Dia de Los Muertos 2020

 San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco, Mexico

Original Posada Catrina in Oaxaca (we're told)

Almost exactly 3 years ago, we moved to Mexico with a few suitcases and set up shop in San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco. A couple of days after we arrived, we went to a class at LCS (the Lake Chapala Society, the main “gringo” organization here,) taught by Alfredo Perez Aldana, titled “Mock Death, will you!” We learned the story behind the now famous La Calavera Catrina, a cartoon drawn about 1910 by Jose Guadalupe Posada, poking fun at “cultured” Mexicans who were at the time adopting the culture and style of Europeans. La Catrina, or El Catrin (masculino) means “dandy,” and is not a name per se. One of the attributes of that adoption was to try to lighten the skin, making people look like skeletons. Interestingly, this desire for whiteness was also very prevalent in SE Asia, where girls spend small fortunes on skin whitening creams and avoid the sun at all costs. The irony of white people spending time and vacations trying to be “tanned” is rich.

2017 LCS ofrenda

We also learned in the class about the ofrenda, or offering, a sort of altar to honor family members who have passed and welcome them back as special guests. 

The ofrenda has several key components. Cempasuchitl flowers (marigolds), to guide the visiting souls to the ofrenda. Water and salt for the other-worldly visitors, as well as favorite foods and drinks, often mole and tequila, or pizza and soda for the kids. The sweet, orange-scented bread of the dead, is usual, as well as brightly painted sugar skulls (not edible, really.) Copal incense is lit to carry prayers to the heavens, and of course, photos of the departed. 

We have a slightly-Buddhist version in our Mexican home (wherever we are,) for our moms, with a small bell and incense, and we add the flower petals at this time of year. This year a full marigold plant!

Bali offerings on the steps

The tradition is very similar to Buddhist shrines in family homes, which are permanent, and the Hindu offerings put in front of most all homes and businesses on Bali every morning. There is an entire industry in Bali to make these tiny offerings of food and flowers, about 5” square on banana leaves.

 

Later that day after our class, we went to the plaza in Ajijic and painted our faces in the style of La Catrina, Linda’s more elegantly done than Mark’s, who ended up looking more like a Dali-esque nightmare than a Catrin. We then walked to the cemetery west of town and observed all the families at their loved ones’ graves. Candles, food, tequila, decorations, mariachis it was just like the scenes in Coco (the movie), or rather, the movie captured the look and feel perfectly.

 

Now THAT'S an ofrenda!

That was 2017. In 2018, we spent a month in Oaxaca, renowned for its Day of the Dead celebrations. People travel to Oaxaca from all over the world to observe and participate. The entire town is decorated with calaveras, sitting on ledges, and standing next to store doorways. There are ofrendas everywhere, private ones in homes and large ones in the plaza.

 

We signed on for a night tour of 3 different panteons (cemeteries,) 2 in the Oaxaca city limits, and one outside the city proper in a small town. The tour was interesting as the guide told us the history of each cemetery. The 2 in town were interesting but overrun with tourists (like us!). The one outside of town, however, was a whole different experience. The town was San Juan Etla, and the cemetery was much smaller. The graves themselves looked different, mostly small mounds of earth. The families were there in force, and very gracious to we “intruders.”  

What we love is that it is not just a sad event, there were mariachi bands, and families eating tamales together near their departed members, still involving them in the party. Beautiful. (We think the norteamericanos should adopt a similar practice…all that wasted park space in cemeteries!)

Now it is 2020, and with the coronavirus, Jalisco is currently (once again) in a semi-lockdown. The cemeteries are closed and locked. Families entered earlier in the week with their decorations and candles and left them for their departed family members. Last night, we walked to the one about 100 yards from our current casa, and it was heartbreaking to look through the locked gate and see the adornments, candles flickering, knowing this essential part of Mexican culture was being cancelled because of the virus.

Peeking through the gate

We are using this time to think of those who are no longer here, yet also to celebrate their lives, and how they can be near us in a way, still.  ....our dear ones as well as the many who have lost the battle with a new enemy, Covid. 

 2020 November 1

 

I hear the whistle, but I can’t go, I’m gonna take it down to Mexico

San Antonio Tlayacapan, Jalisco, Mexico

(Note: new version of Blogger seems to have some formatting glitches, sorry)

Into Seattle

Leaving Hawaii with mixed feelings, we boarded a redeye flight on June 26 to return to the mainland, en route to Mexico. The redeye was not our choice, but Alaska changed our nonstop to SJC to a connection through Seattle a few days before the flight. Flying in the times of Covid. Seattle was semi-terrifying as SEA was very crowded and many folks seemed to have only a cursory interest in masks and distancing. So we did our best to dodge the more flagrant violations of polite (and sane) behavior, moving our seats a few times as we waited for our connection.

Just a bit crowded

 

When it was time to board the plane, it was clear we were on a smaller 2 x 2 configuration, again, due to equipment changes by Alaska. When Mark asked the gate agent why our seats had been changed to not have any space between us and others, given Alaska’s notable advertising of space on planes, two to a row, the answer was “if you are a party of two you sit together.” Simple enough, but on a 2x2 plane, this means technically the entire plane could be full if everyone were in a party of two. This was not quite the case, and yet we got pushback from a FA when we moved across the aisle to 2 empty seats so as not to be directly behind 2 people directly in front of us, and 2 more in front of them. Harrumph!

Happy Birthday, John!

We spent 5 days in the SF Bay Area (No quarantine or temperature checks here! Land of the free!) on a mission to have a birthday pizza with son John, reconnect at a distance with some friends, and relocate our small storage unit contents from Dublin to San Jose in order to save $100 per month on the rent. We accomplished the latter with help from John, then headed to a SJ park with 2 pizzas to celebrate as best we could John’s birthday – which was in fact that very day! We had about 10 boxes (out of about 100 stored) that we decided to sort and downsize. After all, if we haven’t needed it in 3 years?! The owner of the motel where we stayed in Palo Alto looked a little surprised when we pulled in with a U-Haul truck, but we explained what we were doing, the place was empty anyway, and he let us use the room next door to sort while we slept in the other. Very kind!

On to Mexico, this time our nonstop was changed to include an LAX connection on the way to Guadalajara without our knowledge until check-in, to a DAY LATER. LAX was as equally concerning as SEA regarding respect for La coRona. We arrived in San Antonio Tlayacapan on July 2, where we spent another 14 days in quarantine at our new rental in El Parque. It was quite easy as our property manager, as well as a friend who lives around the corner, brought us groceries, and neighbors carted our garbage bags down to the dumpsters, thanking us for being “responsible.” At one point one of our kind couriers expressed some surprise that we needed rum…again! New purchasing allocation and recycling strategies were deployed!

 

We were fortunate to catch up with our insular Peninsular friends, Ita, Sarah, Pamela and Bruce, in properly spaced lawn chairs on the front lawn, and then with Tony & Amy, also well-spaced in their backyard. It was so nice to see friends after so long away, and also to drink good wine! We also checked in with our Oakland neighbors, JP and Ann.

Our Supply Chain!

 

After the 2 weeks, we very slowly re-entered the social scene, and at that only barely. We had lunch outdoors with friends Peter and Heather (and Misha the Dog) and spent a brief time at our old watering hole, the Once-and-Future Mama’s Bar. During our absence, there was a rent dispute at the previous location (which was in fact the second incarnation of Mama’s – read on,) so the bar was moved – lock, stock and barrel, literally -- to a new spot, which turned out to be in the original Mama’s Bar location we had first visited in November of 2017. That location was also previously closed, and moved, due to a rent disagreement with a different landlord. To clarify, the “disagreements” tend toward “oh, your business is doing well, so I am going to triple your rent!” The most recent move literally left only the concrete slab and two bathroom walls behind. This was totally fair as the place had been built from the ground up by the bar owners, so it was their property. Ah, Mexico!

We currently limit our days out to a restaurant or bar to about twice per week, with masks and hand sanitizers. (No, he didn't eat that at one sitting!)

 

Mark finally broke down and bought a Weber (charcoal, of course) which is parked on the mirador (rooftop deck) and he is very happy. He is working with a local teaching woodworking shop to get some cedar planks made for his famous salmon. And…then…a Weber smoker turned up on Facebook!  It’s Mark’s Christmas present. And we’re looking forward to smoking a turkey again, which was our tradition in Oakland.

 

Now that Linda is not working (finally!), there is extra time to fill:

 

We have been volunteering as walkers / cuddlers at Lucky Dog again. It has been fun to do, although a little weird with masks. We were always careful to wash our hands / arms between dogs, so not much difference there.

We are in the initial stages of looking into assisting the Feria Maestros del Arte organization here at Lakeside, whose mission for the past 19 years has been to help make a market in Mexico for the Mexican folk artists in about 10 Mexican states. It has the added benefit, beyond sales for the artisans, of keeping folk art traditions alive. With La coRona, this year’s big in-person fair in November will likely not happen, so we are helping the people who run it think through options and also start to build an online platform that could eventually reach NOB. (North of Border)

A great ceramic artist; we may have to get the Mermaids!

We are also spending a couple hours a week at the Recycling Center – which is a new process in this area. It’s pretty interesting to see / smell everyone’s garbage as we sort out the different types! (Rinse / wash your bottles and jars out, folks!) They can only find buyers for certain materials, which change frequently, and all items need to be sorted prior to sending them out. In addition, shrink-wrapped labels need to be removed. It’s very interesting to be on the “ground floor” of such an effort. And we’ve only seen a couple of cucarachas, shockingly!

This from 2019 w/o masks

 

Mark was challenged by the “mom” of Pancho Villa, the African gray parrot, to work on a burning mosquito repellent solution using spent coffee grounds. Not sure what Xanthan gum really has to do with it, but…it something for Mark to muddle about.

Planting things: the basil we planted initially was going great guns, but suddenly all turned weird colors with spots, so now we are thinking replant. Mark has gotten enamored of starting from seed various chili pepper plants (tabasco, piquin) particularly since the gardener at our friends’ house pulled them out!!

We are planning to stay put in Mexico for a while, as things are looking stable here for now. But we will be moving to another casa in this development in December, as the owner of our current place is probably coming down. We’re looking forward to another point of view, but not to moving all the stuff we’ve somehow accumulated. It’s a shock after living out of a carry-on bag for 5 months while we travelled Asia!

Here's to health and sanity for the rest of 2020!

2020 June 27 – September 21

The Sandwich Islands in the Time of Coronavirus

Hawaii, USA

Diamondhead in green

Already chronicled in the blog are the 14 days we spent in quarantine after escaping Indonesia and arriving in Waikiki. 

Our original Plan, which by then was somewhere much further along the alphabet, well past B, was to spend a month in Hawaii and see how virus containment was going both in the US and in Mexico. Many years ago, Mark worked in Hawaii, so it was a familiar 

....2 months later!

base, as well as English-speaking, well … Pidgin-speaking anyway. “ey, brah! Howzit?”

We negotiated our rent down for the second half of April and settled in, more or less, to the new reality of a mostly isolated lifestyle. Beaches were closed except for walking to and from the ocean to surf (which we don’t). Our pool was closed. Heck, we couldn’t even play pickleball! (which we don’t). What we could do was walk, so we donned masks and ventured out most days for a couple miles of strolling, sometimes along the Waikiki beachfront, sometimes through a nearly abandoned Waikiki. All the high-end shops were boarded up, with only a few ABC stores open, as well as some restaurants valiantly trying to do curbside pickup.

In the days just prior to our arrival, Hawaii had 30,000 visitors (tourists, military, aircraft crew) arriving each day. The day we arrived, that number was less than 1000. Linda had to wake up the guard at the airport to ask where to find a taxi! We ended up calling an Uber, no taxis.

The almost total absence of tourists revealed a large number of homeless people. They no longer blended in with crowded streets, not that they ever did, perhaps, but they were much more conspicuous.

hellooooooo

We don’t know whether their presence there was “normal”, or whether they had relocated to the Waikiki area since there were no people. Likely the former since the Honolulu PD was in evidence everywhere. It seemed like HPD cruisers were parked all over the area, with their bright blue lights on, often without anyone apparently inside. We saw a number of police responses to individuals screaming on street corners, usually at least 3 cars and 6 officers. This was a very clear example that police are asked to do more than they are trained to do.

[Sidebar: It turns out that in 2013 the Hawaii legislature approved $100,000 for a pilot program to send homeless back to their families on the mainland. It also turns out that until early in 2020, Hawaii had the highest per capita homeless rate in the US. New York overtook the top spot recently. Estimates are that 1/3 to more than half of Hawaii’s homeless population are not from Hawaii. The current “repatriation” program is funded mutually by taxpayer dollars and matching funds from the HTLA, Hawaii’s Tourism and Lodging Association.]

Nope

Though there are much worse places to shelter in place, Hawaii was / is at this time not the “land of sun and fun” most associate with this vacation destination. Nothing was open except for grocery stores and some restaurants. EVEN a number of the ubiquitous ABC Stores were closed – with signage pointing one to the next open location, at which everything was 10% off!

So we went for walks, and rented a car once in a while just to drive around the island a bit. Punchbowl Cemetery is always an amazing sight. 

About a month in, when we heard we could go hiking, we drove to the head of the lighthouse trail only to find hundreds of people parked and walking around, many without masks. Nope. So we drove around to Kailua and walked on the beach a bit, with plenty of distance. 

Medical Visits in the Time of Covid

Linda had a few medical experiences while we were there, which were interesting. She was about out of contact lenses, so made an appointment at the Costco for an eye exam, since they would not accept her Mexican prescription (no brand name? horrors!). They were being very careful, only 1 abbreviated appointment per hour, masked with much cleaning and sanitizer. She then ordered the lenses by phone, which came in about a week.

The optometrist, upon hearing that Linda had not had a glaucoma exam in a while and had a lot of family history, suggested an office in Honolulu. That appointment involved a lot of waiting down the hallway, as the waiting room was blocked to only accommodate about 4 people.

 

THEN a crown popped off while Linda was ACTUALLY FLOSSING. Our property managers suggested a nearby dentist, who had been open continuously. They were very professional – 2 people in the waiting area (Mark sat outside with the chickens), taking your temperature, giving you sanitizer, rinsing your mouth for 1 full minute with mouthwash. Ick.  Dentists, of course, have been wearing PPE since HIV times, but now they don’t have that ceiling spotlight to aim at you, just a headlamp to blind you more closely! It turned out to be on onlay not a crown, which involves a chemical bonding procedure instead of super glue.

As we are now uninsured in the USA, all payments were in cash. Ouch. Let’s just say the prices in the US are multiples of the price in Mexico.

Grindz (comfort food)

We all scream for POKE!!

A key high point of being in Honolulu was the FOOD.

It suddenly occurred to us that we could buy FRITOS. And CARAMACS. Spam musubi, kalbi ribs, poke on every corner, kim chee, mac salad. Yes, these are makeable at home, but something about authentic Hawaiian just tastes better.

 

And Leonard’s Malasadas was just up the road!! Malasadas are Portuguese donuts about baseball size, made fresh to order and rolled in sugar (regular, cinnamon or tart li hing mui).  Heavenly puffs of warm fried dough that carry you away on a cloud of bliss. Mmmmmm. Mark almost applied for a job, they were hiring!

A highlight was ordering anniversary dinner take out from Alan Wong’s restaurant, a high-end Hawaiian-centric flagship that we had eaten at several times before. Menu published online, call in order, pay with credit card, set a pick up time. Then we pulled up, popped the back and 4 staff (we ordered that much) put all the food in the back. We had left a tip there for them, and they seemed pleasantly surprised. They kindly gave us free mudslide cookies for our anniversary, which Linda is vowing to attempt to replicate, they were so chocolatey but light!

We basically ordered enough food for about a week, what with the 2 entrees which included salad and dessert, ramen kit, poke (raw fish salad) kit, 2 bottles of wine. What a treat. Linda is still sighing remembering it.

The “ramen kit” bears more description. It was actually a steal for $24, something like 6 meals’ worth, 2 containers of broth, delicious fresh noodles, tasty local-made kamaboko, ranch eggs, green onion, parmesan cheese!?, and duck meat.

Another fun meal was the fried rice, fried garlic chicken and pork chops (yes, fried!) from Side Street Inn on Da Strip, which had long been on Linda’s list.

Sourdough starter bubbling away

And yes, of course, Linda made a run at making sourdough … she named it Moana. (You're welcome!) The biscuits were good, the bread a bit dense. Not a rousing success, but good enough that she dried out the starter, and brought it back to Mexico for fun. Not sure if there will be a rechristening and name change.

Diving

Blue-lined snapper

A humuhumunukunukuapua'a  (really! the state fish)

After the quarantine, we checked in with a divemaster we had taken a nitrox course from in 2011. He was still around, and was looking to restart dive trips with locals only when the government allowed. We went out, eventually, on a boat with one other diver, then a few weeks later with 3 other divers. The boat actually had been used in a few Hawaii Five-O (the new one) episodes. The diving was interesting, apparently in part due to no one diving for a few months. The turtles seemed happy to see us! We also did a couple of shore dives, and saw a lot of interesting critters, including big fish, and 2 sets of mating octopuses. Our previous Hawaii diving had been mostly meh, so this was a pleasant surprise.

a BIG frogfish

Opening up

Hard to pass up an Irish pub

Near the end of our three months there, some retail was opening up, like malls, some shops, bars. We admit that when we noticed the Irish Pub near us was open, we walked past, then Mark wondered if we would invoke some kind of Gaelic curse if we DIDN’T go in. We went in. So we ordered one drink, then left. It felt a little odd.

Then the Zoo opened, which was only a couple of blocks away. The sign inside said “Best Zoo for 2300 miles” – which Mark thought about summed it up. It was interesting, though, and we learned a new word – zoonotic! We were told to put the masks on so we wouldn’t contaminate the animals. Which is a perfect cycle.

An Asian elephant!

So for all the inconveniences and caution and occasional concerns about health, we did get to spend 3 months in Hawaii, something our budget would not under normal circumstances have allowed! It was fun to be back, and get good local food.

SPAM Musubi!

Next, back to Mexico!

2020 March 28 – June 26

Bali - From 0 to Coronoavirus Impact in 6 days

Bali, Indonesia ...Jakarta, Indonesia... Tokyo, Japan ... Honolulu, US

(Sorry these next few posts are not going to be in chronological order to address current topics first...perhaps we should call it "corona-logical order?")

The last leg on an extended trip to SE Asia centered on the island Bali and diving in Indonesia. We scheduled 2 months, 1/2 of it planned, hoping for recommendations for the 2nd half. Worked swimmingly until the coronavirus appeared, eliminating our last 4 weeks as we scrambled to get back to the US before all travel options shut down. 

Bali, apriori to us, was a place defined by amazing artistic expression, natural beauty, alluring dancing, beautiful local costumes. We eventually saw all of that, and also learned that Bali is predominantly Hindu, unlike the rest of Indonesia which is predominantly Muslim (with a lot of animism surviving in the 17,000 islands comprising it.) Hinduism was the main religion in Indonesia in the 1st century AD. It gradually was replaced by Buddhism, which in turn was replaced by Islam around the 14th century. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, 13% of the total, with 225 million followers.

Our arrival into the country presaged the challenges we were to experience throughout this part of the trip....(cue ominous music here....)  We arrived at the Denpasar Airport on Bali on February 29, and proceeded to the Immigration line. We spent several days in Los Angeles in early November, with 4 trips to the Indonesian consulate, to get a 60-day visa. The immigration agents said our visas were expired! Back and forth we went for a while, then we figured out what had happened. First of all the Indonesian month/day norm is day first, month second. So Feb 4 is 04/02. Our visas said 04/02. When we checked this in LA, we thought we had until April 2 to get into the country to start the 60 days. Starting the 60 days when you arrive is also wrong. 

Our Visa Extension team

So after 4 trips and about $150 in LA, we spent another $80 (cash only!) to get a 30-day visa-on-demand, the only kind you can extend once you are in country. We found a visa extension service, and another $179 and a few days later we were back on track for 60 days. (Ironically, we left the country after exactly 30 days, due to Covid 19. Buddha was laughing at us again!)

The first 10 days or so we were in Kuta, a tourist hub in Bali. Eighty percent of Bali's economy is based on tourism, twice that of Thailand. This was early March, so tourists were still coming. The place was choked, traffic was terrible, taking an hour to go about 10 km in a cab. All that and we were told that tourist numbers were already down. We checked in to an Airbnb we had reserved for 11 days. The place was old and tired, smelled moldy and like chemicals, but it was about 9 pm, pouring down rain, and often places look a lot better in the light of day. So we made a rum and coke, unpacked a little, and went to sleep.

Do NOT go in there!!

The next morning, we both woke up not feeling well, and Linda was having an allergic reaction, with one eye swollen almost closed. In the light of day, it really was as bad as we feared in the night. It had 3 bedrooms, yes, and each had a/c, but the rest of the roomy house was not air conditioned, and it was sweltering. The lighting in the entire place seemed to be from about five 11-watt bare bulbs. The toaster was completely wrapped in saran wrap - yes, due to bugs. Our bathroom, "en suite" in the master bedroom, was deodorized with mothballs. There were insecticide pellets behind the bedroom door. Bad. Think of being locked in your Grandma's sweater drawer overnight.

We contacted the owners to ask for cancel and partial refund... "R-r-REFUND?! ?" ...so we asked if we could at least use the washing machine. As it turned out, we did 4 loads, net cost about $60 per load, AFTER Airbnb refunded 1/2 our money and removed the host's negative review of US. [Really?] We walked next door and checked in to a Best Western, an oasis after Moldy Mothball Manor.

Funny monkey

Bad, cell and glass stealing monkey

We did have a few good experiences in Kuta. The famous Kecak Fire Dance, at the beautiful Uluwatu Temple. Combination of trance singing, and a telling of the Ramayana epic poem. Yes, there were monkeys -- real ones and in the play (but Hanuman is muuuch funnier!). Nonstop smiles at how lovely it all was. We also had a number of good meals, surprise.

Memorial at bomb site

We also visited the Ground Zero Memorial, where 202 people from 23 countries died in 2002 from an Al Qaeda bombing of a popular dance club. Very sobering, and full of obake (ghosts, in Japanese).

Finally, driving north out of Kuta as we started our "Scuba Safari," we saw rice terraces and beautiful mountains and volcanoes. The NatGeo version, instead of the overrun tourist why-would-you-go-there southwest coast of Bali.

Clown triggerfish

Mark with Manta, not his beloved car

Our safari involved scuba diving 2-3 times a day, for 11 days, in 4 different locations. The diving was very good, some interesting experiences above water as well, including 2 nights in a "hostel" that was even worse than Mothball Manor. (Really) Diving-wise, we saw squadrons of giant mantas at a cleaning station, 12-15 foot wingspans, swooping quietly by. Stunning. And acres of staghorn coral. And lots of fish.

Spotted moray with great coral

An observation about the Balinese we met. They are almost to a fault polite and welcoming. They smile and defer to you, and generally say yes and try to deliver what they think you want. That said, you can say something pretty simple several times, and you still don't know what you will get. That's fine, really...but the "lost in translation" was very interesting.

Cultural diversity is the defining characteristic

Example...During our stay in the Best Western, one evening there was suddenly a commotion in the room above us. Furniture moving, loud noises, a dog running around. We called the front desk to ask what was going on. They sent a young man up who looked around our room, then opened the crawl space panels and shined his phone light inside, asked us if we wanted to move [No, we want the noise to stop]. Two more young men showed up and communicated from the balcony with some staff upstairs, then said "Everything is OK now" -- handed us the phone when we looked puzzled, and the front desk informed us that "the mouse is gone." Hmmm. Twenty minutes later, a knock at the door, and someone delivered us a fruit plate, and a note apologizing for "noisy above your room that exceed your satisfaction."

We had a couple of meals in a restaurant called Chops & Hops, in Tulamben, owned and operated by a not small German guy. As Sam Choy says, never trust a skinny chef! Mark ordered schnitzel, pork pounded out flat, bread crumbs, [geez louise it was good]. When it arrived, there were 2 (!) pieces, each the size of Mark's hand. Hot, perfectly fried, tender, to die for. Mark could not finish it the first time, but we went back a couple of days later with a ziploc bag! Mark had a conversation with the owner about how good schnitzel is cold for breakfast, like cold pizza. We also asked the owner where we might find a bottle of rum or vodka. He said not in this town, and sold us one from his stock at cost. To the right just ONE of the schnitzels!

As mentioned above, we had hoped to get to Lombok/ Gili Islands and Flores/Komodo, but on our last day on Nusa Lembongan, they shut down the fastboats to other islands (virus concerns,) and we got an email saying our flight back to California 1 month hence had been cancelled. Where our fellow French, German and Australian divers had been receiving messages for a few days to get back to home countries yesterday, the US Embassy messages had been relatively mild, so we were a bit surprised.

Special Nyepi day food in the hotel!

We booked a flight out for Tuesday, but while at the airport, Taiwan shut its borders to connecting flights and we were left to fend for ourselves. The next day was Nyepi, the Day of Silence, where no one goes outside (therefore no flights) to convince the demons no one lives on Bali. Nothing to see here, move along, demons! Perfect for Covid-19! So the governor extended the "stay at home" holiday for an extra day.....

Jakarta airport -- some complied

The human "covid wash"

Finally Friday, we got a flight to Jakarta, which ironically had the MOST Covid-19 measures for travellers, with a "disinfection tent" and temperature body scanner. The only other screening we got was "have you been in China, Iran or Europe?" in Tokyo and Hawaii.

Jakarta to Tokyo onboard map -- showing Wuhan

Happy to be on last leg to Honolulu

Then we got to Tokyo, hung out in deserted Narita airport for 15 hours, then took an almost empty flight from Tokyo to Honolulu, where we are now, under 14-day quarantine.

Handwritten note from Japan Airlines staff, 12 to 11 ratio

March 2020