Where can we go? When can we go? And even if we could travel, is that the ethical thing to do right now? These are questions we never thought we’d have to ask ourselves. And I know from the dozens of comments we received on the last blog, “No-Go Nomads,” many of you are asking yourselves the very same things.
Thank you to everyone who shared their stories of returning home - or, like us, are sitting out the pandemic wherever they happen to be. We feel especially sorry for new nomads who’ve had to put their travel dreams on hold. Hopefully, we will all be on the road again before long, but none of us knows what the “new normal” will look like.
You might enjoy visiting The No-Go Nomads blog from April 9th to read the comments and my replies. There’s so much back and forth It’s almost like another post.
This is week eight in our 257th Airbnb, the longest we’ve been in one place since the summer of 2013! And, even though we are concerned about friends and family around the world, and the chaotic response to the virus in America, we’ve actually been able to enjoy the break. Of course, much of that has to do with the location, our comfortable home, and the warm weather.
Not to mention the US Dollar has increased dramatically in value against the peso since we arrived in Mexico on February 1st. Groceries here are very affordable, so $100 USD goes a long way. For example, two very nice rib-eye steaks cost $15. accompanied by a lovely Chilean Merlot for $9.00 (hard to spend more), a quart of milk is $.60 and sun ripe fruit and fresh vegetables cost pennies (and don’t worry, we wash them in an antibacterial solution).
Two completely different ways to paint the walls of San Miguel. Both are appreciated..
We wear masks when we are out - but not many people on the streets wear them. For two weeks restaurants and bars were supposed to close but it looks like they have already reopened. Yesterday, when we walked into town we saw several open for business, along with many small shops, and street-food vendors are slowly returning as well. The supermarket shelves are full and you can easily find flour, toilet paper, and disinfectant spray cleaners. Hand sanitizer and Lysol hand wipes can be also be found, but they are scarce so we are rationing our supply. We know Covid-19 has struck many of the populated parts of Mexico, but it feels like San Miguel got hit with "Coronavirus-Lite".
In fact, the local news tells us there are only a handful of cases here. If the numbers stay low we might be able to come out of hiding on the last day of April. In any case, we’ve made the decision to stay here until the end of May, and we will continue to stick close to home. Hopefully, by then all of us will have a better idea of what the future holds including what the rest of 2020 holds for the Senior Nomads.
The den in our Airbnb comes complete with two recliners! Perfect for our trial-run at retirement.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, this hiatus could be a trial-run for retiring. Our biggest concern around that decision, beyond just where that might be, is whether we would be content without travel. Have we had so much stimulation these past seven years that we might be incapable of settling down? What would we do all day? We’ve managed to fill our days since we started to sheltering in place - and that’s without all the travel planning, and of course, the actual traveling that used to take up so much of our lives. So maybe. there is hope for us in a post Nomadic life.
Another reason we are so busy is the internet is constantly serving up ways to spend our days stuck indoors. It’s almost too much! From Zoom-gatherings to on-demand Broadway performances, to free lectures, free movies, free classes, zany online Airbnb experiences, virtual aquariums, haircutting tutorials, cocktail-kit-delivery services, and hundreds of ways to use the stuff we stress-bought in the pantry, there seems no end of diversions. There's even a site to help your kids create art from all of those toilet paper rolls you've collected.
HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE DISTRACTIONS (Presidential Press Briefings do not count):
SGN (Some Good News) A weekly show on Youtube hosted by John Krasinski from The Office - he is one happy guy! He gets some famous folk, including Office alum, broadway stars, musicians and pro athletes to “Zoom-by” as special guests. It will brighten your week.
Netflix: We loved The English Game, Unorthodox, and Drive to Survive (a documentary on Formula One racing that Michael and our sons have enjoyed together) and The Crown of Course.
Our daily walks are perfect for podcast listening. We both enjoy Planet Money and the NYT’s Daily. I also enjoy NPR’s Hidden Brain.
I’ve also made a few trips down the internet Rabbit Hole. Some of the sites I’ve unearthed and enjoy are:
Google’s Arts and Culture site. A great way to explore art and artists of all kinds, take virtual museum tours, and get lost for hours in the Color Palette feature. The phone app is also brilliant.
Messy Nessy. A quirky Parisian influencer serves up a ‘Cabinet of Chic Curiosities”.
Amourducake Instagram: Unbelievably beautiful cakes and pastries along with the mesmerizing videos
The New Yorker Humor Newsletter. I also love the satirical Borowitz Report.
NYT Cooking. It takes a subscription most of the year, but there many free recipes and tips available for a limited time (I find it worth the $5. a month)
Check out Aquarium Academy Mesmerizing live-cam fish tanks and classes and lectures for all ages.
How about some Amazing Animal Body Art? Here’s an article courtesy of Bored Panda (a great site for chasing whatever your “shiny Squirrel” might be) and here is a link to artist Johannes Stotter’s website to see just how it’s done!
You think you see a frog…but don’t be so sure.
Some famous brand recipes I found this week:
IKEA Swedish Meatballs (some assembly required), the famous Doubletree Inn Chocolate Chip Cookie (apparently some people book a night just for this turndown treat) Almond Joy Cookies (courtesy of my friend Luana) and One Pot Pasta (haven’t tried it, but it’s an example of a free NYT recipe).
Karen McCann’s Travel Blog She’s a wise and witty woman who has written several books. Her blog focuses on travel and food.
Michael counts on Google Alerts to keep him up to date on a range of subjects as they appear on the internet. He is currently tracking Mexico Corona Virus, Airbnb, and Russian Doping (because he can).
And finally, an interesting article from the Los Angeles Times on the outlook for future travel.
Even with all this downtime, and allowing for said distractions, I’ve still managed to procrastinate. I could be checking off the dregs of my to-do list that includes sorting through 47,000 photos. Updating our book, Your Keys, Our Home - or write another book! Start a Senior Nomads Facebook Group where we can all share our stories. And, if time continues to stretch before me, I'll learn to make Kombucha, get knotty with a macrame plant holder, and actually use the sketching materials I haul around.
Exploring Rio de Janeiro, Brazil one year ago!
Or… start to dream about travel again! We won’t stop being Senior Nomads no matter how comfortable we get down here! Please continue to share your thoughts and your plans for traveling now and in the future. It may never be the same, but traveling will always be worth whatever it takes! Stay safe, stay well, and…
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads