The Mexican sun is bright and happy. It shines almost everyday, but with a sort of kindness, as if it’s making up for something Mexico has suffered through. No matter what happens in Mexico, they always have the sun.

The sun and that blue water, which is such a magical color, and seen so few places on earth, that one can’t help but believe God himself has bestowed his favor on this land. Their own slice of nature is colored in blues and greens and yellows. How many countries can say this? Their houses mimic nature–painted in pastels with colorful wooden double doors, red bouegonvilla hanging from windows decorated in black wrought iron, and clothes embroidered happy and bold.

We are touring here in the era of Covid, and the powers that be in Mexico have enacted harsh restrictions. Masks are worn everywhere. Some museums are closed. Sites with Maya ruins restrict movement, essentially roping off a third of what there is to see. Some wonder if things will ever return to normal here, and theorize that authorities are taking advantage of Covid to lessen man’s footprint on ancient grounds. Even Machu Picchu in Peru has clamped down on the number of visitors and the length of time a visitor can spend up there in the clouds. That’s something UNESCO has always wanted to do.

I wanted to see how Covid has changed traveling and I’m here to tell you it has changed everything. Nearly every corner of our lives has been inexplicably altered and if you can’t see that you aren’t looking hard enough. Travel is just a microcosm of the greater world, reflecting the greater reality back to us.

We have 13 travelers with us and three staff members and we are masked at all times on the bus. And at all sites and venues. Our temperatures are taken nearly everywhere. The women who sell blouses and bracelets on the streets now follow you in masks so you can barely hear them shout, “Look lady, look! This blouse is muy bonita! I give you good price!

The world is a quieter place. There are fewer tourists, fewer street hawkers, fewer open restaurants, less vibrancy wherever you go, less life being lived.

I look around and wonder if this will be my last trip. New restrictions on travel and daily life are thrown around every week by governments all over the world and it feels as if we are no longer in control of our own movement, or the inclination to regard the earth as belonging to everyone and thus ours to scour and behold.

The only thing that isn’t sad about this is the Mexican sun. It still shines everyday no matter what takes place here on earth. It has never heard of Covid. It cannot be controlled by any government. It was here when the Spanish conquered the Maya civilization and it didn’t judge the blood being spilled then, or the brutality of the conquerors, or the end of a very long era where the Maya built pyramids and planted corn and wore jade masks and feather headdresses.

The sun was impervious to it all, still kind but impervious.

And it will not judge us now. It has a job to do and it looks the other way when it comes to the affairs of man.

I try to be kind about the people living on earth today, but there is such stupidity. Where did this virus come from? It has killed people all over the earth who were loved by someone. It has wreaked havoc on all of our lives, from the blue Caribbean to the caves of Afghanistan to the great glaciers of Antarctica. What kind of stewards are we? And why is no one demanding better for our fellow men?

Since nature does not participate in our affairs, but only suffers for them, the only antidote is to find yourself in nature. Go for walks bundled in your parka, drive to Florida and sit on a beach in February, go see a place you’ve always wanted to see before travel is threatened again. The vaccinated have more options, of course, but that baguette in France still sits on the baker’s shelf waiting for you. Cancun is still open, still blue, still white, a reprieve from the winter snow and inexpensive.

Covid hangs over everything we do while traveling, but we have all been fine. They say the new variant can travel under doors and leap over tall buildings in a single bound, but the people in Mexico with me have dared to live and so far, we are all healthy and happy to be seeing a different sky.