Something getting up your nose?

25 March 2022

Adelaide Airport , Great Southern Land

Up your nose: British, informal. : to annoy or irritate

Covid-19 is definitely a significant aspect of preparing for our journey. Whilst the international borders have opened for Australians, we are quickly discovering travel has become a complex and less certain undertaking.

As each country seeks to protect itself in an ever-changing pandemic environment, the rules and requirements for each are a constantly moving target.

France seems one of the more challenging countries to travel in, requiring not only the standard EU entry documentation, but also having its own vaccination Health Pass. These are required to access many places relevant to us including long-distance trains, tourist accommodation and cafes. France’s definition of what constitutes full vaccination has changed three times in as many months.

After two months surfing online Camino forums, and bombarding our ever-patient travel agent Krystal, to confirm travel documentation and vaccination requirements, we have decided just to give up working it out, and simply get everything.

As reasonably experienced international travellers it is unnerving to be largely pre-occupied with travel documentation, rather than deciding what to take, or what to do in our destination country. This will hopefully be something that we recall as a short-lived signature of the Covid pandemic era. I am certainly thanking my luck in having sorted out our gear well beforehand.

And so we have now filled in every EU, French and Spanish travel document, downloaded each country’s covid app, and had all our vaccine jabs. Today, the last task, to front up up for our pre-travel PCR test, required within 3 days of travelling.

At time of writing James does not need one, but things can literally change whilst in transit, and so we invested an additional $150 for both for peace of mind.

Fortunately, negative all round!