H1N1 - Trans-Americas Journey

Near the tail end (get it) of the whole hysterical and (in our opinion) unfounded swine flu mess in Mexico where it all began, we found ourselves walking down Calle 5 de Mayo in Queretaro. As we passed an ultra-hip clothing store the window display caught our eye. There, next to dangerously low-riding jeans and pricey canvas handbags, was a t-shirt with an adorable pig on the front (shades of Charolette’s Web) captioned with the words “el cerdo es innocente,” the pig is innocent.

We balked at the roughly $15 price tag, then we saw the model number:

Virus H1N1.

Priceless.

The Pig Is Innocent! Eric's new favorite t-shirt shot in front of the main cathedral in Zacatecas from the balcony of awesome room 404 at the Santa Rita Hotel.

[geo_mashup_map]

The idea was to wander back to Mexico City and catch a flight to Havana so we could travel around Cuba for a few weeks. Since Cuba’s suddenly become a hot topic in the news with high level government officials suggesting the US embargo should finally be overturned, which would make travel to Cuba legal for US citizens, we were anxious to get there before the flood-gates opened. Plus there’s something exciting about crossing a border illegally.

Anyway, a few days after we arrived in Ajijic to visit our friends Tom and Iliana and their kids David and Cristina there was sudden talk about a virulent flu breaking out all over Mexico and beyond. A few days later, Mexico City and most of the country was virtually shut down and flights to many countries, including Cuba, were canceled. We weren’t going anywhere.

Instead of whining, we chose to see this setback as an opportunity to settle down for a few weeks with friends, catch up on work and tackle a some long overdue projects like building this new blog–a task that had been on the “To-Do” list for way too long.

Ultimately, schools and most public spaces in Mexico were closed for nearly three weeks but things are finally starting to get pretty much back to normal. It’s nice to not have a store employee squirt disinfectant on your hands as you enter or see people walking around with face masks (even if most of them were wearing them as necklaces or headbands).

The so-called H1N1 “Snoutbreak” turned out to be little more than the regular flu sensationalized by the media and perpetrated by a government anxious to be seen as responsive and responsible (which, in our opinion, they were).