As I put on my mask and gloves to go to the grocery store this week I was thinking, “this is my new normal”.
The island continues to close down even more. Inter island travel is discouraged with checkpoints set up on roads to question why you are out and about. They have now closed the beaches and swimming pools here in the resort. We are asked to wear masks whenever we are outside. Everyone wears gloves if they anticipate touching anything. Hand washing has become habit whenever we return to the boat as well as a wipe down of handles on doors with disinfectant.
The DR has extended its border closing until May 31 which means when we leave here we will have to go directly to the Bahamas in one non-stop run of about 48 hours. We really need a good weather window to do this. Getting tossed around for that long is exhausting so a nice, calm cruise will make it much easier.
Whatever we are faced with here we are thankful that we can still get groceries, we can chat with people as they walk by in the evenings as we are on our boat and they are at least 10-12 feet away on the dock and we can get off the boat and take scenic walks or kayak runs in the sunshine. We have friends on other islands that can only leave their boat for an hour a day and only to go to the grocery store. We are so very lucky.
Even with everything happening we can still play golf (go figure). So we went to Punta Espada the other day and spent a very enjoyable 4 hours on a spectacular course. Our go-to guy Edward drove us over and back (he’s also my grocery driver). When we got there we sprayed down the cart with lysol. To play quarantine golf you leave the pin in the hole at all times and don’t rake the bunkers allowing you to not touch anything anyone else has. Once in awhile we would see another golfer a couple holes away but that was as close as we got. No snack bar, no restaurant. All in all, we felt safe so will do it again next week.
It continues to look bleak back in the US with peak infections not anticipated for another week or two. We are constantly checking in with friends and family to make sure everyone is healthy and okay. So far, so good.
