Melange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2020 | Page 64

Then the anxiety mounted as I
worried what a global shutdown
of the travel and tourism industry
would do to heavily tourismdependent
countries like mine.
I struggled to find my place in our
new Covid-19 reality. I couldn’t
find the words to bring story
ideas to life, and the blog posts
I had once been eager to share
remained unfinished. I wondered
if I should still share travel photos
on Instagram or join everyone
else in baking banana bread.
The most pressing question,
though, was how my travel plans
would change when the borders
reopened.
As the world emerges from
various levels of lockdown, there
will be changes in the way people
travel. If social media chatter is
any indication of this changing
travel behaviour, then many more
travellers will opt for staycations
and road trips over long-haul
international flights, at least
for the foreseeable future. So
what does this mean for me, the
traveller with a grownup gap year
dream of seeing the world?
I’ll admit that with the news
of destinations reopening for
tourism, I was tempted to jump
right back into my pre-pandemic
travel plans. I kept an eye on
when faraway places would let
international visitors back in. I
added notes to my travel wish
lists, but there was something
missing. During the quiet
moments at home, I reflected
on what I wanted for my blog.
I realised that I didn’t want
Adventures of an Island Girl
to just be a Caribbean voice in the
world, but to also be a voice that
shares Caribbean stories with the
world.
When the time comes, I won’t be
rushing to catch international
flight deals. Rather, I have my
eyes set on adventures in my own
region, adding notes to my new
A Quarantine Family Portrait