More on getting out

The last pic we took in Africa was of a puff adder snake. It is one of the most feared and dangerous snakes in Africa. It was not 30 feet from us when spotted. The bushmen on safari shared how they listen to the birds and other animals to find lions and snakes etc.. Having made the decision to get out we did not join the safari that morning. We stayed back to try to make exit arrangements.  Now the managers at this camp were the best. I knew if I asked for something they would deliver (if it was possible). Being African, in the travel industry with tentacles that reached out to agents across Africa, they could get things done. We asked them to get ahold of British Airways and help us get out sooner. As we awaited word on what could be done the serving staff listened to birds warning of the approaching snake. Keeping a safe distance we got a good pic. That morning the cheerful managers came back tense and silent. Something was wrong. They told us they would keep on trying as we worked our way back to Johannesburg.

In Johannesburg we discovered nothing had happened with our booking. Now it was hard to imagine that things could go so wrong so quickly. As I presented our case to the British Airways gate agent I opened a can of worms by saying our government was telling us to get out. Suddenly language became very important. Were they “telling”, “advising”, “ordering”.... because each phrase I found out meant something entirely different. Who knew? Advising meant that the insurance companies would not have to pony up for trip cancellation. After all if we chose to get out that was our choice. Come On!!! A global pandemic and we are talking about protecting insurance companies! I was not surprised. This was not my first rodeo. You see from so far away and when you are not plugged in to what is going on it is really hard to figure it all out. I eavesdropped on breakfast conversations. People were trying to make sense of it. With NO straight talk this was very difficult. In fact most conversations at breakfast ended with “Yeah, it was just an advisory”. 

So out come the snakes. Our agent tried to get us to pay again for a flight that from here I can see will never get off the ground. He wanted us to stick to our March 20th date. We are still bitter. Getting to North America was the trick. With flights from all Europe cancelled we needed a different entry point. We needed a point on the globe that had not been banned. Dubai 😀. I had always wanted to see it and we had a great view of it as we flew in. We could see all these cruise ships tied up, and all the mega ships of various royalty. We joined the Emirates Skyward Club sitting in our hotel room in Johannesburg 😀. It was free, entitles us to loads of spam, and puts us into their system for bookings. We were upgraded to biz class for our first booking. Of course by far, best of all, it got us to North America. Dubai’s airport was a glittering tower. Like Singapore it is very beautiful. Plus it was WAY cheaper than British Airways.

Getting to North America, I wanted to kiss the ground. YVR was shocking. There were 6 security agents to every 3 passengers coming through. Hosts of machines (looked like 100) stood empty. Ropes were still set up to control the lineups that no longer existed. No one was there. Every official we met knew we had been to hell to get there that day. They nodded to say everyone had the same story. Or at least the same ending, huge relief.

We did not get tested coming through YVR (or through Seattle). I don’t know how it would work if symptoms presented between Dubai and Seattle. I mean the US wouldn’t want us and Canada says we can’t come in. We are into day 1 of the quarantine. 

If anyone wants to leave cookies on our doorstep, just come up, leave them and ring.😀

So happy to be in Canada. I just want to stay here from now on.