Had we not flown back to California to visit Kenric’s Mom who was in the hospital, our last few weeks would have been spent in Albania. And had we been in Albania, I’m pretty sure we would have just stayed there when the Coronavirus pandemic got more serious because it’s a country we’re familiar with, the cost of living is lower than that of Greece, we could stay there for a year visa-free, and the entire country had been locked down including inter-city roads being closed and curfew enforced.

I know Kenric and I have chosen a crazy life, but when we were in California and rushing “home” meant flying across the Atlantic Ocean to our next Airbnb in a country we’ve never visited, it’s a lot of crazy even for us. But, staying with Kenric’s parents was not the right thing even though his parents had invited us to stay for as long as we want. California has quite a few confirmed cases. The entire time we were there, we were worried that we might bring the virus home to his Mom who had just been in the hospital.

We’ve been hanging out in The Balkans a lot because we really love this part of Europe. Today is the 1014th day since we started this crazy journey. Out of the 1014 days, we’ve spent 327 days (32%) in the Balkans; 134 days (13%) in Non-Balkan Europe; 241 days (24%) in Asia; and 312 (31%) in North America which includes 23 days in Canada.

Ordered to self-quarantine

So, after checking in to our apartment in the Koukaki neighborhood, we made a quick trip to the pharmacy and the grocery store. People were queuing far apart, and only one customer is allowed in the pharmacy at a time. The grocery store allows five shoppers at a time. The store was well-stocked and orderly with no sign of panic. We bought what we think will last us two weeks, washed all the things in the kitchen that we might use, and now, we sit “at home” and watch travel videos of things we can’t do in Athens, and wait. Good thing I brought four pairs of pajamas.