I don’t bloody believe it.
I want to travel. I love travelling. I travelled a fair amount in the past.
I’m happy to travel independently. There are places I want to visit, there are things I want to do. There are adventures I want to have. My grand plan is to spend as much time as possible travelling once I hit retirement.
In the meantime, I’ve booked myself a trip to Italy in the summer. I’m flying, and staying in an AirBnB.
As adventures go, it’s a little tame I suppose, but it’s mine: I’ve planned it, I’ve saved up for it, and I’m looking forward to it.
HOWEVER
Should I be flying anywhere when we know that air travel isn’t an eco-friendly form of transport? What does that do, not just to my plans to visit Naples, but to my plans to travel at all in my retirement? Do I just decide not to travel – or do I decide to do it anyway and to hell with the planet? Or do I fly and feel guilty? Or do I only go to places I can get to by car or ferry?
Also, a lot of people are concerned about the fact that I’m going on my own. ‘Will you be OK?’ they ask. Well, yes, I’ll be OK. I’ll be no less OK than I would be in any city in the UK. But still, it’s another hoop to jump through. Should I heed their concern and not go anywhere on my own? (Naples is just the start. I have plans…) If something was to happen to me, will it be all my fault for travelling alone?
And now we’ve got the fricking Corona virus as well – and it seems to be particularly prevalent in Italy.
Seriously??
I just want a holiday. Is it really too much to ask
- To not have to feel guilty about flying
- To not have to convince people that I’ll be fine on my own
- To not get a potentially deadly disease while I’m out there
Is someone up there trying to tell me I shouldn’t do it? Or is this a test of my resolve? Probably neither – I think it’s simply bad timing.
I’ve checked on the Foreign Office website for their current advice on travel to Italy. As of this morning (3rd March 2020), apart from ten small villages in the north of the country, everywhere is fine. I’m actually closer to the virus here in West Yorkshire (there’s a confirmed case in Bradford and another in York) than I would be in Naples right now.
However – when I started writing this post (just yesterday morning) there were only three villages in the north of Italy that had a problem. This is not looking good.
Who knows what the situation will be like by the time I go? With only three cases, I wasn’t worried – but that three has become ten very quickly. By the time I travel it could have spread much much further – or it could have been brought under control.
I have travel insurance – I don’t think there’s much more I can do.
Here’s the latest advice from the World Health Organisation.
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