A day at the Marina and vaccine mandates
A few days ago we decided we needed to get out of the house, so we headed over to the Marina at dusk.
The fact that we have never before been to a place that's just 2 minutes from our house is a testament to how this pandemic has affected our movements. Before the pandemic, we were all over this city exploring, and now, well now, we stay home.
Oscar on the boardwalk.
Chloe sitting by the water. It's really a nice little area with restaurants that have a lot of outdoor seating.
On the rocks, by the water, we saw a tremendous number of iguanas lurking.
They have very good camouflage so I circled this one. Also since it was dusk there were many, many huge fish jumping by the boats. Very hard to capture on camera though!
I did manage to photograph this guy.
We didn't eat at any of the restaurants because Mazatlán's vaccine mandate has gone into effect. Now you must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test (tests are good for one week) as well as wearing a mask (never stopped being required here). Mike and Phoebe are not yet vaccinated.
It's been hard to figure out how to get registered here to get the vaccine. We recently found out where to go and I went with Mike and Phoebe to see if they could get it here instead of flying unvaccinated to Tijuana and getting it in San Diego like I did with our other two daughters. It turns out that Mazatlan has run out of doses AGAIN, and they don't know when they'll get more. So Mike and Phoebe will double mask and head to the border tomorrow (and yes I'm super worried about this!).
Some ex-pats from Canada and the US here have expressed outrage online that Mazatlan's vaccine incentive program makes no sense because they've instituted this mandate without having any doses available. It's obvious that they are doing this as an act of desperation, not an "incentive". Incentives are for much more privileged countries. Mexico has not even reached 40% vaccinated with just one dose. Not everyone here can afford a COVID test each week and people under 30 just became eligible with the last batch of doses a couple weeks ago, so if you didn't get one before they ran out of doses that time, well no vaccine for you. Many people are going to convenience stores and buying through the window. They are also going to work, getting sick, and still going to work. This Delta variant is spreading like wildfire here, please consider this before heading to Mexico for a vacation.
I do have some exciting news! My new book has become available online as a hardcover!!
Andy's off to a costume party. As he waits by the car a mysterious girl with a skeleton mask appears with a special gift that opens his eyes to the phantasmic world of The Day of The Dead!
In the meantime, my GoFundme has reached its goal and I will be able to schedule my surgery. I'm nervous about having my neck cut open in a clinic, but the cancer needs to be gone and hospitals are not an option because of all the COVID patients. Thank you to all who donated, I've been crying in gratitude for 2 weeks. Please stay safe 💗
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