Stay or Go?? Travel in the Time of Coronavirus

When we were on our month long trip to northern Italy in September, my good friend invited me to join him and his son on the last leg of the Camino de Santiago from Sarria to Santiago de Campostela Spain. After seeing the move The Way, is had been on my bucket list. I asked my wife if it was ok and when she said yes, I brooked my ticket to Barcelona  (bargain fare of %436 US on AA).

I began walking with a 14 lb back pack to get my 77 year old body back in shape. Having done a lot of cycling it did not take long.  Our goal was only 12-15 miles per day. Everything was going smoothly until the news of the Corona Virus started to make the headlines.  At first I dismissed it as a problem for me as it was not in Spain and I was not going to stop at any other airport outside of Spain.

Then came the headlines, and the CDC advisory cautioning people to consider the ramificatons of travel during the time of Corona. 

It was a hard decision but I have decided to cancel my trip and hope to do it next year when things should be a more under control and vaccines “might” ve developed.

My decision was based on how it would effect me and my wife.   I am sure many others out there will have to make the same decisions and I wish you all luck.

I look forward to doing it next year possibly combining it with a week or two in Italy

Unless American Airlines allows me to cancel the money bill be lost, but I can sleep at night. 

 

From Bloomberg News

Spain Mulls Emergency Steps as Coronavirus Cases Almost Double
ByCharlie Devereux
March 9, 2020, 8:04 AM EDT Updated on March 9, 2020, 9:13 AM EDT

Pedestrians wear masks in the subway in Madrid.

 

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Spain is considering drastic action to contain the spread of the coronavirus after the number of cases almost doubled overnight.

 
 
Authorities are responding to a worrying acceleration of cases, which jumped to 999 on Monday from 589 on March 8, with the outbreak focused on Madrid and the Basque country, an industrial hub.

 
 
The health ministry is locked in an emergency meeting with the Madrid regional government to try and get to the bottom of why there’s been a sudden spike and a government official said Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is aiming to present a package of measures at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday