Man proposes; God disposes.
If you have been following, you know that Cartagena closed its port before we got there. The rest of the world’s ports have pretty much followed suit. Any who disembarked from the Queen Victoria at Lauderdale were not allowed back on, and she took on no new passengers or crew. Still clean, she is on her way straight as a die to Southampton where she will hunker down until this is over. My flight went as scheduled and I am in my new home city, Tacoma, hunkered down like the QV and everyone else.
There was one small glitch on the plane. A gentleman took ill an hour before we landed in Seattle. He was coughing as he was escorted off by medics in their full gear—masks, gowns, etc. Too, my granddaughter worked at the Y three days before I arrived, So in an abundance of caution, I am waiting it out in a hotel room for the requisite two weeks, just to make certain. After the all clear, I will go live with my daughter until my apartment becomes available in April.
My dinner at the airport was a bag of Fritos, a bag of tortilla chips (small bags, I hasten to add), and a Pepsi. My daughter, a healthful foods aficionada, expressed her displeasure with an emoji of an orange. Now that scurrilous opportunist is providing me with food during my isolation—oranges, bananas….sigh A small price to pay for good health.
I was going to go up through Africa on the Zambesi and fly from Kilimanjaro to Australia, then cruise the islands of Oceania to home (well, to Frisco. Shucks; I can walk home from there). The tour company doing the Africa trip canceled. That and the remainder of the journey are on hold.
Am I disappointed? Actually, no. I anticipate with joy moving into my little apartment, making it a home, relaxing with minimal responsibilities. Maybe turn a few pens, finish my Charles W. Morgan ship model, sit on my little balcony and read. And I want to write a non-fiction book about—ready for this? Worms. This engendered no end of amusement from my table mates on the cruise. I write murder mysteries with ample gore and mayhem, and that’s quite alright. But worms? Not so much.
In a year or so when this has passed, I will be back on the road. Until then I pray God’s most abundant blessings upon you and all yours. Au revoir.