What I Learned While Traveling in a Pandemic

The new decade’s start has been a year of unforeseen times, and we still have three months left (I have stopped saying it cannot get worse). Everyone has either canceled or rearrange all traveling trips for the year due to COVID-19, so imagine how I was a bit skeptical when presented the opportunity to go to Miami, Florida.

Two weeks ago, one of my best friend’s called me up inviting me to go. Of course, I could not pass on the chance, mostly since I had not seen her physically in six years (amen for social media and FaceTime). Also, we all have been on lockdown for six-plus months; I needed this trip.

Airports are not doing too much of a different protocol: I can tell you not much has changed. Yes, of course, the airport enforced the mask rule, and there were stickers everywhere “encouraging” social distancing, but in my opinion, there was not enough social distancing. Some people still sat too close to others, and one lady did not have a mask on at all. Can you say selfish?

Then it was time to board.

Airlines are still flying at 100% capacity: In my head, the airlines would only have the planes filled at a 50%-70% capacity, this was not the case. Imagine how I felt when one of the flight attendants came over the overhead saying, “make sure that everyone sits in their designated seats as we are flying 100% full today. Say what? Excuse me? At that moment, I prayed that whoever sat near me would be compliant with wearing a mask. And yes, my prayers were quickly answered. I sat by a lovely couple.

Uber drives are serious about not catching COVID: You wear a mask the whole ride, and one Uber driver even had in place plastic tarp separating himself from his passengers.

The hotel was too relaxed on the mask policy: I stayed at the Bestwestern Plus Atlantic Beach Resort. There were signs posted for the world to see yet, quite a few people staying there pretended to be blind. Yes, most of them were going directly up to their rooms, but if you enter a public place, you need a mask, and staff should enforce the rule instead of turning a blind eye.

The city made sure to implement a few rules, though.

Miami still has a curfew: The nightlife atmosphere was exciting and fun; unfortunately, that amusement ends at 11:00 PM. I mean, I guess it does make sense for one of the main tourist places to still be on lockdown, but if I can socially distance at 5:00 PM, I can do the same at midnight. Do you get my point?

The restaurant still operated with limited seating: One of the restaurants that my best friend and I ate, called Big Pink, was a very popular brunch place. When we walked up, the line was too long, and once we were able to get inside, I had to leave my number for a notification when a table was ready, as no one could wait in the restaurant. Many tables were marked off to where people could not sit down, they encouraged many customers to sit outside, and they did not use menus; you had to hover the camera on your phone over a barcode placed on the table. Talk about fancy.

The biggest thing I learned was…

Overall, the trip was worth it: This was one of the best trips I have been on in a while. Yes, things are way different than any other trip I have taken, but I still relaxed and enjoyed every moment. We all deserve to have a break, and right now, more than ever. Book that flight, take that trip, do it safely!