What a Difference a Year Makes – Part 2

Like most people, my life has been impacted in several ways by the ongoing pandemic.  One of more significant impacts for me has been a reduction in my travel.  In order to illustrate the contrast between the amount of traveling I expected to do in retirement and what I have done during the pandemic, I will provide a summary of my primary activities for two years, 2019 and 2020.  This post, part 2, focuses on 2020.  Part 1, published previously, focused on 2019.

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After spending time in 20 countries in 2019, in 2020, for the first time in my life, I slept in the same city every night for the entire year.  I only left the city limits of Mazatlán one time, for a daytrip with friends, as documented below.

We had planned a visit to see family in the US in April, and we had planned to move to from Mazatlán to central Mexico in mid-year; neither of these things occurred.

Act 1 – Family, Friends, and Festivals — January – March

As 2020 began, we had several upcoming visitors scheduled.  We also were spending some time at least once per week with friends.  We ate out, enjoyed local festivals that were often viewable from our condo complex, and did normal life activities like shopping for food, going for walks, paying bills, etc.  The following are some highlights in pictures:

In late March there were hints that a lockdown was coming, and several countries had already locked down.

Act 2 – Full Lockdown – April — June

In early April, just after Easter, Mazatlán and Mexico entered full lockdown.  This was somewhat sudden, with the details not announced until it happened.  Some restrictions were country-wide, but many were decided on a State or City basis.  All “non-essential” businesses in Mexico were shut down – this was determined at a federal level and included just about everything except for food.  In Mazatlán, we were only supposed to leave our home for essential errands (i.e., to buy food), and only one person-per-household at a time.  Stores did not allow senior citizens (60 years and older, neither of us at that time) or children in the store, and only one person per family in the store at one time.  No walking outside for exercise.  Beaches were closed.  All of this was enforced, and we both were told (nicely) not to walk on the Malecon or near the lagoon behind our condo building by law enforcement early on when we weren’t clear on the rules.  Below are a few pictures I took during that time to illustrate how I managed to get exercise:

I always try to look for positives, and here are some for me:

• We learned we can live without alcohol (this was not considered an essential business).  We did make a lot of mocktails because we get bored with water by the end of the day.
• I attended some online meditation classes with my teacher from Carson City via zoom.  It was nice to re-establish contact with Jen and the people in the classes.

Act 3 – Learning to Live During a Pandemic – July — December

July 1^st, the beaches and most businesses reopened, with restrictions.  We chose to only eat in outdoor restaurants, easy to do in Mazatlán year-round.  We determined that condo living wasn’t for us and moved to a new home when our lease ended.  We resumed many of our normal activities within the restrictions, with the notable exceptions of travel and spending time with friends and family.  One benefit of the pandemic to us was that because tourists for the most part had not yet returned, there was very little noise or traffic compared to normal, and the beaches and Malecon were relatively empty.  The following are photos of some of the things we did during that time: