Chronicles of the Virus Day 45. Change of Vacation Plans.
It's being said that this summer, vacations will have to be local. No one knows when borders will be re-opened. No one knows if anyone can actually take a vacation.
What is most likely to happen, is that there will be vigilance at the beaches to keep the number of people down. So many people per X square meters per beach. Someone in Italy came up with plexiglass dividers to keep sunbathers physically apart. They sound pretty expensive and klutzy. Most likely all the concerts and fiestas will be cancelled or postponed. Bars and restaurants will also have limited capacity, once they open.
I assume that if few foreigners come on vacation, this can work out. Even so, unless fewer Spaniards travel within Spain, things might get hectic. Most of the vacationers in our corner are from other parts of Spain. Finding a spot on the beach has been getting difficult, to put it mildly, over the years. If capacity is limited, it's a first come, first in basis. Which means that when I finish classes in the afternoons I might as well forget about going for a swim if I am so inclined.
There have been articles in newspapers saying that this summer vacation plans will be similar to what they used to be: cars filled with family and suitcases, and trips to local vacation spots. There are images that pop into mind from old photos, of a small car filled with more people than are allowed, with suitcases and boxes strapped to the roof. That was how people used to take vacations back when I was a child. But they weren't my vacations.
Neither we nor anyone we know used to take vacations like those. The only vacations people in rural areas took were when they returned to their villages for the summer from the places they had emigrated to work. My parents would take time off from their jobs (the US in the 1970's and 80's was a better place to work than now) and we would fly here to spend as much of July and August as we could in our little home.
While it was vacation from daily life for my parents, it was also a time to make decisions about their property here. In 1974, I was too little to pay attention, but in 1978, my parents had already begun building the house they were going to retire to. They oversaw the digging of the foundations, and my father even helped out some days. Plans were made and material ordered. By 1982, the house was finished and when we came, we bought furniture and continued making additional plans towards landscaping. In 1984 and 1988, more conditioning was done, land was exchanged or bought to make our plot of land as rectangular as possible (My parents did that with an idea to planting corn and potatoes; a rectangular piece of land is easier to work than one with multiple corners.). In the meantime, while we were living in Boston, my mother was saving as much money as possble, and my father even worked weekends, some seasons, at odd jobs.
If it hadn't been for coming to plan their future, my parents would not have taken vacations, just like our neighbors and relatives here didn't take vacations. It's become a modern thing in the villages. Our generation is the first to take vacations just to rest. Even so, not everyone does so or can do so. Our first vacation was in 2014, when we drove to France. Our second was last September when we drove to Cantabria. I have no idea when the next one will be. Since September I have only been able to set aside a few, miserable euros for the next trip. I though I would be able to set aside a decent amount of money at the end of March, but life laughed in my face. So, we won't be going on vacation this year, even if movement is allowed. I just hope we don't have to quarantine again in August or September.
Very early this morning a bright ball of light streamed across our skies. Of late, there have been stories of UFO's crossing the night sky (which have turned out to be satellites launched by Elon Musk), but this morning's was different. However, it wasn't a great meteor on a collision course with Earth, nor a portend of disaster (haven't we got enough, already?). Rather, it was a Soyuz rocket reentering the atmosphere after taking supplies to the International Space Station. So, while spectacular, a perfectly normal happening of the twenty-first century.
Life continues.
What is most likely to happen, is that there will be vigilance at the beaches to keep the number of people down. So many people per X square meters per beach. Someone in Italy came up with plexiglass dividers to keep sunbathers physically apart. They sound pretty expensive and klutzy. Most likely all the concerts and fiestas will be cancelled or postponed. Bars and restaurants will also have limited capacity, once they open.
I assume that if few foreigners come on vacation, this can work out. Even so, unless fewer Spaniards travel within Spain, things might get hectic. Most of the vacationers in our corner are from other parts of Spain. Finding a spot on the beach has been getting difficult, to put it mildly, over the years. If capacity is limited, it's a first come, first in basis. Which means that when I finish classes in the afternoons I might as well forget about going for a swim if I am so inclined.
There have been articles in newspapers saying that this summer vacation plans will be similar to what they used to be: cars filled with family and suitcases, and trips to local vacation spots. There are images that pop into mind from old photos, of a small car filled with more people than are allowed, with suitcases and boxes strapped to the roof. That was how people used to take vacations back when I was a child. But they weren't my vacations.
Neither we nor anyone we know used to take vacations like those. The only vacations people in rural areas took were when they returned to their villages for the summer from the places they had emigrated to work. My parents would take time off from their jobs (the US in the 1970's and 80's was a better place to work than now) and we would fly here to spend as much of July and August as we could in our little home.
While it was vacation from daily life for my parents, it was also a time to make decisions about their property here. In 1974, I was too little to pay attention, but in 1978, my parents had already begun building the house they were going to retire to. They oversaw the digging of the foundations, and my father even helped out some days. Plans were made and material ordered. By 1982, the house was finished and when we came, we bought furniture and continued making additional plans towards landscaping. In 1984 and 1988, more conditioning was done, land was exchanged or bought to make our plot of land as rectangular as possible (My parents did that with an idea to planting corn and potatoes; a rectangular piece of land is easier to work than one with multiple corners.). In the meantime, while we were living in Boston, my mother was saving as much money as possble, and my father even worked weekends, some seasons, at odd jobs.
If it hadn't been for coming to plan their future, my parents would not have taken vacations, just like our neighbors and relatives here didn't take vacations. It's become a modern thing in the villages. Our generation is the first to take vacations just to rest. Even so, not everyone does so or can do so. Our first vacation was in 2014, when we drove to France. Our second was last September when we drove to Cantabria. I have no idea when the next one will be. Since September I have only been able to set aside a few, miserable euros for the next trip. I though I would be able to set aside a decent amount of money at the end of March, but life laughed in my face. So, we won't be going on vacation this year, even if movement is allowed. I just hope we don't have to quarantine again in August or September.
Very early this morning a bright ball of light streamed across our skies. Of late, there have been stories of UFO's crossing the night sky (which have turned out to be satellites launched by Elon Musk), but this morning's was different. However, it wasn't a great meteor on a collision course with Earth, nor a portend of disaster (haven't we got enough, already?). Rather, it was a Soyuz rocket reentering the atmosphere after taking supplies to the International Space Station. So, while spectacular, a perfectly normal happening of the twenty-first century.
Life continues.
My family in Reading thought the golf club down the street meant more time during vacation on the course. Some of my friends had families with cottages on the Cape, NH or Maine and never went anywhere else. One of my classmates went to Florida and brought back some Spanish Moss, for me one of the most exotic things I saw. When I was first in Switzerland I took some holiday just looking around the country. Locals didn't see that as a vacation even when I explained once I would have had to pay money to get there. That vacation also meant time without my boss hovering. I used to go to Europe every chance I could when I lived in Boston which is why I bought a used fridge and didn't buy a lot of other things. We had many trips planned this year. My husband's business travel means I may need airfare and to eat, but hotels, car rentals, B&B are paid for. We need to do more Tourist Tuesdays where we explore things near our house in both Switzerland and France. Being in either place is a bit of a holiday in itself. Had I not married Rick, I would have a trip maybe every other year other than local explorations.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little and we came here on vacation, to me it wasn't exactly a vacation. We were just visiting our own house, after all. I wanted to travel, to see the world, to start at one end and finish coming from the other side. I still do, but I know that, unless I win the Euromillion jackpot, it's a dream that will remain a dream.
DeleteIn Scotland in the 59’s and 60’s when I was a child most people had holidays at home. Taking the train a few miles to the coast. Only people with lots of money went “abroad” on holiday. We usually have our booked-at the beginning of the year except for this year which turned out to be a good decision. We were going to tour a France and Italy. Well that’s not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteYes, same in Spain in the 60's, 70's, and part of the 80's. People went to the coast or the mountains, and that was it. Today, those who have nice jobs boast of Christmas break in Thailand, or summers in Stockholm. But those who don't have nice jobs still go to the coast or to the mountains.
DeleteThis year's travel plans are now becoming next year's travel plans.
You are so right. The idea of a vacation is still a new one. We thought we would travel this year but like you, find that will be impossible. I do hope you get to have some beach time in your lovely part of the world. Here, we are afraid they may not open the beaches. Like you, I worry that the second wave will hit when it is hottest and trap us indoors when we most want to be outside. Take care, sweet Maria!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You take care, too!
Delete