Traveling Despite Coronavirus, or How I Learnt to Travel in a 500 Square Foot Apartment

Last Updated on April 13, 2024 by Adam Watts

Coronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Great Plague of 2020, whatever your choice vernacular is, has us all stuck at home. Our trip to Savannah, Charleston, and a cruise to the Bahamas was well and truly shuttered a long time ago. But there are ways of traveling despite coronavirus, as I set out to find out when I made a “trip” out of visiting our 500 square foot apartment.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.

“What a ridiculous idea.”

“Is this really what travel blogging has come to?”

“…moron.”

And you’d be right on all counts. But hey, blogger gotta blog and you’ve got literally nothing better to do than read it, so join me on this amazing adventure.

Coronavirus Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Explore Somewhere New

One of the best things about travel is that it gives you the chance to explore somewhere new. Las Ramblas in Barcelona is a vibrant hub of human life. Glaciers in Iceland or mountains in the Himalayas will take your breath away. That bus station in that small town somewhere in South America will also take your breath away but for a very different reason.

Point is, going something new helps you grow as a person, become more accepting of other cultures, other ways of life, and it’s the reason why travel is so important.

So, wanting to become a better person, I climbed on a chair and went to see what was on top of our kitchen cupboards. Here’s what I found:

• Half a roll of wrapping paper, which carbon dating proved to be from late-2018.
• Three assorted wires with an unidentifiable purpose. These have since been relocated to their rightful place: a box in the back of a closet with other unidentifiable wires.
• A jigsaw puzzle that later examination concluded was missing three pieces.
• A plastic bag containing bubble wrap which itself contained a plain white mug. Unwrapping this parcel revealed two puzzle pieces. Neither belonged to the aforementioned jigsaw puzzle. The mystery continues.

It was an interesting exploration, but my review it is thus: nothing to write home about. But since I’m writing this it was evidently something to write about home.

Traveling Despite Coronavirus Can Still Mean Trying New Foods

I’m not a big foodie, but I do like trying new foods when I travel. As does pretty much everyone in the world except my mother. A trip isn’t really a trip unless you’re ordering something you can’t pronounce off the menu, or something that doesn’t even have a name and you just point to it.

So let’s see what local delicacies this 500 square foot apartment can serve up.

Ah yes, three-week-old hummus. Half a jar of pasta sauce. A can of beans. Ice cream. And two things that look like they used to be potatoes but now look like moderately-powerful Pokemon.

Mix it all together and you get something almost as likely to make you sick as a street cart in Delhi. But somehow, despite how strange and unfamiliar it is, it feels like home. Comfort food.

Stay at Home and Check Out the Local Wildlife

Even if you’re staying at home because of COVID-19, you can still see some nature. If you live in New York City, there’s a good chance your local wildlife includes a family of rodents nesting in your walls, but this isn’t about them.

I’m not sure if it’s because everyone is at home that more wildlife is outside or if it just seems like there’s more wildlife, but I’ve heard more cheeping and chirping in the last few weeks than I have in the last several years. Squirrels squirreling in bushes, sparrows and starlings on the tree branches, prowling cats in alleyways, it’s all very nice to see, and that’s just from our apartment. There’s no joke here. It genuinely makes me happy to see and hear wildlife.

Not that we’re not also hearing ambulances and parents yelling at their kids for walking too slow and all the usual stuff you hear in New York City. It wouldn’t be the greatest city in the world without those now, would it?

Traveling Despite Coronavirus Isn’t Impossible

I cringe at the word, but for some ideas how you can have your own “staycation”, either directly in your apartment or close by, read this.