Postcard from Egypt and Greece

"I have learned that it is better to be useful than good," responds the Greek lab technician to my comment that we really, really want to go home tomorrow.  He has personally come to our Santorini villa to administer a mandatory COVID test for reentry to the United States.  As he superficially swabs my tongue, his response is reassuring.  After exploring Athens and luxuriating in Santorini, we are departing the next day for home after an amazing 3-week tour of Egypt and Greece. It is March 2022 and COVID restrictions still linger all over the world.  In Egypt, we sail the Nile River on a private dahabiya and maneuver the chaos of Cairo with our expert guide.  We have an amazing experience, but we  are anxious when it comes time to leave and we must take a COVID test to enter Greece.  No problem.  It seems that, as part of our tour, we prepaid for a certificate from the Royal Lab of Cairo stating we are each negative and are free to go on to Greece.  And from Greece, to home.  US restrictions remained for some time, but the rest of the world had moved on.  Why do I travel?  To learn how other countries respond to the same world crisis with their own country's interests at heart.  "It is better to be useful than good."              (April 2022)