Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D81 - Fase 2!!!

Two weeks later, on schedule, the province of Alicante has graduate to Phase 2 of the lockdown de-escalation! 🥳 As of today we can meet up in groups of 15 (instead of 10), go to the beach (for other activities than just walking), go for walks / exercise at any time of the day except the hours reserved for the at-risk people (10h-12h & 19h-20h), go to the pool (as long as the maximum number of people is below 30% of regular occupancy). Shops / businesses larger than 400 m2 can now fully open (including the malls, just not their recreational spaces), churches can host weddings, movie theaters can open (although they're all holding out a bit longer, I think they want to wait until the whole country is in Phase 3 so the cinemas can open under the same conditions, and hopefully there are some new movies to entice people to go).

Cities with beaches have been working out how they're going to ensure social distancing and reduce contact... Some (like Benidorm up the coast) have decided to wait a few more weeks before opening so they can better prepare. Alicante's sandy beaches are open as of today.

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D78 - Good times!

Definitely a much more cheerful weekend than last week! YAY for "Fase 1" and restaurants / bars / cafés having opened up their terraces and being able to get together with friends (up to 10) for a drink / snack / meal! 🥳

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D75 - Dipping my toes

AT LAST! Finally dipped my toes in the Mediterranean... summer is inching closer and the sea has been looking more and more enticing each time I go out for my evening walk. 

I just hope by the time the days heat up and we're begging to get in the water, that we'll be allowed to get in the water. Supposedly Phase 2 is when full beach access will be allowed around here (and not just for walking or water sports athletes), and if all goes well in Alicante that would start next Monday. They just have to figure out the social distancing recommendations, and how to monitor their implementation.

I'll have to admit though... Once the crowds start, I'm going to miss walking along almost empty beaches.

Playa de San Juan

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D69 - Thankful for Nature

Went for a lovely walk along the Cape this evening... was hoping there would be fewer people out than usual what with the possibility to meet up with friends at cafés or homes (there weren't).

Calm waters. Lovely sunset. Has been wonderful being able to come out for a walk in the evenings since the desconfinamiento started and they've been slowly letting up on the lockdown restrictions.

My happy place!

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D68 - FRIENDS!!!

The absolutely most wonderful thing about progressing to Fase 1 of the de-escalation? Getting to finally meet up with FRIENDS!!! Also family 😉 Basically someone you don't live with! Maximum groups of 10 people (ideally maintaining social distance recommendations). Either in someone's house, or in a restaurant/café terrace (allowed to open now at 50% capacity, indoors waits until next phase).

I didn't head out anywhere yesterday, decided to let the people who were a bit more desperate go out and get it out of their system (we've seen a pattern here, first day in the rule change people tend to go nuts and just ignore the rules!). But tonight was a lovely little dinner party with friends overlooking the Med! 🥳 So nice to be able to just hang out for a few hours... 

Although the whole "keeping our distance" thing lasted all of 2 minutes...

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D66 - Fase 1, hola!

Day 1 of Fase 1 in Alicante. So far no change! But because I decided not to go out and try it... I figure being the first day there would be too many people out and about (has been the pattern so far), and people are still confused about the dos and don'ts. Alicante City Hall has circulated helpful infographics on social media channels (ditto various sports clubs, cultural websites etc.) , and yet the comments in them show people with still lots of very basic questions. And it's not really that complicated!!! *sigh* The main things that have changed (that people care about) is (1) you can go to a small business without having to have made an appointment previously, (2) restaurants/bars/cafés can open up their terraces for sit-down service (take away is also an option), (3) churches can open to 30% occupancy level, (4) gatherings in private homes of up to 10 people are allowed. All that with social distancing recommendations. Oh, and a few more people get to go back to work...

One of my colleagues sent a message to our office WhatsApp group this afternoon. She lives downtown and goes out for a walk with her daughters every day. She said it had a pre-quarantine feel to it. Terraces full of people, with tables too close to each other. A lot more people milling on the streets, man of them taking advantage of the fact that the police can't check up on everyone so they could be out for a walk with friends and just say "oh I was going to the café"...  Hopefully lessons will be learnt, people will follow the guidelines, and we don't get an increase in infections because of rule-breakers.

In the meantime, I'm looking forward to hanging out on a friend's balcony tomorrow evening, enjoying a nice glass of wine with some good company while overlooking the sea!

#stayhome, #quedateencasa, #restecheztoi

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D65 - Farewell sunset, Fase 0 adiós!

We did it! Whatever it is we were supposed to do... but the entirety of the province of Alicante will be in "Fase 1" of the lockdown de-escalation tomorrow.  🥳 

To celebrate, I decided to head out for a walk to the Cape and enjoy the sunset...

So privileged to live near such a beautiful spot! 🥰

Corona-Lockdown Spanish Edition - D62 - By the sea

Depending on wether you support the government or are in the opposition, the take on this whole 4-step "desconfinamiento" (de-escalation of the lockdown) process has been something between "they're making it up as they go" to "they set out their instructions, then listen to the criticism, and amend it where they think the criticism made sense".

Some of that shifting among the restrictions has been lifted by the national government, but others by regional or local governments. And the changes that have caught the most attention in Alicante are those related to use of the coastline. Namely the beaches. Which makes sense considering we're a beach city and all!

Playa de la Albufereta (our small beach)

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - D57 - Downtown!

My first visit downtown in 2 months... wow! So weird to see empty streets, solitary bus stops, that would otherwise be bustling with Saturday morning shoppers... Well, not completely empty. When I went into town it coincided with the "over-70" exercise time, so there were a few elderly couples out for a stroll. You could tell they weren't used to dealing with traffic anymore, plenty sauntering along in the middle of the street! 😝

Coronavirus Lockdown Spanish Edition - Day 46 - Announcing deescalation!

Well here's something to look forward to! We finally have information on the Government's plan to slowly roll-back the lockdown rules. Gotta love the name "Plan for the Transition Toward a New Normality", really rolls off the tongue, lol!

It starts on Saturday with everyone allowed out (finally!) to do individual walks or work-outs, and restaurants that offer take-out options will be allowed to re-open (but not for seating). Then gradually, province by province (not all at the same time due to different conditions in each, and no movements between provinces if they are in different phases) we go through several phases: