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International Travel During Covid-19: Reports from Our Travelers
In October of last year, GeoEx was thrilled to arrange a restorative trip to the Maldives for one of our travelers, our first international journey since February. Since then, we have been exhilarated to plan travel, for guests and staffers, to a dozen different destinations. In the field and after their return, these travelers have excitedly shared their stories of what it’s like to travel internationally right now. As optimism rises and the travel world begins to bloom again, we want to celebrate some of the life-recharging, wonder-suffused journeys we have created over the past half year, to Morocco, Guatemala, Mexico, the Maldives, and East Africa. As these snapshots show, the wonders of the world await, more vibrant and enticing than ever!
All photos taken by GeoEx guests and staff on their recent travels.
Morocco
GeoEx Traveler Kelly C., March 2021
“As we wandered the blue streets of Rabat, a man who was chiseling beautiful scrolls into the side of a rock wall leaned out of his scaffolding and said with open arms and warm eyes, ‘Welcome to Morocco, your new second home, the land of peace, love, and the future.’”
“Fantastic lunch today! . . . They served us the biggest dish of couscous I have ever seen. It was enough for 30 people. When [our guide] Husain mentioned dinner, we all said, ‘Oh gosh no, please no more food. That man stuffed us! He kept wanting us to eat.’ Hussein roared with laughter. ‘It’s part of the culture. You are supposed to insist you are full, then he will offer more, and you tell him, “No, no, I am so full.” If you eat all the food, they assume there wasn’t enough food.’ ‘Hussein,’ we said, ‘you need to give us these cultural tips before lunch.'”
“Traveling in Morocco was simply amazing! It actually felt as though we had Morocco all to ourselves. Just us and the Moroccans. Everyone was friendly and very glad to see a group of tourists!”
Guatemala
GeoEx Traveler Mike A., February 2021
“I’ll never forget climbing 197 steps to get to the top of Temple #4 at Tikal and looking across the jungle—and there was no one there but me.”
“Places like Lake Atitlan, Antigua, and Tikal are all spectacular, but I had some familiarity with them, so they were not huge surprises. The Rio Dulce was! The gorge is amazing in its own right, but the number of pelicans, cormorants, and egrets all through it was just astonishing.”
“The itinerary was excellent. There were no weak links in it. Every item on it was well worth the effort. The guides were outstanding. They were highly knowledgeable, friendly, and enthusiastic. All of the logistical arrangements went exceptionally smoothly. The hotels were outstanding. They were high quality, the food/restaurants were amazing, the locations were ideal, and the staffs were friendly and helpful.”
Mexico
GeoEx Traveler, December 2020
“We were blown away by the charreada. The setting, the expertise, the pageantry, the food—we were overwhelmed with gratitude.”
“The day at Chichén Itzá was like a dream. Flying into an airport where we were the only ones was surreal.”
“GeoEx takes the time to get to know us so they can create the perfect travel experience with us. Each trip with them just gets better and better!”
Maldives
GeoEx Traveler, October 2020
“I loved my villa. It was set over the water, and parts of the floor were all glass, so I could see the ocean directly underneath me. A few mornings, when I got up and was still sleepy, I would see the ocean beneath me and think I was going to fall in! I loved being able to see the ocean from wherever I was.”
“One big highlight was that I felt totally relaxed. I wasn’t nervous about anything. After the stress of living in a big city in the US, it was so wonderful to wake up in the morning and just feel normal.”
Mexico
GeoEx Trip Designer Natalie Crow, December 2020
“A great highlight in San Miguel was a hot air balloon ride that we took. The day began with the most beautiful sunrise. Then we were in the air for about an hour; it was surreal and so beautiful floating over the town. I was surprised by how Zen it felt, very quiet and very peaceful. It was absolutely worth the 4:30 a.m. wake-up call. After the balloon ride, we celebrated with a luxurious brunch at the enchanting Belmond hotel, including some champagne for a toast!”
Kenya
GeoEx Trip Designer Kate Doty, December 2020
“In Kenya’s lush green, open spaces, I saw so many breeding herds of elephants, with young babies. I also saw the biggest pride of lions in the Mara that I’d ever seen—30 lions in all, including youngsters. They were just roaming around, kings of the world.”
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Stay tuned for more in-depth interviews with some of our recent travelers as well as GeoEx staff, right here on the Wanderlust blog.
If you have stories of your own to share from your international travels during Covid, we’d love to hear them! Please post them in the Comments section below. Thank you!
