Let's trust science, follow the rules but live our lives.

Travel is my life, my career and certainly my passion. It puts food on the table, keeps my body active, keeps my mind motivated and allows me to visit family separated by oceans.?

Many like me listened to Justin Trudeau recently say; “Now is not the time to travel”, and slumped back into a deep depression. Those dreaded words reversed the progress and took us back to the nightmare of the early days of the pandemic. Just when we had started to see the long awaited light at the end of the tunnel.?

Families separated for a second Christmas

Families had started to book and plan trips to see loved ones overseas, travel agents were beginning to complain about being too busy and the phones were ringing off the hook. Signs were good and the future looked bright again, and then slam, crash wallop,- we play whack a mole again.?

Like many I had lost so much, almost two years without income from travel, high street rent, bills to pay, four kids and travel agencies were specifically excluded from high street loans to boot.

I’m not going to lie but this last time Justin said “Now is not the time to travel” hit me like a ton of bricks. The crack became deeper and despair set in - hence my quietness over the last little while. It was my personal limit.

I was invited to speak on TV and radio but the news was primarily bad so that was hard to do.. My mental health was suffering and my usual smile and laughter had died.?

So now what??

The advice not to travel is not based on science. Even the head of the WHO said restricting travel will not stop Omicron, we just have to be extra careful and follow the rules.?

I was hearing people start to say things like can we ever trust travel again?

Keith had rarely seen me so very down and knew the only way to get me to smile again was to take me away, so tomorrow we will travel.. sorry Justin.

Harry Taylor, WestJet President and CEO recently said following the news , ”Air travel is the most tested and protected consumer activity in Canada, every person travelling internationally is tested on average twice throughout their travel journey,"

So what is the plan?

Firstly and most important is safety of us and the safety of others.?

I have had my vaccine two doses and have even had a booster.

I had a PCR test in compliance with the arrival country and will have another test on arrival at the airport.?

We don’t go to large social gatherings and have not been out much lately and will even do an at home antigen test before we go that we got from Switch health. We are carrying with us a spare antigen test as well as an RT LAMP test for our return and then will be tested at the airport on arrival too.. We got safety well and truly covered.?

Why??

People need to hear and see what it is really like. Not the sensational news that is fuelled by as much bad news as possible.?

Our travel plans include an even more controversial sector- a cruise. We have chosen to do this still despite the recent media coverage and are quite prepared for what may happen and plan to share every last piece of fabulous extra safety measures all along our journey. The airport, the airline, the arrival country, the cruise check in and the return.?

Let’s see how far we have come, speak to people who live it and breathe it and see what we can do to get better, with a scientific approach.

If it goes wrong then I will share that too but quite honestly, if you are fully vaccinated and even better boosted, then tested then why is it not the time to travel? Sure it will be different and it will be a bit of a rigamarole to get there but it is worth it.

You will not put yourself at risk. You will not put the people you travel with at risk and you are in full compliance with all the rules.?

I am determined to do the right thing. To comply with government rules like we did in lockdowns, closure of businesses, take out only, social distancing, vaccinating, masking and in return I want to live my life.?

Travel is not banned.?

Rules are in place for a reason and I will 100% follow all of those brain scraping testing rules but let’s see what travel looks like just before the pandemic becomes a naughty two year old toddler!?