On June 4th, 2019, the US Treasury Department eliminated tourism to Cuba, reinstating many of the restrictions of the embargo that has been in place since 1960. For those who already have confirmed reservations to Cuba, there are provisions in place to allow that travel to take place, but if you haven’t booked, the window to legally travel to Cuba has now closed.
Of course, many Americans will continue to access Cuba via Canada, Mexico, or Europe, but the option of getting on a cruise ship in Florida and stopping at Havana, or other ports in Cuba, has now been taken away.
Others can debate (and they will!) the public policy implications of this, but to me the instructional thing here is you need to travel when you can.
Many people, once they hit 60 or so, begin to talk about the trips they want to do before it’s “too late” i.e. before they have mobility constraints or other factors that will affect their comfort when they travel. These are sensible thoughts, but there are many other reasons why travel opportunities can be taken away, other than one’s own health.
Here’s a personal example.
Many years ago, my husband Bob had a trip planned, leaving London, England, and travelling overland quickly through Europe, and then into the Middle East, India, and Pakistan before finishing up in Kathmandu, Nepal. He had all his visas lined up, his shots were up to date, and the flights we booked.
His planned departure date: September 20, 2001.
Needless to say, his plans changed… quickly. Almost 20 years later, many of these countries that are so rich in culture and history, are really not available for us to safely travel there. If he had done the trip the previous year (which he had been contemplating), he wouldn’t have the regret he still feels over missing this trip.
Besides your own health, and the unpredictability of geopolitics, there are also environmental issues. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is dying. The Maldives could very well be completely underwater soon. The Mountain Gorillas in Africa will be extinct soon.
Places like the Galapagos and Antarctica have a number of restrictions already for the number of visitors, and what you can do there (this is a good thing). It makes me wonder, at what point will those places become out of reach for travellers?
There are other accidents and circumstances – you can’t climb the El Castillo pyramid at Chitzen Itza anymore. Notre Dame has burned, and even after recovery efforts that will take many years, there will still be elements of the original building that will have been lost forever.
So, take a look at the destinations and travel experiences on your bucket list, and make plans to do those trips now.
You just don’t know when the opportunity will be taken away.
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I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
