Second week of quarantine in Auckland

At 6:45 am, Dave glances out of our west facing window. “I missed the bottom half of the crane operator’s climb. He’s halfway up.” 

He grabs his binoculars. “This must be a different guy. He looks stockier, and he’s moving more slowly. . . . He’s got on a down jacket and a hat. It must be cold out there today. . . . Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen. Now he’s on another platform resting. His neon vest is flapping in the wind. . . . He doesn’t do exercises at each landing like the guy from yesterday.”

After that crane operator is safely installed in his cab – yes, Dave can see him get settled in – Dave turns his attention to the crane to the south. That crane operator does a new thing on his way up. “He’s going around to the four corners of each platform. It looks like he’s tightening the bolts on each corner of each platform. . . . Now he’s way out on the arm of the crane inspecting the weights and cables. That guy is really thorough. I wonder if crane operators here in New Zealand know about the crane that fell down in Seattle last year because the bolts weren't tightened.” 

Here's Dave's painting of our view to the south, including the crane where the bolt-tightening guy climbed up.

As I said in my post from last week, the three construction cranes we can see are a source of endless entertainment for us. The crane operator to the south has a bag slung over his shoulder every day as he climbs up. We presume it contains his lunch. But the crane operators to the west don’t bring anything up with them. What do they eat and drink? It appears they are up there all day. Are there toilets up there?

Today is our last day in our two-week quarantine. When I wrote last week, we had spent four of the first five days inside, and we were hoping to be able to get outside that day. Around noon, I called the nurses to say that Dave's stomach upset was now 48 hours in the past, and could we go out? The nurse asked Dave a multitude of questions, and said she would get back to us. An hour later, she called to say Dave needed to talk to a doctor, who would phone our room soon. An hour later, the doctor called and asked Dave a bunch of the same and different questions. He said he needed to talk with the medical team. About 4 pm, one of the nurses called to say we could now go outside.

Dave and I raced for our jackets and masks. In the lobby, Dave made a reservation for the next day for the bus that takes walkers to a special place on at the harbor. Then we were outside in the fresh air. Excellent.

Ever since then, we've spent time outside every day. The walking path is 125 steps round trip. Dave can manage a half hour of rapid walking round and round. I do less time walking and more time sitting in the seating area using my exercise band and doing leg lifts and other exercises. 

Here's the seating area on a quiet day where everyone was reading. You can see chalk drawings on the decking. Chalk is a big part of the outdoor experience, as you can see in the second photo.

And here's a family group taking a photo. In the background you can see our west crane.

I had forgotten how windy New Zealand can be. An island nation, to be sure. Here's a video of the seating area on one of the two very windy days we have experienced. You'll see one of the many security guys, then a guy who I presume is a Kiwi because of wearing shorts in pretty cool weather, and at the end, a worker at the top of the building that we observe all day long from our room 15 floors up. 

Dave has now experienced two walks at the harbor. Busses come from all the quarantine hotels, with about ten people on each large bus. Dave enjoyed looking at the freighters in the harbor. You can see how the space is fenced off so the people in quarantine can't escape.

With each trip down to the courtyard, the lobby of the hotel feels more and more surreal as I notice the details of the people sitting there. They have blocked off what is the restaurant in normal times with a barrier. Behind the barrier we can usually see several people in navy blue uniforms and some nurses in PPE. As we turn toward the door, several people in military fatigues sit behind a tall table on the right. You tell them your room number before you go outside, and when you come in you tell them you're back inside. In addition, they book the trips to the harbor.  On the left are the hotel staff behind desks, like the registration people at any typical hotel. 

As you walk outside, not only are there two barricades between the hotel entrance and the street, two security guards stand there. One time I saw a police officer talking to the guards. Here's a view into the lobby. You can see the security guys on the left outside, the army guys on the left inside, and a couple of guests waiting for the elevator, distanced from each other. On the right are the hotel staff, and in the far back are the guys in blue uniforms and nurses. See the barricade on the left side of the photo? A few feet further to the left is a second barricade, and beyond that, the street. 

While I was writing this post, one of the guys in a blue uniform came to our room to drop off the results of our third covid test (negative) and give us written instructions for leaving. I could see "air force" written on his pocket. He asked if I had any questions, so I said, "Are all the guys downstairs in blue uniforms in the air force like you?" He said yes.

I said, "So you and the army work together in the quarantine hotels. Where is the navy?" He replied that half of the quarantine hotels are run by the air force and half by the navy, and in all of them the army is in charge of recreation. I had spoken with one of the army guys the day before, and he said he sleeps at the hotel and eats the food. "Better than the barracks," he said.

The reason the air force officer could bring us our instructions for leaving was because I have had three detailed conversations with a logistics person -- who I think introduced herself as an air force officer -- who wanted to know every place we're staying for the first two weeks after quarantine in case contact tracing is necessary. 

We'll be glad to get out tomorrow, for sure, but mostly we feel privileged. We got assigned to one of the best quarantine hotels, they tell us. We had one of the best rooms in the hotel, with windows on two sides, high enough to get great views. We've been zooming and emailing and phoning with friends and family. And now we get to travel in a beautiful country with very little fear of getting covid. Privileged.

Here's Dave's watercolor sketch of our view to the southwest. See the palm trees in Myers Park, one of the many fun things to look at out our window.

I'll close with two images. First some elevator signs. The top sign is the time of the walks at the harbor. The second sign announces the free counseling available to quarantine folks who are feeling stressed. People have been very careful to obey the third sign. 

Here's Dave's painting of the view to the northwest from our room. Highlights include the Auckland Harbour Bridge, St Matthew's in the City Anglican Church, and the Sky Tower. The land you can barely see in the distance is Auckland's North Shore. 

If you missed my post from last week, it's here. 

First week of quarantine in Auckland

To our total, complete surprise, we are back in New Zealand. When we left in June 2017, after living in Dunedin for 10 years (and getting permanent residence), we thought it very likely we would never be back. Dave's chronic lung disease made long plane flights very difficult for him. In January 2019, he got his fourth diagnosis along with a drug that has made a big difference. Then, as you know all too well, in early 2020 the pandemic came along. With each month of the pandemic we wondered and prayed about whether we should return to New Zealand to wait for a vaccine. Here we are.

On September 8 we flew from Seattle to LA on a crowded plane which felt freaky. Equally freaky were the many fires and long plumes of smoke we could see from our left side window seats. Our Air New Zealand flight from LA to Auckland was about one quarter full, and we arrived in the early morning in Auckland. Only about 10 flights a day arrive at the international terminal these days, and we experienced long, almost empty halls as we made our way through passport control and customs. Lots of airport staff stood by to shepherd us along to a bus, which took us to one of the government quarantine hotels in central Auckland.

Before we got off the bus, a government rep came on board to tell us about the long and convoluted registration process. He explained we would be in our rooms all the time except when we went down to the courtyard to walk or if we signed up for a bus trip to a place to walk near the harbor.

We filed into the lobby of the hotel, keeping distance, then on to a couple of adjoining ballrooms where we had to talk with people at several tables. They had us choose food off a menu for that day (two choices for each meal), give various details about ourselves at different tables, often extending our passports at arms length so they could see them without touching them or getting too close to us. Here's Dave in in plane garb waiting for his turn at one of the tables.

Finally we got to go to our room. It's smaller than I'd hoped, a trapezoidal shape so it looks bigger in the first photo than it actually is. But what a gift to have two walls of windows. And the bed is super comfortable. I carefully photographed the room before opening a suitcase because I knew it would get cluttered very quickly.

See that cool bathtub? It's now full of luggage and miscellaneous items.

Soon after our arrival the nurses showed up to complete our medical screening. They mentioned that someone had heard Dave coughing. He explained he has a chronic lung disease, and he coughs a lot. They said they were sorry but he would have to stay in our room until he got a negative covid test. They asked me a lot of questions, and I mentioned I sneeze a lot because of allergies. They said I would also have to stay in the room until I got a negative covid test.

Meanwhile, meals started arriving. The food is in take out containers in a paper bag, and someone drops it at the door, knocks, rings the doorbell and says "lunch". The food tastes good as befits the high end hotel we have lucked into. I'd love more fruits and vegetables, so I placed an order with the front desk for their next supermarket trip. I'd heard it can take three days to get a supermarket order, but a couple of hours later we had apples, oranges, carrots, peanut butter and dark chocolate. The essentials!

From the first day, our view -- especially the construction cranes -- was quite entertaining. Here's our view, beginning from the window by the bathroom (facing south), moving to the right (toward west).

When we were packing in Seattle, I suggested that Dave leave his binoculars behind because of weight. He's really glad he didn't do that. He LOVES looking at details out the windows.

 

With his acute ability to observe, he managed to see the crane operator to the west climb up the 20+ stories to get to work on the morning of our second day. The man stopped at each landing to rest for a few minutes. Later that morning, he watched the crane operator to the south climb up. On the third day, a different crane operator climbed up the west crane, and at each landing he did pull-ups, push-ups and stretches. We both watched every move. This is not quite watching the grass grow, but close.

Every day we get a call from the nurses, who go through every covid symptom to see if we have it. They must be SO bored with that list of symptoms. They also come in person to take our temperature. We got the covid test the second day, and the results early afternoon on the third day.  We were ready to jump outside and get some fresh air, but we had to wait for one more visit from the nurses to be sure we were healthy. Then WOW, outside for the first time in two and a half days. The area for walking is not very big, and people were walking laps around it. There's Dave in the yellow jacket, and you can see someone walking the other way. It was actually more crowded than it looks.

Right behind where I took the above photo was a small area with benches. I was hoping to sit there and read, but there were too many people to feel safe. (They tell you that if you are within 6 feet of someone who later tests positive for covid, you will start another two week quarantine. Not interested!) But that seating area had a plant -- something green never looked so good -- and a view of Auckland's Sky Tower. 

The air was fresh and brisk, about 55 degrees. Lovely. While we were downstairs, Dave signed up for a bus trip for the next afternoon to go and walk at the harbor. The next morning, Dave went downstairs and walked again. That same morning he had diarrhea twice, probably from eating the rich hotel food. He and most of the members of his family of origin had their gall bladders taken out years ago, so he can't eat much fat. 

The nurses came to visit around noon that day, and he told them he had had diarrhea. They said, sorry, but you'll have to stay in your room until you've gone 48 hours without any upset stomach. So . . . back in the room. No trips downstairs. No bus ride. Back to watching the construction cranes do their thing. As I'm writing this, we're a few hours before the 48 hour mark, so we're hoping to get outside again later today.

One of the amusing things Dave observed through his binoculars is another quarantine hotel just west of us. He figured out it's a quarantine hotel because he could see people walking laps on patio. Take a look.

 

I have to say, I needed a vacation from many things, and a big part of me has loved not being responsible for very much for a few days. We are grieving the fires on the West Coast, and we still grieve the pandemic, but we have enjoyed sitting in front of our windows in the morning watching the light come into the sky. Two nights we've had beautiful sunsets, and I have sat in front of the window until every last bit of light has gone from the sky. Dave and I enjoyed watching the US Tennis Open on a big screen TV, and we've had some lovely conversations and prayer times. It still feels surreal to be here, but I am definitely starting to have moments when it feels like a big gift to be able to be in New Zealand and look forward to shopping, talking with friends, and generally moving about without a mask and without fear.

If you have questions about quarantine, email me and I'll try to address them in another post. If all goes well, we'll leave quarantine on the 24th, spend 5 days in Auckland car shopping and seeing friends, then drive slowly south and arrive in Dunedin on the 15th of October. We have a furnished rental arranged for our first months there. I'm hoping to create some scenery posts as we travel.