The 2018 version and 2019 version of my “Retired Nomad Slow-Travel World Tour” were fabulous successes; 28 countries (20 new) in 24 months! What a ride!
Anyway, I started my third year of being a Retired Nomad off right by quietly welcoming the New Year of 2020 in Accra, Ghana.
I then flew to Nairobi, Kenya for 30 days.
Next I went to Zanzibar, Tanzania for another 30 days.
All of the African nations required visas which took up an entire page, each. I had no blank pages when I arrived in Tanzania but I did have the forethought to get the extended visas for both Kenya and Tanzania so that I could re-enter each country and stay through the end of April.
Yes, I had found several slices of heaven and I thought that this ride would never stop… Then Covid-19 came and put a stop to everything.
Late February, I realized the seriousness of the situation – at least Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania were taking it seriously as shown by their airport preparedness – and flew back to the USA in early March. By the time I arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 16th to hangout with a friend, I was stuck.
For 9 long months! A big hole of nothingness. A phenomenal pandemic that made time stand still. Or at least it seemed that way. No travel for me or anyone… And through no real effort on my part, my carbon footprint in 2020 was definitely reduced.
After I finally received my new passport mid-December, I almost immediately flew to Merida, Mexico on December 18th.
And Merida is where I spent a very warm night welcoming in the New Year of 2021, self-quarantining while the neighborhood celebrated all around me.
What a strange and cruel year 2020 was!
And while not off to the best start, I’m hoping 2021 is much better for travel. At least in the last half of the year when the vaccine has given confidence back to the world.
