“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.”
- Gustave Flaubert
We have been talking about it for the last few days. What if our Covid tests are positive? You need a negative test to renter the country. Other than being more sore than we care to admit, both of us feel fine. Still, asymptomatic infection is a real thing.
It has been a fantastic trip. We feel blessed to have these episodes in our Road to Bali. It felt so good to get back on the road. We were in Spain a little over 2 years ago when the pandemic was starting to peak here. We felt fortunate to get out in time. Like everyone else, we thought we would return to our normal lives in a matter of weeks.
It didn't happen that way. In many ways it is still going on. But Europe has moved to a place that we must live with it now and we need to return to some sense of normalcy. The U.S. is following suit. What will happen remains to be seen. We have been reading the reports of outbreaks of "Son of Omicron" variant here in Europe. The viral variant will likely reach our shores in the next 2 weeks.
Oh, and then there is that whole war thing with Russia. Europe pays an enormous amount of attention to what is going on in Ukraine. They share a border with this madman.
These are perilous times.
So we remain grateful for this episode as we await the health worker to come to our hotel room and perform our test.
While we wait for her, here are some memories from this beautiful country we felt fortunate to visit.
There are too many images. We can't remember all of them. As time goes on I am sure more will slip away. While the sharpness of my focus will blur, the impact of being here will not
What we do remember and feel deeply is the power of travel affects how you see the world. The act changes you. You begin to understand that your anxieties and fears are actually quite small in the grand scheme of the world. You want to know more. There is more to see. And if you keep your heart open and your ego in check, the world has much to teach you.
I am convinced this is true. That is why we are here.
(Knocking at the door)
She is here. I will be right back.
We both tested NEGATIVE.
We leave early tomorrow for home, the pups, and our own bed.
Tomorrow, my beautiful girlfriend of over 40 years finally turns 49. She is, and will always be, everything that is good and right in my world.
Happy Birthday my love. You can have the window seat the whole way home.
I will sit in the center.
