CANADA, CAN’T HAPPEN NOW!!

I will tell the story!

My intention was to spend a month in the UK and then travel to Canada for visits before returning to Mexico. Well no way. I will be spending another month here, which is fine. As I have said, I am staying at a lovely little hotel by the sea in Worthing. I am catching up with friends, will visit Wales and get to the Northern tip of Scotland by train, which I have always wanted to do. I will also visit Bakewell to see my friend Jenny and spend a week in London with friends before I travel to Mexico in late August.

Canada lessened the rules for quarantine July 5th, but have limited the vaccines they will accept and they won’t accept the Sinovac vaccine; they will only accept the vaccines that are given in Canada.

I tried everything: I asked if I could have another vaccine, and was told no since I already had 2; it was risky. I called the Canadian Embassy in Ottawa and London, The Canadian Public Health and even PM Trudeau’s office. The only person that called me back was the London Canadian Embassy. They informed me this was a matter for Ottawa which I understood totally. I left voicemails for each one I called saying Sinovac was approved by the World Health Organization.

I feel this decision is highly political!!!

This lack of response reminded me of many years ago when I was in Vietnam, before it became a tourist haven. It was a little bit like the wild west and I was at a hotel that I had paid in advance for where they offered me a room the size of a closet. I said no and decided to sit in the lobby until they offered me another room. I called the Canadian Embassy—couldn’t even get an answer…so I called the British Embassy and they helped right away. I ended up with a suite that was used by the Generals in the war: lots of red velvet and sparkly lights (looked like a brothel).

At this point I am not prepared to spend a couple of days in a hotel and quarantine for 14 days, when I have done all of this when I arrived in the UK. I even travel with a kit so that I can give myself a COVID-19 test and get results in 30 minutes. This was given to me by Alan and Martine where I spent my isolation.

So, where this will end I have no idea. Other countries accept this vaccine and when you leave the UK you have to get a COVID-19 Fit to Travel Test that costs 150 pounds. Someone is making a lot of money on these tests.

I will go back to Mexico and my new living situation, and I must admit I miss my friends and the lifestyle in Mexico. Eventually, I will get to Canada!!!