Exploring new territory always has its rewards. I broke my routine to ride in the morning because it will get quite hot this afternoon. Several times on the way to the Inlet Colony, I’ve passed Riverside Drive and wondered if there is really a river over here. Today is the day I decided to find out.
I think it is more Inland Waterway than river because I tasted the salty water. Yes – touched and tasted! In addition to a shady comfortable bench, I got to put my feet in the water – first time since they closed the beaches. And it’s quiet. The first pathway I went down, already had some folks relaxing by the shore. I kept going only to discover this second one, more cozy than the first. A welcomed reward.
Peru’s president announced yesterday that April 27, he would begin the dismantling of the quarantine. That’s encouraging but I imagine he’ll start with local mobility rather than air travel which most likely will be last in line for reactivation. The repatriation people in Miami wrote me back evading my question about getting all the way home saying, “the government will choose once you arrive in Lima where you will be quarantined for 14 days.”
It got me thinking about the concept of danger and safety. As I started out today, I saw a 40-something man riding a motorcycle wearing a face mask but no helmet – a face mask as he rides by himself no where near any person or other contaminant. Yet he chooses not to wear a helmet (legal in Florida) as he drives 40, 50, 60 miles an hour. He’s protecting himself from the virus but not from the more likely danger of injury or death on the road.
We each have our own idiosyncrasies. I wonder what the Peruvian president’s will be. Is he willing to explore new territory or will he find the virus more dangerous than economic downslide? What rewards will his choices offer?
I’m feeling more friendly with uncertainty today, content to wait and see.
April 16, 2020