We all have heard this phrase. People that never leave their city and suddenly, out of the blue, they have planned trips abroad. Africa, Maldives, and South America… but suddenly, a pandemic strikes and corners them all. “I was meant to go. But you know? Covid…”
This “I was meant to go, But you know? Covid…” is used constantly in 2020 – 2021 and partially in 2022.
For many people, this sentence has just been a way to hide their fear of travelling in foreign places, returning home, or camouflaging their lack of initiative.
A few real-life examples come to my mind. Do you know those people who never go anywhere but are always talking about going somewhere one day?
They don’t lack money or time off. They are simply stuck in their routine Monday to Friday and getting wasted (or laid) on the weekend and repeating year after year, decade after decade.
Between 2020 and 2021, I worked in locations where I met people from all walks of life. Guess who I met there? A good amount of “you know? Covid” type of people. More than I can actually remember.
I left Italy nearly 12 years ago, and I have old-time friends from my hometown who need to tell me every year that they want to come to see me. No matter if I am in Australia, Malaysia or the Netherlands. But I know they will never do it… and that’s ok. I’ve never even invited them once.😅 They just need to tell themselves that they, one day, will come where I am. As you can imagine, I’ve received many messages during the pandemic, like “I was about to come, but you know? Covid…” 2020, 2021, and 2022, but they have stopped now.
But let me tell you a “secret”: I’ve used that sentence for a couple of years too.😱 The only difference is that it was true! However, I’ve always felt ashamed when I used it. So let me tell you why I had to postpone my trip to Fiji four times.
Why I postponed my trip to Fiji during covid (four times)
In 2018 a friend of mine from Australia came to Italy, and we also spent some days between Milano and Biella with my brother. And right there, in 2018, we talked about a leisure trip to Fiji a few years later. In late 2019 we decided on August 2020, just a couple of weeks. Amsterdam to Sydney, Sydney to Fiji and back to the Netherlands. It was all planned and paid for, from the flights to the accommodations. But you know, everything shut down, especially Australia.
Due to the tragic situation in Australia, we had to postpone the trip to December 2020. We were so naïve, I know😔 The following date was December 2021. Attempt number three was also delusional. So, only when Australia fully opened its borders to international travel we decided for December 2022. The only thing, a positive one, is that this time the trip got much more significant. Since we have waited for over two years since the original departure date. Basically, in every phone call, we added a week. And Life gifted me with two extra incentives: over six weeks off from university and the end of my first contract with Hard Rock Café. The time was optimal, so we opted for a long journey.
Moreover, something even more dazzling awaited me on the other side of the world, my girlfriend! Funny enough, I organized this trip way before meeting her, and I was meant to be back from this trip before our relationship even started.
So postponing this two weeks trip for over two years actually worked for me. I spent even more time in my beloved Australia, having the most fantastic time in Fiji, and last but not least, travelling with my girlfriend in Australia too. So the country visited together number 16.
People who wanted to, still travelled during the pandemic
I would like to leave you with a question: Have you noticed that those who really wanted to travel managed to anyway during the pandemic?
Elias, an old-time friend of mine who lives in China, was stuck there for over three years, but do you know what he did? He has never stopped exploring. His Instagram is full of amazing photos from the most remote corners of China. From breathtaking hiking tracks to motorbike trips. Just fantastic!
In 2020 I worked in two countries and travelled to two more. My girlfriend and I visited 12 nations in 2021 and a few more by myself. We have worked in the Netherlands and in Finland. She has also managed to move to South Korea and travel there too. “I was about to go, but you know? Covid…” didn’t apply to us, as it didn’t apply to all those friends who couldn’t care less and travelled anyway. We are part of a species that enjoys empty cities and convenient hotels, even more when something crazy like a pandemic happens. It makes the experience just unique.
I postponed my trip four times but kept travelling to other locations. I didn’t hide behind a pandemic. The truth is that some people travel no matter what, and others hide behind a used and reused phrase.
In a world of “I was meant to go. But you know? Covid… “be a “I was meant to go. But you know? I went anyway” 😎
LiveanExtraordinaryLife✨
Luca Bonafede
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