The Covid-19 Scare

From a cruise in South America, this LA-based Filipino health professional went home with a lingering cough, shortness of breath, diffiulty in breathing, and body pains—but it proved a challenge for her to qualify for a Covid-19 test

- Finnette Castaneda

My husband and I were off to South Amer peaks and Patagonian glaciers, of 180degree waterfalls and high seas, of tango and world-class steaks! We were about to embark on this bucket-list destination through Princess Cruises, a favorite of ours.

20-Second Handwashing Is A Way of Life

We were excited yet nervous. Half a world away in Asia is a rising threat of this new SARS-like virus killing some who acquired it. Another Princess cruise was just quarantined off the shore of Japan.

I'm a health professional and 20second handwashing is a way of life for me. Wiping down my space came naturally with hospital-grade Saniwipes. I didn’t wear a mask though at the airport or on the plane. I had a lot of excuses for not wearing one, even if I brought protective gear and a huge bottle of vitamin C in my purse.

Two people were coughing next to me during my long flights to Buenos Aires in Argentina. My eyes rolled but I still did not wear a mask. South America is so far away and we were sure that the virus could not reach that far.

We hiked for miles in 95 degree F weather in Iguazu Falls carrying two-liter water bottles to quench our dehydrated bodies. The sight of rushing waterfalls all around us in all their glory made all the torture on our bodies worth it.

Travel History

A few days later, in Puerto Madryn, we drove for a total of six hours to visit Punta Tombo National Park. I could barely walk in the cold, dusty, windy, and rainy 50 degree F weather because I was freezing, having only used a raincoat! The weather information was inaccurate, plus I started feeling the weather change so horribly affecting my entire being. I did not even appreciate the Magellanic penguins walking up to us. There were half a million of them there!