International Travel During a Pandemic and Other Memorable Moments

 Understandably, international airline travel, post 9/11, has not been for the faint of heart. Adding recent COVID restrictions into the mix has been nothing short of exhausting. 


I am a worrier ny nature, and my anxieties—often without reason—are reflected in the type of airline traveler I have become. For example, I like to check every three to four minutes as to whether my passport is still in the location I stored it.  I know in my mind that it can’t jump out of my purse and walk away….but you never know. 


Now add the COVID factor.  First, there is the testing.  Right now, regardless of whether or not you are vaccinated, a traveler must have had a negative COVID test 72 hours before an international flight. I had had a false positive COVID test prior to leaving for Sicily, and for the last few days I have been very anxious about taking the test to return to the United States. What if it’s positive?  I have a lunch-time presentation and a dinner the day after we return!  I needed to get back! Where would I stay?  How would I get food?  Would Bob stay? Does travel insurance cover COVID-related issues? To say that I had myself in a tailspin is an understatement. 


Although we came armed with enough portable COVID testing kits to test a small plane-full of passengers, we decided to go with two Backroads friends to get tested at a “farmacia” while in Catania.   There was a lot of confusion in discerning which pharmacies actually tested, where they were located and what hours they were opened. Our local map of the city of Catania was filled with circles of potential pharmacies (as well as the location of good restaurants) thanks to the hotel staff. Unfortunately, every time we came to the front desk, we received different information, which meant additional circles on our map, only adding to my anxiety.  Plus, they all could learn a lot from CVS (except about the yards of coupons you receive there and never use).  We learned that testing only took place a few hours each day and were closed on Sundays. 


On Saturday, exactly 72 hours from our flight back to the US, we hit the jackpot when one of the circles turned out to be a pharmacy that was not only open, but did COVID testing. We were told to go to the side of the building and that we should enter an unmarked green door to be tested. I was suspect but we needed this documentation. We let our friends go first so that our test results would definitely be under the 72 hour requirement.  All of this was attempted to be explained to the lab staff through terribly broken Italian and a lot of hand gestures. 


And then we waited outside in front of the pharmacy.  Our friends were called in first, and to their relief, they were both negative. We were called in next, both also having negative results, but there was quite a bit of paper work that needed to be completed, requiring the hand gestures to begin again in full force.  After 15 minutes, we received two official pieces of paper—no emails—which included the beautiful word, “negativo.”


The four of us decided to celebrate and take the train to Siracusa, a “must-see” when visiting Sicily. In the train, Bob realized that the woman in the pharmacy had typed in his wrong date of birth. I admit, I panicked.  With no confirming email,  Bob, while in the train, tried to take a photo and upload our COVID test results to the airline’s website.  A few minutes later, both were rejected for different reasons. It’s a good thing we had 42 travel tests in our suitcases. 


After our trip to Siracusa, we decided to try again. We asked our hotel front desk to scan our documents to see if a clearer picture of them would solve the problem.  Bob loaded mine first, as my date of birth on the document was correct, and then his, hoping for the best. His was approved almost immediately, but mine continued to say “pending approval” for nearly 30 minutes more. Finally, mine came back “approved.”  Last night, the words, “travel ready,” which meant we were able to fly home, became my favorite phrase of the day. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Joe Montana and the Bloody Weather

 There used to be a commercial after major sporting events that would say something like, “Joe Montana, you have just won the Super Bowl for the San Francisco 49ers, what are you going to do next?”  And Joe, like so man big winners, would say, “I’m going to Disney World!”  I think it’s fair to say that I have absolutely nothing in common with Joe Montana, but in the last month, and particularly the last seven days, I, like Joe, have been asked a similar question, because I am now officially retired.  I can’t tell you how many people have recently asked me, “You’re retiring? What are you going to do?”  I didn’t feel the need to outline for them my short-and-long term plans on how best to fill my days or to remind them that “retirement” usually means cutting back on work and relaxing more. Instead, I just told them, “I’m going to Ireland!” And thus, my one and only similarity with Joe Montana— we provided others interested in our future with a short response that  seemed to say it all.  
Read more

Dublin: A Brawl, An Arrest and Pat’s Excellent Adventure!

 Besides the anticipation of journeying to and arriving in Ireland, there was a bit of excitement along the way—and it started while in the plane. We were just minutes from landing when a fight broke out in the back of the plane.  A woman behind us started yelling, “Your child has been kicking my chair for the last six hours.”  The parent’s response, “Well that’s not my problem,” was not an acceptable to the woman, who then proclaimed, “Well, it’s not my problem, he’s your child!” The scuffling went back and forth a few times until we heard, “Mind your own business!”  Apparently, someone nearby tried to unsuccessfully intervene. We don’t know this for a fact as we couldn’t turn around due to the newly acquired “kricks “ in our necks from lack of sleep as well as our sardine-like positions in seats 27 A,B, and C.  None of us could understand why anyone would pick a fight at the end of a journey but maybe, between the kicking and feeling like a canned fish, she had had enough. The other
Read more

Air Travel: It’s Every Man (Woman) for Himself!

 As I continue to age, I am realizing that air travel is not for the faint of heart. No question, this is a young man’s (or woman’s) game.  Nearly 40 years ago, I remember on our honeymoon flight to Europe, wearing a lovely skirt and blouse set, coordinating heels and carrying on a toiletry bag that matched our checked bags.  This was all before my skin had yet to really age, and now, I can’t for the life of me remember what I needed or included in that cute little case.   The whole experience seemed so civilized.  Now, I’m wearing comfortable jeans, a scarf, regardless of the weather because of the varying airplane temperatures, running shoes for my inevitable sprint from one gate to the other for my connecting flight, and of course, carrying all my bags on the plane with me because standing near those luggage carousels waiting anxiously for my bags at the end of a long journey is often too much for me to handle.   This morning was no exception.  Even though I retired at the end of la
Read more