DISCLAIMER: I want to start with the fact that we have been extremely safe during the time of Covid. We have essentially been in lock down since March 2020. We wear masks, we sanitize, we socially distance. But, as with other families around the world, we have faced critical issues that have forced us to assess the risk of travel against the risk of dropping everything for a loved one in need. The details are not mine to share so I'll leave it at that. I ask that you trust me, I wouldn't be travelling under regular conditions during a pandemic.
The morning we left New Mexico on our journey toward Oaxaca Mexico, it was warm and the last of the golden leaves were falling. We packed our car to the brim and made it our future home for the next few months. My husband at the wheel, we made the 12 hour trip into Texas, day one down. I'm sure you are wondering how we did this safely, what we encountered and for many of you that messaged me, what is it like in Texas?!?
In this very strange time, I have to admit that leaving felt very much like a zombie apocalypse movie, dangerous people everywhere, absolute mistrust of venturing from the safety of our car... for anything, even gas. And what we discovered was that the stories of Texas being essentially mask free was true, what little we saw of the state, was filled with people congregated in groups, maskless. We kept to ourselves, masks on, let people stare and slathered the antibacterial on.
The following day we crossed into Mexico. I don't know if you have driven from the USA into Mexico ever, but under the best of times your imagination can flood with the worst news stories. We drove easily across and into a strange little town, fumbled around trying to find the registration office and panicked that we'd be turned back, but we weren't. Everyone was friendly and helpful and shockingly in compliant with the mask mandate.
Each mile we drove, we felt terrible that we were "those Americans" the self-righteous type that ignore the rules. We'd clearly crossed the boarder when we weren't supposed to, we were travelling during a global pandemic, we were essentially running away and it felt every bit like being a fugitive... not that we actually know what being a fugitive is like, but we watch A LOT of movies. So pretty much experts.
The drive to Oaxaca is without a doubt a commitment. We are currently on day 5 and the exhaustion is palpable, yet it is mixed with a relief that is indescribable. Everyone wears masks here, I mean everyone, the homeless are even wearing masks. Hotels and restaurants take your temperature and sanitize your hands, they clean behind you as you walk, they limit numbers and separate customers and there are hardly any tourists. The lack of people make exquisite hotels available inexpensively and they become our own private villas. The three of us look dreamily at each other, a collective sigh of relief for our family, and we gratefully continue our journey deeper and deeper into Mexico.
It has been pretty uneventful so far, the biggest hurdle was trying to get Siri to speak properly. No you read that correctly, Siri works fine, it is the speaking that is ridiculous. Clearly Siri did not take Spanish in high school. This leaves me, a dyslexic with directional challenges, to direct my husband as he drives through congested cities. The traffic flying in every direction, complete disregard for lines on the road, Siri is calling out street names that don't make sense, are completely unintelligible and at one point, as we careened toward a busy intersection, Jess starts yelling "which way? which way?", the arrow on the map had several seconds of delay causing my response to be "ahhhhhhh.....uuhhhhhh....ahhhhh!" and then Siri rang through the chaos with non-words and finally had a stroke simply uttering 'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'. We chose a road, luckily the correct one of the 6 presented, and erupted into laughter. It is those moments that, while harrowing, bring us together. It is why travel has been so important to our family and it was a reminder that yes, we do need to be doing this. As long as we survive the driving.
After Siri's stroke, we decided to venture into Mexican Siri options where she pronounces the streets correctly making it far easier to find where you are going... only she also speaks entirely in Spanish so we have a full immersion happening now, also not ideal. Luckily Jesse was a Spanish Literature major, I on the other hand seem to have learned Spanish from the first version of Siri. Needless to say we are having an adventure. In fact some parts of the drive are more of an adventure than others, but that's for another post.
Hopefully you will all sit safely in your homes, glass of wine in hand and enjoy our journey remotely. We have only packed enough wine to cover our weekly "A Fern Between Us: Emotional Sanitizer Wine Show" (on the Vivac Winery Facebook page every Thursday at 5:00 (mnt time)), so please, raise a glass for me.
Cheers and remember, no matter what you do, Wine First!
