Anticipation

Can you tell that I am eager to go to Mexico?  My departure is almost three weeks away, but I have my suitcases packed for more than a week.

Actually, it was just a trial run at packing.  I have so many gifts to take to Alejandro and his family that I needed to see if everything is going to fit.  It does, but my carry-on and my big suitcase are almost full.  I will still need to pack a few things for myself.  I have plenty of clothes in the condo that I rent in Mexico City.  However I will spend several days with my "Mexican family" before I ever go to the condo.  I know that I have a few items of clothing at Alejandro's house.  He will need to check on what is there so that I can pack accordingly. The plastic container with the red lid that you see in the picture is empty right now.  Before I leave it will be filled with my homemade fudge.

I realize that the CDC says that even people that are now fully vaccinated should not engage in unnecessary travel.  I agree that this is not the time for leisure vacations.  But my trip is not going to be a typical vacation.  I am certainly not some "spring-breaker" going out to crowded clubs and bars. I will not be doing my typical sightseeing, and I do not even intend to eat in restaurants unless the place has outdoor dining and the tables are spaced well apart.  The purpose of my trip is to see my "Mexican family" whom I have not seen in more than a year.  One of my physicians and one of my Swiss cousins (who is a medical doctor) have both given their thumbs up for my travel plans.  As I wrote in an earlier entry, I am taking abundant, almost paranoid precautions, including the N95 masks which I am going to wear.  

My two concerns are the mutations of the virus and the possibility of transmission even though I am vaccinated.  The early news is optimistic on both fronts.  The vaccines appear to be effective against the British mutation which is the most common one here.  And early studies, while not yet conclusive, seem to indicate the people who are vaccinated cannot pass the virus on to others. 

So it's full steam ahead!  At long last, it's Mexico here I come!