The Endemic Pandemic? A Diary of 2022

Scroll down for the latest or click here to read my earlier “Pandemic Diary, The First Two Years“

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Does a pandemic always transition to becoming endemic? Is each virus unique in its evolution? I’ll be exploring this and other aspects of Covid-19 in my journal of the third year of the pandemic.

This evening, my husband and I are scheduled to depart Richmond for DC and board a flight to Dublin, where we will be boarding a cruise ship for a Gaelic Explorers trip around the coast of Scotland, ending in Edinburgh. A cruise? During the pandemic? What are we thinking?

We scheduled to take this cruise in 2020, with another couple, long time friends of ours, and it was, of course, cancelled. It was rescheduled for 2021 and canceled again.

Is it time now for a cruise? This past March, the CDC adjusted its guidance for cruise ships and international travel, even as the risks remain. In recent days, new and concerning information about the latest and most common variant has come forth.

Yet, here we go. Well, supposedly. Yesterday, a massive number of flights were canceled.

I am aware of the more than six million confirmed deaths from coronavirus around the world. It is hard to fathom the depth of this loss. I am aware that cases have increased in Scotland, driven by the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

I have mixed feelings about traveling. I am excited. I am apprehensive. I plan to celebrate my 63rd birthday on July 13, visiting with the Loch Ness monster, “Nellie.” Joy with friends, celebration and new experiences during a pandemic?

I’d love to hear your own thoughts regarding travel and your experiences.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

How long has it been since I sang in church? Since I sat and responded to liturgy with joined voices in confession and praise and affirmation of faith?

I wanted so badly to sing. Tears were streaming down my face. My breath accented with soft sobs. I want to sing! I want to lift up my voice, too, in this stone church, in the midst of congregants from all over the world, beside the iron stand with seven burning candles, beneath the rafters. I am sitting in a wooden chair, my feet upon the floor. I take a deep breath, inflating my diaphragm as I was taught in youth choir, and belt out the words to the tune I know well and have sung, countless times in many a church, a lilting, haunting melody.

This was the day those of us who are Presbyterian pastors were anticipating with great excitement: a visit to the Abbey in Iona. Our cruise ship anchored in the bay outside Tobermory. We were taken by “tender” - actually one of the orange lifeboats, which carried us to the dock, where we embarked and boarded a large white tour bus. For most of three hours, we snoozed as the soft spoken guide spoke of life on the island of Mull. We traveled along the shore, past the port of Craignure, through many small villages, and continued across the south end of Mull and on to the hamlet of Fionnphort. We departed the coach and boarded the “foot ferry,” along with others with their bicycles, backpacks and baby carriages, for a brief ride to the island of Iona.

I had heard of Iona for years and known many who have returned from visiting, speaking of its historical significance in Christian history and the spiritual power of the natural beauty and gathered community. For years I had longed to go, and this day with this excursion was the heart of the reason we chose this cruise to Scotland.

Iona is regarded as the birthplace of Christianity in Scotland with the arrival of St. Columba in 563 A.D and the founding of the abbey. I learned about the history of Columba’s arrival, the ensuing years of violence and relentless faith, and the modern era, which was ushered in when, in 1938, the abbey and monastic buildings were restored and the Iona community founded as a place of pilgrimage and spirituality. It was a joy to come upon the Abbey just as worship began. I look forward to sharing more with you about that day.

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Today, on my 63rd birthday, we are docked at Invergordon, an industrial port, with oil rigs towering in the bay, perhaps inactive and waiting to go out to sea, the city not far and the rising hills of the Highlands in the background. For a few seconds, a rainbow appeared, connecting the white clouds with the gray water, visible through my cabin window, a blessing for the day. We will disembark soon and board a bus which will take us south, perhaps along A832 (I consult the map I brought) taking us first to the Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. Yes, Loch Ness. I’m not sure when I first heard of the Loch Ness monster, but it was surely many decades ago, and it captured my imagination then. “Loch” means “deep lake” in Gaelic, and this one is 23 miles long, one mile wide and 755 feet deep. We will be taking a 60 minute cruise, and I have packed binoculars so that I won’t miss a thing, especially “the thing.” Afterward, we will be taken to a hotel for lunch and then on to the battlefield of Culloden, and, what I am also excited about, a visit to the Clava Cairns. These remains of a prehistoric cemetery are set on a terrace above the River Nairn, and are 4000 years old, built to house the dead, and similar to the magical stones featured in the Outlander series.

We had an unplanned day at sea yesterday, when we were unable to disembark in the Orkney Islands because of the high winds. We spoke with one of the ship’s officers at dinner, who told us tales of his many decades working in the cruise industry, including a time when a ship hit a whale, and the aftermath of that event. In addition, we have been told that dozens of the crew have Covid or have been exposed and are isolated and out of commission. No one, apparently, is seriously ill, as far as we know, and it is a concern.

We met several couples who were on a previous leg of this cruise and got Covid. They had to stay on the ship for the next round, as they could not disembark at the port cities where the ship was to stop. One couple we spoke with said they were not very sick and they enjoyed cabin service and ocean views and were told by their son that they “won the Covid jackpot” in terms of when and where they were ill. I am hoping and praying that most have had similar experiences.

When we stopped at Iona, one of the residents told us that “no one has ever proved that the Loch Ness monster does not exist,” and I am taking this with me. Much of life is a mystery. I am grateful to spend this birthday with friends old and new in such a beautiful place.

As we traveled on the bus back to the ship, I began to feel a tickle in my throat. Just a tickle.

Thursday, July 14, 2022

During the middle of the night, at 3:00 a.m., the tickle became a scratch and I could not sleep for worrying. So I got up and took one of the Covid tests we brought with us. It was negative. Today is our “day at sea” and the final day on board the ship. The tickle made its presence known, my voice was a tad lower than usual, but, I tested negative in the wee hours. . We began to pack up some of our things, getting ready to disembark tomorrow.

Friday, July 15, 2022

I tested positive for Covid this morning, within an hour of leaving the boat. I started a new blog, Covid on the Cruise, to recount my own experience with having Covid.