It’s been a week since we’ve returned from Costa Rica. CDC guidelines required us to get a negative test the day before departing San José, and that, coupled with a 3am wake-up call to catch the shuttle, resulted into a traveling marathon. Following a 5+ hour flight, our layover for the LAX to Medford leg was 6 more hours. The bustling crowds suggested it was Christmas break, but it was only Dec. 17th. It was all we could do to remain inconspicuous, devouring over-priced pizza in a private corner of our loading gate. With Omicron spreading like wildfire, who knows what viruses were mutating in the airport’s filtered air. On one of our periodic walks throughout the terminal, Sooney discovered a door leading outside for pet owners. It was probably designed for smokers but that’s fortunately no longer the case. LA air is, I suppose.
A silver lining on that much traveling was getting our hundreds of photos and sightings sorted out—Sooney alone spotted 139 new “life” birds during our month-long journey. Once we returned home, we chose to quarantine for a week and then follow that up with another Covid test before resuming our limited social lives. Fortunately, our immediate friends are following the same protocol, and when we again gather we’ll have a nifty presentation to personally narrate that expands our illustrated itinerary.
PS: During the journey, I posted 3 dispatches chronicling locations, sightings, and activities as memory triggers (for us) and simply for you to enjoy.