Travelling during a pandemic, part 3. Cancun
So what is a vacation destination like during a pandemic? Different, but less so than the airport was.
As a brief recap, flying down was fine, but not special. Everything was a little less enjoyable. We got down here fine, safe and sound and on time, but the act of travelling wasn’t so great.
Upon arrival in Cancun airport, most things seemed the same. We didn’t have to wait in immigration for long. Once we had our luggage and cleared customs, we faced the usual gauntlet of vendors. (Pro tip for those who have never flown into Cancun before - after you leave the customs lounge you will be faced with an onslaught of vendors trying to sign you up for time share presentations. They will even pretend to be from your hotel, or offering you a taxi. Politely but firmly say “no gracias” and you will be on your way.) Once through that section, we met the shuttle we had arranged and we were on our way.
Other than the fact that everyone was wearing masks, this was just like every other trip we have taken to Cancun. We had our shuttle driver take us to Costco for some necessary groceries before we went to our Mexican home.
At Costco was the next sign that things are a little different. We didn’t wait in a long line, but they scanned our temperature and put hand sanitizer in our palms. Not optional. Not debatable. Masks, temperature checks and hand sanitizer are mandatory at every store you enter. Go into a mall - temperature and sanitizer. Go into the first store in the mall 10 seconds later - temperature and sanitizer. It can be annoying, but this area lives and dies with tourism, so you can’t blame them for taking every step possible to keep the pandemic at bay.
The condo complex we stay in down here is about the same - but empty. While there are some locals in the complex, a number of the units are usually rented to tourists and snowbirds. This year, a lot fewer have come down, at least so far.
I didn’t chase people away - honest!
It is a little strange being down here, I will admit. There are fewer people everywhere we go. Our pool is usually empty. Grocery stores are back to normal, except the day before a hurricane (we experienced our first two hurricanes this year. And a tropical storm. It was so 2020). The local outlet mall is rarely busy.
What about Covid 19? Do we feel safe? I have to say - yes. As safe as we did back in Canada. All of the regions near our Canadian home are either code red, or even full lockdown. Cases are spiraling upwards every day. Now, is it possible that there are more cases here than the official numbers? Of course. That is probably true in Canada or the US too. But I have to say, the precautions taken by the locals seem very good. We do our best to be safe, and respect all of the local rules, and so far everything seems fine.
As I mentioned in the last post - don’t take medical advice from me. Everything I learned about medicine I learned from watching House. But do I feel comfortable - yes.
So far (we have been down here 2 months now) we continue to be in good health. But it has been interesting talking to the locals. More on that in my next post.
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