today we took our first international flight in a world with covid.
last year on this day we were in south africa, blissfully basking in the beauty of babylonstoren unaware that the odd virus we were hearing about in china would soon come to dominate the news; and all our lives. (yes, in hindsight we should have worn masks on our capetown-istanbul flight- an idea i literally mocked and belittled at the time!)
a couple of thoughts-
1. this pandemic has taught me that we all must make our own risk calculations as necessary and based on individual circumstances.
2. the istanbul airport was much more crowded than i expected.
3. masks have become a pretty normal thing here in turkey and 90% of people were wearing them properly. that made me feel better.
4. thank you richard quest and cnn traveler for teaching my family to wipe down and disinfect our seating areas on aircraft years ago. we are pros.
5. covid is inescapable. as we entered the airport i had one surreal moment when it felt as though we would fly off and leave and magically land in a land with no covid. sort of like when we flew out of vietnam two years ago; exiting a communist country and finding ourselves in a safer feeling, calmer environment upon landing. instead we landed in dubai and are still wearing masks; washing our hands; and social distancing. we were required to present proof of a negative pcr test upon arrival and despite the advantage of increased outdoor space and warm weather we still feel a little wary of other people.
international travel during this period is a calculated risk we needed to take. and one we were fortunate enough to be able to take as safely as possible.
i am grateful.
a certain slant of light 