Pirates of the Pandemic

Little did we know when we scheduled this string of travel that we’d be required to get multiple Covid tests in a tight time frame, download apps, QR codes and carry multiple masks, sanitizers and printed documents, all to be held up a customs because our Walgreens PCR test was self-administered at the drive up window. But we were allowed into Barbados after another test proved us negative. Next we go onto Grenada with another round of tests and assorted protocol. Then back to the US for another round and on to Costa Rica, more tests and protocols, only to return to the US for a final round of tests and the like.

We started this adventure earlier in December with a four day visit to Disney in Florida with are grandkids and their parents. Disney was a lot of fun and the kids loved it but it was a Covid Petri dish. The crowds were at park capacity. Not even close to Covid safe capacity either. There were hand sanitizer stations throughout the parks but no ability for social distancing whatever. Masks were required at indoor shows. Rumor had it that all 2020 Disney tickets that were rescheduled had to be used by the end of 2021. Disney note: the ride on the Banshee in the Avatar world of Pandora was a visual trip. I loved the movie Avatar and this was as if you were on the back of a living breathing flying reptile, sailing over the cliff sides, swooping around a floating aerial island, skirting the barnacled flipper of a breaching whale at sunset. Wow!

After Disney we visited youthful old friends in Apopka, Fl and then on to meet up with our sailing buddies Kay & Dwight in St Augustine, FL. It was so good to see them after theit departure from Lake Michigan in June via their sailboat. They’ve traveled through the Great Lakes, eastern canals and down the Atlantic coast where they’ll depart to spend the winter in the Bahamas. We’ve sailed the Caribbean & the Adriatic with them and loved every minute of it. But this time we spent our visit on land exploring the history of St Augustine, the oldest European settlement in North America. It’s a nice size city and has done a good job maintaining its historic architecture. The historic district has its touristy spots but it hasn’t been ruined by an abundance of tshirt shops. We even went to the Pirate Museum which was small but pretty well done.

Kay & Jean in front of one of only two remaining actual Pirate flags.