Egypt (2) -- Obstacles and such

    The comedy team Bert and I had a story in their repertoire about a dyed-in-the-wool old-time Mainer trying to give directions to an out-of-state motorist who had asked how to get to Millinocket. The Mainer launches into a set of directions only to stop and begin an alternative. He stops again and launches into a third set of roads and turns only to stop again. After a significant pause he concludes in an unmistakable down-east accent, "Come to think of it, you can't get there from here."

 

 The sketch resonates with most of us, not because we necessarily know this bumpkin, but because the experience is common: it is the frustration of finding obstacles everywhere we turn. We sometimes call it "jumping through hoops"; we sometimes think of it as bureaucratic "red tape." In retrospect the telling of these stories is funny. In the moment, they are anything but funny.

    Such was our experience preparing to travel to Egypt. Modern international travel, which is complicated enough, has been increasingly complicated by the uncertainty of Covid outbreaks and the resulting border restrictions and national protocols that raise the risk of, should we say, "complications" almost moment to moment. What is good today is out of the question tomorrow.

     

    When we learned in late August that the trip to Egypt was back on, the positive effects of vaccinations world-wide having lowered travel restrictions, we began to navigate the many details necessary for 21st century travel. These details are familiar, of course, but they can be complex and puzzling for anyone who has not traveled since the onset of the pandemic, including specifically us.

 

    On the Sunday before travel-day we got the required Covid prc test, which confirmed that we are in the clear.  We had already been vaccinated twice, boostered, insured, and equipped with a surplus of high-end masks.That was our last medical/technical/procedural hurdle. Our passports were in order, vaccination cards secured, e-tickets on the smart phones, ArriveCan(ada) forms in place; bags packed and repacked; refrigerator cleared of perishables; plants watered.

 

 On Tuesday afternoon we drove to our hotel in Rochester, checked on the early morning shuttle to the airport, and went to dinner. The plan was to drive to our son's house after dinner so that he would keep our car for us while we were out of the country.

    At this late point we received a call from the Church asking whether we had read "the" email from our travel group leader, who had given the all-clear the day before. No, the answer would be No. We both have smartphones but we had not been checking emails. When we did get on to read the email, we learned that the new Covid variant, Omicron, was spreading and that conditions for travel out and reentry, specifically along our route through Canada, had changed and were likely to change again during the time we expected to be in Egypt.    

    As people of faith we had prayed all along that open or opening doors were a green light, which necessarily meant that a closed door was a red light. The sudden tightening of Canadian regulations in response to Omicron spread was a clear indicator for us. So we did not get on the plane. 

   
     The Centennial celebration for the Standard Wesleyan Church of Egypt will go on without us, as it should. We are disappointed, of course; Egypt would have been wonderful and an opportunity to meet the church folks there would have been a joy.   

    Still, we are confident we made the right decision.