2020 and Covid cometh

2020 was the year Covid shut down the world. For us the year started normally enough. We went to Berlin for a short stay in February and a quick few days in Catalonia in early March, then on 14th March we had a brutal lockdown here in Spain. Lockdown in its timing, effects and rules varied from country to country.

Lockdown ended at the start of July, and we used the new found ability to travel to go to the Asturias for an intensive Spanish Course, and a few weeks later to France to visit Gaynor & Vic

But even on our visit to France, the signs of a second Covid wave was starting to emerge. And within a short time, Covid restrictions started to return

The joys of meals out - this was a "wine evening" at The Dauphin

And the Opera in Valencia

And a visit from Sally & Margaret

Then suddenly, overnight, without any real warning, Lockdown arrived. Our lockdown, which was effectively "house arrest", lasted from 14 March to 20 June. At that point everybody thought that it was all over, and that perhaps Covid might come back at some undefined point in the future, we could as of July start living normally again.

So we took ourselves of the the Asturias for a 2 week intensive Spanish Course and 4 weeks later we were off to France to see the Gunns, complete with overnight stops at Carcassonne going and Rioja on the return journey.

But by September Covid was back, restaurants were closed by Government order, and new rules like Mask Wearing came in. Later lockdowns were not as brutal as the original one, , but they did add to an feeling of being "trapped". For much of the time we were not allowed to travel to other parts of Spain, and flying was bureaucratically, never mind from the health aspect, very difficult. So at that point we stopped travelling.

In the course of a year we booked and had cancelled various cruises with Silversea. Lisbon to Ireland to London, Auckland to the New Zealand Antarctic Islands, Dakar to Buenos Aires, Athens to Oman, Tromso to Canada, and another Lisbon to London. The whole cru8ise industry shut down for 18 months, with ships literally anchored all over the world

So this topic "2020 Covid" is recording what we did do during our confinement in Spain. Actually the photos make it look relatively normal, but we had to tailor our life to the "rules". On the occasions that restaurants were open, dining had to be outside: masks had to be worn in all public places, even walking along the road in the countryside with nobody else around just in case we were stopped by the police

         

 

 

And that takes us up to Christmas and on to the NewYyear, 2021

 

Holidays in

On to 2021

David Grant Holidays