Quaranta Giorni - 40 Days…”Quarantine is the restriction of movement of people, animals and goods intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. Used in connection to limit disease and illness, and prevent the movement of those who may have been exposed to a communicable disease, but do not have a confirmed medical diagnosis.  The word quarantine comes from a seventeenth-century Venetian variant of the Italian ‘quaranta giorni, meaning ‘forty days’, the period that all ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Black Death plague epidemic.” Courtesy of Panama Posse post Fleet Update 2020-03-15

Currently, we are on day five of the fourteen day lockdown.  Technically, we are only supposed to leave the marina if we need food, fuel or medical assistance.  That being said, we expand the rules a little and on our way to the grocery store we drive to the ‘West End’ to see the more touristy area of the island.  I can only imagine what this handful of tiny streets would be like if all the cruise ships were docked and the hoards of people had been bussed in. But when we arrive the streets are quiet and this sweet town can thankfully be described as ‘sleepy’.  We park and have our picnic lunch across the street from our friend ‘Eddy’s’ bar, which is right at the beach. We then walk down the street past all the little restaurants and bars (sadly most are closed) to Half Moon Bay. We snorkel and watch all the pretty tropical fish dart about.  Back at Eddy’s we have a beer and then drive back along West Bay toward Coxen Hole (the empty cruise ship terminal) where only the locals are out enjoying the day with their kids.

Many times in the past I have wished we could have spent another day or two at some particularly lovely port but either a pressing schedule or a good weather window takes precedence.  The irony is now that we can (or must!) we are not allowed to venture out and explore this beautiful area. It is unfortunate for many reasons, primarily due to the human frailty of the situation, compounded by the economic hardships it is going to place on the people who live here.  The better news we heard today was that the self-isolation portion of the quarantine may be over on Sunday and businesses will hopefully be able to reopen but without the tourism life here will be challenging.