietly in sun and warmth ( as opposed to living quietly at home in grey and damp) did not go according to plan. When Trudeau announced that regulations were in the works to impose hotel quarantines and to ground planes, we cut our trip short by a month and scurried back home. We literally arrived the day before everything shut down.

This time felt different - everyone we knew was getting out of Dodge. Back in the late summer we were making plans with our family to meet up for a Christmas celebration on the beach. We picked Puerto Morelos for the excellent swimming, snorkelling, child-friendly activities and great range of restaurants. Unfortunately Danny and his girlfriend were not able to come because they only had a week off, but as of last week, it was all set for us and for Alex, Alanna and Leo to meet up.

We flew into Cancun last Tuesday night, after a 2-hour delay in Calgary due to frozen water lines on our plane, followed by an amusing bus tour to Puerto Morelos. I take full credit for the bus trip - a bus and a collectivo, actually, the latter barely boarded after a sweaty and anxious run across the bus terminal, dragging our suitcases behind us. All of this to save $60 on a cab because I had "read somewhere" there was a direct bus.

Never mind - we finally arrived at our cute little Airbnb, dropped off our stuff and then walked into town to pick up a few groceries. On the way back home we stopped for a beer and the always-entertaining spectacle of watching drunk older gringos dancing badly to a local band demolishing Van Morrison tunes.

The next morning we shook off the jet lag and went for a life-affirming walk along the beach, and began to feel as though life might be coming back to normal after all. Then we received a text from Alex asking us if we had heard anything about the travel restrictions that Trudeau was imposing.

Deja vu all over again, only in reverse. Last year we barely made it home and this year, we flew out one day in advance of the travel advisory being implemented. So now we are here and feeling quite confused, concerned and frustrated by the whole thing. Where do we go from here?

Alex, Alanna and Leo have gone ahead with their flight and arrived in Cancun three days ago - we will see them this afternoon and spend the next 12 days enjoying being together. We've spent the past few days watching Mexican families on the beach - we can't wait to see our little nieto join the other children.

For now, that is what we will concentrate on - being together with our family, enjoying the simple beauty of our surroundings, eating fresh and delicious food and wandering around in flip-flops and shorts.

I wondered about writing a blog about our experiences, and I have edited the address list considerably - if you are receiving this it is because I'm hoping you will be interested in following us on this strange and unpredictable trip. I think many of the postings will be very different than any I've done before, as we'll be travelling in a much more careful and considered way, and will be reacting to news of Omicron as it unfolds. Who knows - we may be home again long before we had planned.

This sign was propped against one of the restaurant walls.

Obviously we are not all infected with Covid, or Delta or Omicron. But we have all been infected with the same sense of dread, uncertainty, fear, even despair, as we grind along into our third winter with no end in sight. Articles abound about the adverse toll this is taking on mental health; certainly I no longer feel the same buoyant optimism I once did about the endless road trip and what lies around each new corner.

We're wondering about the future of travel and what it will look like. How long can communities sustain without tourism dollars? How will individuals regain confidence and curiosity about places that may be forever altered? Covid, combined with our climate crisis - how will that all unfold?

Lots to contemplate, but we can only go with what is in front of us. Today - the sun is shining and we are about to go to the beach. I'll keep you posted about our experiences, our conversations with others and our impressions as we travel along.

My next posting will be photo-heavy, and word-light(er)!