Hi, everyone — I hope you are staying safe, healthy and relatively calm during these crazy times.
As you might have imagined, the global spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and recent rise in infections of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) — particularly in the United States and Europe — has thrown a massive wrench into my travel plans.
Last time we chatted — on Feb 27, when I posted my article on Jewish Perspectives in Poland — I had just arrived in Reykjavík, Iceland, and was about to embark on another weird winter hiking expedition, similar to the Wim Hof Winter Expedition I did in Poland earlier this year.
My plan at that time was to enjoy the expedition and then spend another week in Iceland exploring. After that, I had flights booked to Portugal, Helsinki and Copenhagen for travel that would take me through March and into April.
I had been following the SARS-CoV-2 virus story closely since January via Bill Bishop’s Sinocism, Ben Thompson’s Stratechery, The New York Times, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.
And while I was immersed in the Iceland Winter Expedition from Feb 27 to March 5 — a powerful, eye-opening experience which I can’t wait to tell you about in my next post! — I felt confident that I’d be able to keep the Euro-trip going by avoiding the COVID-19 hotspots in Europe, like Italy.
After the expedition concluded, however, as I hung out in Reykjavík, caught up with family, and read up on the news, the situation was escalating quickly.
On March 9 Portugal announced that it was prepared to close the borders. I had a flight to Lisbon booked for March 10.
With that looming border closure threat in mind — in addition to compelling messages from family sounding the alarm, news of big companies closing their European operations, calls from Bill Bishop and Ben Thompson (mentioned in this interview) to take this very seriously and to watch what countries, governments and companies are doing rather than what they are saying — I sat there in my apartment in Reykjavík weighing it all.
I looked out the window, stared at a street sign, felt the gravity of the moment, and decided to go with my gut: I pulled the rip chord and booked a direct flight to Denver for the very next day, Tuesday March 10.
The downside — aside from the obvious, tragic and terrifying impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic — is that I had to cut short my big European adventure and cancel my flights to Portugal, Helsinki and Copenhagen.
The upside is that I made it back to the US just in time to avoid the European travel ban, which was announced the day after I landed in Denver.
I can only imagine the rush and panic to book flights back to the US before the deadline.
It was a close, tough call, but it felt — and feels even more so now — like the right move.
No doubt it’s a bummer of a way to close out the European chapter of my adventure. On the other hand, I had a blast exploring Poland and Iceland over the past two months, and I am grateful for the eye-opening experiences, lessons I learned, places I saw, and people I connected with.
I’m not done exploring, and I don’t think my big 2020 adventure has ended.
Over the coming weeks I’ll be watching closely as the COVID-19 situation plays out, and evaluating my options for next steps on the journey, thankfully with my feet firmly planted on US soil.
Please be safe and smart out there, and thanks as always for following along.