In less than a week we are packing up the car and heading for Pearson International Airport in Toronto for our first international trip in over two years. As the title of this article implies I am as excited as I am nervous. Not only are we travelling again, but we are going overseas, with people. I feel quite like I imagine a bear would when he pokes his noses out of the den after a very, very long hibernation.
We have checked and double checked the Government of Canada website on travel and are in compliance with all of the requirements for non-essential travel. We are fully vaccinated. We have our PCR tests for departure, our tests booked for our return, and we have filed all the required documents with the right people. We have travel insurance that covers for any emergencies, including Covid-19 related ones. We have sun screen, camera, sandals, swim suits…well you get it. We are ready to go!
I am sure there are those who think we are rash and irresponsible to travel while the world is still recovering from a global pandemic. Many countries have not received access to vaccines like we have in Canada, folks are still getting sick and some are still dying. This has been a horrible time for everyone.
And yet I am optimistic. Cautious but optimistic. I didn’t just stomp my feet and whine “I wanna go!” and Ken went along with it to avoid further tantrums. We thought long and hard about it before deciding. We already had three cancelled cruises under our belts and did not want the disappointment of another. We were concerned about our health and safety and that of our family and friends. There are so many restrictive requirements and additional costs associated with this trip.
So why, you ask, are we doing this?
Travel is very much who we are. As a travel writer I have the opportunity to report first hand as the industry dips its proverbial toes into international waters. I want to experience the joy of discovering, again, the culture and history of Europe. I want to know that to some degree tourism is welcome to return, and other countries and their people are as happy to see us as we are to see them.
I want to experience some normalcy after the months of isolation where our only contact with the rest of the world was through sometimes scary and other times uplifting reports on the television. I want to eat someone else’s cooking, sleep in a bed that is not my own and have a conversation with someone other than Ken. I want to talk about someone else’s feelings.
I want to sip a glass of wine under the moonlight on the deck and feel the warm breeze of the Aegean Sea on my face. I want to stroll through ancient ruins and poke around in crowded shops for tacky souvenirs. I want to add to the list of my forever travel friends.
I will wear a mask when I am supposed to, use hand sanitizer frequently and leave lots of space between me and others in a crowded line. The last 18 months have not been for nothing.
So yes, maybe I did quietly and privately stomp my feet and whine “I wanna go”, because boy do I ever.
We will be posting updates on Facebook over the next week so you can learn from our experiences, mistakes and all. Feel free to leave a comment or questions and we will do our best to get you the information you need.