Cabo… and International Travel with New Covid Test Entry Requirement in the US

Well I had thought the new US entry requirement for a negative COVID was going to keep me state-side for awhile, but it didn’t. Sometimes I fall victim to wanting the challenge, the more you tell me I can’t do it…

It is Presidents Day in the US and my company made it a holiday so of course I knew I had to go somewhere for the three day weekend. I spent significant time trying to plan a trip to St Croix, one of the USVI I haven’t been to where Star Alliance flies. However, it was not going to be simple. The USVI requires registering a negative covid test result within 7 days before travel. Certainly doable but more steps. And flights and hotels weren’t inexpensive. I checked my matrix of countries I hadn’t been to where Star Alliance flies, knowing I had limited time (I’m going to visit a friend in Florida next weekend! And need to work…) and really wanting to go somewhere warm, I only found one country that fit what I was looking for where it looked like I could get the covid test the US required… Antigua and Barbuda. I almost booked it until I checked the quarantine requirements and I believe it was at least 7 days for passengers from the US. Obviously, that would not work for my three day weekend.

Even though I’ve been to Mexico many times, it crossed my mind to look at the availability of covid testing… I generally think of Mexico as warm, welcoming and easy to get to. And I knew a number of people who had been to Cabo recently, and I had never been. I discovered covid tests were widely available. In fact, many hotels were offering the tests free of charge. I noticed they were antigen tests not PCR. So I read the CDC order and they had modified it on January 25 (it took effect January 26). In fact, antigen tests would be accepted. Phew, those provide results much faster than PCR. And if a hotel in MX was willing to give me one for free that would meet CDC requirements, that certainly sounded easy enough to me. I researched hotels and flights quite a bit, debating if I could leave early or stay late from the holiday weekend. No, work and volunteer meetings prevented it. I settled on an all-inclusive. I also found a dive shop on the property. Hooray! Until I looked at the water temp (low 70s, like Senegal had been in December, and it was very cold). Still, a weekend in a hot tub with free food and drinks sounded good to me.

Mexico does not currently require a covid test to enter but I figured I should get one anyway. I had booked my trip more than a week in advance so I actually had time to schedule an appointment at Walgreens. This time it was through the drive-through. I had an appointment but it appeared to be completely worthless as there was only one line and I waited more than 35 minutes to reach the window (note for the future: if they open at 9am, do not make a 9:15am appointment). At least it was free to me and easy. This time, I got to do the nasal swab myself. I didn’t have to stick it up so high that my ears hurt, like some have done in the past. And, I received my results in 24 hours. Seems like the way to do next time I need the test.

Flights were basically easy. The day before my trip, United alerted me to winter weather in Chicago, where I was supposed to have a layover, so I re-routed through Houston. I was happy to get out before the ice storm hit DC, as well. I had to get up at 3:30am to make my 6am flight, but United was kind enough to upgrade me, and the bloody marys and breakfast sandwich made it quite comfortable.

I spent my layover in Houston at the United Club drinking a Valentine’s special from a couple years ago (Prosecco, cranberry and cherries, I think) which helped me take a nap on my next flight. I also met a nice couple on their way to Roatan, and they provided some good advice on Cabo.

My flight arrived without incident and the view was stunning. My bags were some of the first off and I had no problems with customs or immigration (USA CBP: take note). I was unsure whether I would find my hotel driver. I walked through what seemed like endless terminals of taxi counters then outside I walked past blocks of shuttle drivers and did not find mine. One man was nice enough to ask who I was looking for, and he pointed me in the right direction. A moment later, my driver arrived. He was waiting for other passengers arriving 30 minutes later so I got a margarita and enjoyed the warm sun and blue sky. I was in heaven.

The other passengers were staying at the Riu Palace next to my Riu — the adults only version. I had seriously considered it but decided the less expensive one would be fine for two nights. In hindsight I am not totally sure that was the right decision, but the Riu Santa Fe was certainly fine. And it was lovely to chat with the couple from Dallas who were lucky enough to escape winter to stay for a whole week.

Upon arrival, my room was not quite ready but it was fine because I needed to get my covid test done (painful) and then work out my return airport transport (less painful). I walked around the property aimlessly, looking for a bar or restaurant or the ocean… all I saw were buildings. I had thought the Santa Fe was the “small” Riu but that was incorrect. Somebody helped me determine there were basically two bars open as well as two places to get food. One was an indoor sports bar, which was pretty dead but had fabulous service, and had self-service snacks in a refrigerator. The other was the pool bar (accessible both dry and in the pool) and a buffet. I grabbed a snack from the buffet and tried to get a drink at the pool bar but the line was too long. I changed my clothes and then went to the pool bar in the pool.

It was in the low 70s outside and the water temp wasn’t much higher. The hotel had many huge pools and naturally the only one packed with people was the one with the bar in it. The bartender was clearly overwhelmed. The people in his pool were spring breaker types of all ages, many whom appeared to have been over served. I also noted most were not tipping (maybe they had not stuffed dollar bills in their top like I had). I waited patiently to order a piña colada on the rocks… and ended up with two. I had no idea how valuable this was until the next time I tried to order a drink (it took forever). Anyhow the pool was an infinity pool along the beach and I spotted a jacuzzi area next to it so I made a bee line for it. I found it was only bubbles, not a warmer temp. I promptly exited the spring breaker pool in search of the sun and hot tub. I ended up in a larger, mostly empty infinity pool, though not warmer, and laid in the built-in loungers in the water for as long as I could stand it. Then, I asked several employees in my broken Spanish if they had a hot tub and the most promising answer I found was that there was one in the spa (not overlooking the water) but it was closed because of covid. Yikes…. all I wanted for two days was to sit in a hot tub with a cocktail and it seemed both were presenting challenges. Alas, I went to the saloon bar that was empty and got a cocktail and then laid on the pavement next to one of the empty pools, where I warmed up basically until the sun started to set. This pretty much became my MO for the weekend since the saloon bar had the shortest lines and the pavement was the warmest place in the sun.

Eventually, I returned to my room, briefly enjoyed the pool and ocean view and sunset and then took a hot shower. Dinner was in a white table cloth restaurant, but a buffet. It was fine… other than limited seating, packaged silverware and staff awkwardly serving food at each station, it was like any other “international” buffet. I had steak and red wine so no complaints.

After dinner, the theatre area (a large outdoor area with a big stage and plenty of seating) was having karaoke. It was certainly interesting. They had staff people doing some level of acting, one dressed as a bride, another as Josh Groban (I think) and a third as Cher. Guests were required to pre-register and many didn’t show up when their names were called. One woman did pull off an impressive “I will always love you.” I lurked in the area for a bit, drifting between propane heaters and eventually getting a drink. However the cold overcame me. It was probably in the low 60s and I wearing a long sleeved dress and flip flops. That was fine though… It was around 10:30pm and I knew I had beer in my mini fridge if I wanted a drink in my room. However, I also had an 8am pickup the next morning for my dives (which was quite an ordeal to schedule) so I didn’t need to stay up late. And my body was reminding me I had gotten up at 1:30am local so I was due to sleep.

I woke up to my alarm at 6:30am and debated seeing the sun rise. I went to my balcony to see if I could see it — which I could, barely — and then returned to bed. It occurred to me I hadn’t yet received my covid test results that I was supposed to get via email the night before (and I wasn’t sure which email address they would be sent to) so I opened the laptop and checked email. Nada. I called the customer service desk and they had no idea but the guy said he would call me back. He did not. I got my stuff ready for diving and headed to the front desk to ask about the covid test. In the meanwhile the driver texted he would arrive at 8:10am, so I had extra time. The front desk guy opened the manila folder of countless covid tests in no particular order. He went through every single one and did not find mine but did tell me it should be in email. My driver arrived, so I left, moving on to diving.

The driver was wonderful, he had lived in Atlanta for like 6 years so we had some things in common. We drove through the city center, which resembled a planned community. At one stop light, there were some kids doing theatrics in the middle of the street. It looked dangerous to me, as they were still there when the light turned green. However, nobody seemed to mind and most rolled down their windows to give the kids some change. Apparently this has become common since covid as many of these people worked in the resorts but most of the resort theaters were now closed, leaving many actors unemployed.

We arrived at the hotel which looked like a shopping mall but he assured me it was the right place. He was kind enough to carry my gear into the dive shop which was really a tiny place in this mall-like area. I met Fripps (?), my dive master from the UK, Chris, a recently-certified Aussie on the travel circuit in Mexico and surrounding countries, and Pablo, a seemingly random local who joined us on the boat.

It was maybe a 20 person dive boat so we were pretty lucky to have only 3 of us. I was surprised more people didn’t want to spend their Valentine’s Day under the Arch of Cabo or Lovers Beach or whatever it was called. I soon realized they did… but on the cheap water taxis or tourist boats, not under water.

We were at the first dive site about 5 minutes later. It was literally roped off (presumably to prevent boats from entering) and there were several paddle boarders in the area. The water appeared clear and beautiful but both the surface and water temps were barely 70. I had realized that before I arrived and added a 3mm wetsuit jacket to my Amazon cart but too late for this trip. I only had my 3mm wetsuit and skin with me. Both guys were wearing 7mm with hoods. Joy.

I did a giant stride into the ocean blue, promptly screamed at the chill, and then mentally tried to believe it was warm. I didn’t quite get there but I did find a few sunny spots in relatively shallow waters that were quite comfortable… and many much colder dark spots around 65' that left me curled up and shivering. It didn’t matter though, it was warmer than diving in Senegal, there was less current, and loads of colorful fish. On the first dive, we found a tiny octopus, a large and also a tiny green moray eel, garden eels, tiny nudibranch, tons of goatfish and countless schools of fish. I hadn’t been excited to find at least two other dive boats at the site when we arrived but they didn’t seem to be in our way at all. Chris consumed his air twice as fast as I did — likely working out the buoyancy and also getting used to diving — so he headed up while Fripps and I toured around. Truly outside of freezing for 75% of it, it was quite nice. Not Caribbean clear but the variety of aquatic life was on par.

During our surface interval, we checked out the cool rock formations in the area including the famous Arch of Cabo. Outside of countless glass bottom boats in my photo opps it was quite beautiful. I was of course still freezing. The second dive was warmer, though. We dropped in next to the rocks, with no other divers, and went into a little cave. Inside was a big green eel who lives in the cave. We also saw some air pockets at the top of the cave. We swam around the rocks, finding a flounder, some big nudis, tons of colorful fish, the biggest porcupine fish I’ve seen, a scorpion fish, and tons of mini fish (the kind that look like specs from plants until you realize they have eyes). We also saw the remains of a ship wreck. Apparently it was from the 1960s and undiscovered until a big hurricane hit in 2014 and uncovered another 10' of sand or something like that. Overall, the dives were fun and comfortable. And I’m ordering that 3mm jacket and another pair of gloves before I dive again.

When we returned to the marina, it was filled with people. The shops were open. It reminded me of that town next to Disney World, with Señor Frogs. I wanted to sit and have a drink, but only in the open sun. A couple I had met on the way down recommended Ediths which appeared to be about an 15 minute walk toward my hotel so I went that way. I kept an eye out for a bar that had seating in the sun and I didn’t find one for quite awhile. Ediths was closed which was fine because I was tired by the time I got there and ready to head back to my hotel. Google suggested it was a 3 mile walk to the Riu, faster on the roads but I wanted to walk along the beach, so I did. I had my heavy, sopping wet dive gear in my dive backpack. It felt like forever but eventually I made it. I was finally warm. The wind was treacherous but I put my feet in the water and it was so refreshing. I hadn’t had a drink or meal yet (it was about 2pm) so I got some snacks, a drink and sat on a lounge chair. It didn’t take long before I was cold again. I hauled my gear to my room and rinsed it — the salt was visible on the bag and had been messing with all of my zippers so I was reminded of the importance of cleaning with fresh water. And then I got a drink at the saloon bar and spent the afternoon lying on the warm pavement next to what had become my private pool. When even the pavement was no longer warm I took a long hot shower and headed to dinner. I returned to the international buffet but this time I sat myself in a different section. I was surrounded by native Spanish speakers. It was fabulous. I sat for a long time, enjoying at least 5 courses of salads, beef, dessert, and red wine, while I drafted this blog and also red a love book. It was Valentine’s Day after all.

I skipped the evening entertainment, I knew I would be cold, and instead got a drink and headed back to my room. Oh I also picked up my covid test results from the front desk (they were never emailed), those were as valuable as my passport. My test was negative but I should mention that the hotel offered free accommodations for the required 10 day quarantine for those who tested positive…

The next morning I enjoyed the warmest part of my weekend! The 70 degree sun was perfect for laying out next to the water with no wind. It is too bad I only had an hour before I had to leave for the airport. I reflected on the weekend with mixed feelings on the all inclusive. For the most part, I had decided it was not for me. The hotel was much larger than I would have liked, and I did not like long lines for marginal drinks, and buffet only for food. Perhaps if I had a week or more to really explore it would have been fine. But I would have loved more flexibility with my drink and dining choices and, moreover, adventure! Cabo was filled with adventure opportunities- snorkeling with whale sharks, ATVs, sunset sails and more — and I would have been more likely to pack my days with activities if I hadn’t been in the all-inclusive. Plus, I really wanted a hot tub, and since the resort didn’t have one that was open, the cheaper AirBnB probably would have been more suitable for me. Also, the beach in front of the resorts was filled with people trying to sell stuff. Most common was weed, followed by massages, cigars, cocaine and silver necklaces. They weren’t aggressive, but there were so many people offering that it was annoying.

At the airport, I had more than hour before boarding so I went back to the drink stand for a margarita in the sun! I was also hungry so I went to their sister restaurant next door and ordered a quesadilla, while pulling my chair under the cloudy sky. I quite enjoyed it. Security was easy enough. United had checked my negative covid test and collected my departure card.

On the flight back, we were constantly reminded that it was required to immediately replace our mask between bites and sips when eating and drinking. And they were very particular about the nose being covered by the mask. I’ve gotten used to this now with so many flights recently, but it seems like the harshness of it is getting worse and worse as more people return to the skies. I’m pretty tired of it. When United decided to stop offering food and alcohol in Economy, it really took a lot of the luxury out of flying for me. Remove the luxury AND require an uncomfortable mask and it is worse. Stick a whole lot of attitude on top of it all and it has made me question whether it is worth it to fly right now… all of the reasons I love to fly are gone.

I arrived in chilly Denver for my transfer. I sped through Global Entry (fortunately no X this time), literally not interacting with any humans. Nobody (nor the machine) ever asked about the covid test. I guess it is 100% dependent on airlines to verify this. It took 40 minutes for my bags to come out, which was rough for a one hour connection. I dropped my bags at the transfer desk, hopped on the train and literally ran to my gate. Turns out I didn’t need to rush, United had decided to wait for a couple of other passengers, or maybe it was for my bags. After a brief delay, we were on our way and I got home to DC, with bags in tow, safe and sound… wishing I were still in MX. A hot bubble bath with a glass of champagne will have to suffice for now.

Originally published at http://anniejohnblog.wordpress.com on February 16, 2021.