Spanish views from a small town

I am falling back into the old ways of writing every few days rather than every day. In part, it's because the newness of the pandemic, and the necessity of recording its ever-changing nature has disappeared. We have become more or less inured to the illness and the numbers that we are still barraged with every day. Those numbers are now going down, though certainly not through our actions. The beginning of the new school year has brought thousands of students together in university towns and cities. In Santiago, thousands have had to be hounded off the streets by riot police where they were binge drinking and keeping the neighbors awake with their revelry. In Barcelona in recent days, forty thousand were rousted from the largest plaza in the city. With these enormous get-togethers, with the flux of tourism this summer, and with our complacency, the numbers should have gone up. But vaccination is a wondrous thing. Over seventy percent of the total population in Spain is completely ...

August is winding down to a close, with just a week left. The days are now nicely warm and summery, just as summer is about to end. There are blackberries in the sun-speckled areas of the woods, and I've eaten some, already. The days are now losing their light, as the sun heads away from us, with sunrise at around eight in the morning, and sunset at about nine in the evening. There's less than a month to go to the fall equinox, and then the darkness of winter descends upon us.  As school comes closer (9 September for primary, and 15 September for secondary), parents are caught up in buying clothes, though books and supplies will wait for the lists to come home on the first day. This year, back to school also means getting a shot, and the age group getting their Covid vaccines are now from 12 - 16. I don't know if the European medical agencies will recommend the vaccine for younger children; perhaps they will wait for further research, but I suspect primary schoolers will so...

Almost a month ago, I subtitled my blog with Final Stretch , because it seemed we were in the final stretch of the pandemic; people were being vaccinated left and right, the number of contagion was falling steeply. The brakes just got pulled. The Delta variant, highly contagious, is starting to gain on the British variant, which was already more contagious than the original. Only those who have been vaccinated with their two shots are more likely to stave off Delta, the rest can easily get sick. And, thanks to end of school trips to Mallorca, around a thousand cases have been detected almost all over Spain among teenagers who let their hair down at the offered macro parties. Worse, still, it's not just the teenagers in some cases, but their parents and other family members, as well. Common sense, sentidiño as we say here, is brilliant in its absence.  Despite this, Spain has gone ahead with its new rules on masks. But, it turns out that the new rules are the ones I already abided ...

From having little to talk about, it seems to have gone in the opposite direction. Yesterday morning, I returned to Monte Gaiás, this time with my daughter accompanying me. I joined the very fast-moving line inside, even though I was about a half hour earlier than the time they had told me to show up. (I think they just give the appointment hours to know how many people they can fit into a day.) The buildings are a veritable maze; without a map one would easily get lost in the empty lofty spaces. We were ushered into a hall with a smaller ceiling, where there were numbered cubicles set up in the sinuous space. There, a nurse was marshalling the arrivals, telling them to come forward and wait in front of certain spots to be called into the cubicle.  I was extremely quickly called into mine. I had been sneaking fast photos all the time, and took another one here of a table with a computer, the vaccines in their syringes, papers, a yellow disposal box for the needles, disinfectant, an...

I have been rather busy these days, nor can I really sit still for long. One of the reasons is the beautiful weather which pulls me outside. Today is the first day I have worn shorts this year, and my summer slip-ons. It is neither hot nor cool, just right. The other reason is that my husband got his first shot on Wednesday morning, and I get mine tomorrow morning. Finally, after two calls to the number of the SERGAS, the Galician health service, we got our appointments. My husband's vaccine was Pfizer, and I assume mine will be, too. That means we have to return around the middle of next month, but I don't care. We will be SAFE from this devil virus. Of course, safe doesn't mean we won't absolutely get Covid, but it diminshes our chances of suffering a severe bout and possibly dying from it, or getting complications. Unfortunately, to reach the level of immunity that means not avoiding large crowds, the majority of people should get the vaccine. We know of at least thr...

On Thursdays is when the Lidl, a German chain supermarket, rolls out its weekly specials and offers. This week it seems the offers are plants, bulbs, seeds, and other gardening stuff. I usually go on Saturday, when much of the good stuff has flown. But then, I'm not a fanatic like some.  This morning, I'd forgotten about that fact, and I drove to the Lidl to pick up a couple of things. The parking lot was jam packed. There were more cars than parking spaces. It seems that the idea of limiting people in shops is overlooked in that supermarket. I hoped some of the cars belonged to visitors to the funeral home next door, which has a small area for cars, and sometimes overflows into the Lidl's lot. But, when I went inside, it was a madhouse. I just picked up what I needed (and, yes, a small tub of primroses), waited in line, and left.  I doubt most of the people in there had received any shots, yet. The over 80's are still being called in, as are the teachers. Two who ha...

This morning, I drove my mother-in-law to Boiro to receive her first jab of the Covid vaccine.  For some unfathomable reason, instead of people getting the vaccine at their usual health clinic, everyone from Rianxo, Boiro, and another township, have to go to the clinic at Boiro. Yet, they want people to keep their distance from one another. The good thing was that, when I got there, very few people were to be seen. I could even park right across the road from the entrance. Does that mean it will take forever to get to the next age level of vaccinations? We were early, and we left early, so there wasn't a long crowd of people waiting. My mother-in-law was told to wait either there or in the car for fifteen minutes before leaving, just in case she had an adverse reaction, though it seems it's the second dose next month that might give her some fever. So, we sat in the car for about twenty minutes, and then left, stopping along the way, of course, to run errands. It was the first ...

Today is warm and spring-like. But clouds are coming back in, and there is rain off-shore. Another day tomorrow of rain and grey, and then, on Friday, a dry period should begin. If we're lucky, it'll last at least a week. Of rain, we are right now full. At the merest provocation, our well now overflows into the yard. On my walks in the woods recently, I have had to navigate paths that have transformed to either swiftly flowing rivers, or ponds of unfathomable abyss. Just around the curve behind our house, a woodland plot that has young trees planted years ago, that don't grow, becomes Loch Ness at the first shower. The drainage is into our yard, which is now a quagmire until early summer. Whenever I drive or walk by, I fully expect a creature to raise its head from the depths.  Some trees are beginning to show buds. A thin veil of apple green will soon envelope the hills. I'm glad, because the greys and browns of late winter are monotonous and dreary. Pretty soon, my fa...

Finally! As of Friday we can move around and get together with three other people! Normal classes! Normal shopping! Feasting my eyes on landscapes I haven't seen in over two months! Seeing people again! But not completely. The clinical committee of our region got together this morning and decided to further open the region, but according to rates of contagion. There are still seventeen townships that will remain completely closed. Then there are several health areas that will open, but not as much, those include the areas of Pontevedra, A Coruña, and Ferrol, along with the townships that depend on the hospitals in those areas. The health areas of Lugo, Ourense, Santiago, and Vigo will open a little bit more. Most importantly, there can be movement among those townships, so we can at least move around, and even go down to Vigo by highway, though we probably won't be able to go to nearby Vilagarcía, which I believe depends on the hospitals of Pontevedra. And Catoira, just across ...

I'm changing my header, again. The New Year is now no longer so new, yet the third wave of the pandemic continues strong. When I am able to give my header the name "calm waters", I'll rejoice. Do you have an extra 25,000 pounds lying about? Are you over 65? Are you anxious for travel? You can apply for membership to the KnightsBridge Circle, a members-only travel club that will cater to your every wealthy need. This January, they presented a travel package to Dubai of a month's stay at a seven-star hotel, private jet to and fro, an appointment at a private clinic, and two shots of the complete vaccination with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. All this, for 40,000 pounds. Cheap. In the meantime, if you only have 25 euros until your next paycheck, however anxious you are for travel, or whatever underlying health problems you might have, you may wait your turn until the regional health department calls you up for your doses. At this rate, probably around Septemb...

Today, we are beginning the vaccinations against Covid in Spain. Here, in Galicia, 500 are going to be carried out in a couple of elderly residences in Santiago. Both the residents and the personnel are first in line. The next batch to arrive will be on Tuesday, with 18,000 doses. It sounds fine, but it's much less than it should be, and vaccination will continue at a snail's pace. With a population of almost three million people here, in Galicia, those 65 and older comprise just over 24% of that number. Eighteen thousand and a half doses in the first week means that vaccination of the highest risk group, the elderly, will take a long time. Europe had the opportunity to buy more vaccines, but it didn't, so now it's a slow process that will most likely culminate at the end of summer.   At this rate, I suppose I, who am over 50, with hypertension and asthma putting me into a higher risk factor, will probably be called to receive the vaccine sometime in July, with my husba...

This morning, my daughter and her cousin-best friend went to the Sunday market in Padrón. When they arrived, since there weren't many people, they decided to eat a café breakfast at a small establishment. They were both wearing their masks, and the woman who welcomed them, too. When she saw them, she commented to the cousin, "Hello! It's been so long, hasn't it? What will you have?" The two gave their order, acknowledging that, yes, it had been a long time. After the woman had served them, the two asked each other, "Do you know her?" "No, do you?" "No." When they got up to pay and leave, the woman asked the cousin about her brother, "He must be quite the man by now, isn't he?" The cousin nodded, "Yes, he is." They exchanged further pleasantries and left. The cousin mentioned, once outside and walking away, "My sister is now a boy, it seems." The two didn't know who the woman was, and since they we...

Every year, those who are in risk groups are encouraged to get the flu vaccine. Even in years when the vaccine doesn't exactly match the actual flu virus, it does tend to help those people from getting too sick. I'm asthmatic, and I've been getting the flu shot for years, now. This year, everyone and their cat was encouraged to get the shot, to avoid cross-infections with Covid, and to avoid the Emergency Room collapses we tend to get every year during the flu months. The campaign began about a week or two earlier in October than other years, and when I made the appointment for my shot, I was given this past Monday; about three weeks away. Normally, I get the appointment a few days to a week later.  Now, it turns out that many with chronic illnesses younger than 65 are going to miss out on the flu shot. Extra vaccines were ordered, and they are almost all used up. As soon as the campaign started, exactly everyone and their cat called for appointments, whether or not they ha...

The strong northeast wind continues today, and temperatures will rise again. It's starting to feel more like July than May. The forecast for next week (the first in June) is for temperatures to fall into digits more apropos of the time of year. Many people are begining to be lackadaisical about Covid-19. Since infections and deaths are going down, and the country is being opened up, it seems like normality is re-appearing. There is talk of vaccines being tested, and one that seems to do what it's supposed to do.  But, even if there's an effective vaccine, there are logistical problems. First, how long will it take to make as many doses as people? Smallpox was erradicated through vaccination, but the world population was much smaller, and the vaccination was done over many years, since Edward Jenner first introduced it, back at the end of the eighteenth century, until the late 1960's, when it was taken off the vaccination schedule. At that rate, we might not get even...

It's winter, and we're at the height of the flu season. This year, between summer and fall, the type of virus changed slightly, and the vaccine is being less effective than other years. Since the epidemic began some weeks ago, thirty-eight people in this region of Galicia have died.  It doesn't sound like a lot, out of a population of a few hundred thousand, but it's still sobering that a little virus you've suffered from many times can still take you out. Eighteen of those that died didn't get the vaccine, yet they were within the group in which it is recommended. I, with my asthma, have been getting the flu shot for years. So far, I haven't had the flu, though a cold or another some other year might have been the flu virus attacking me, though attenuated by the vaccine.  The last time I knowingly had the flu, was the year the A virus erupted onto the scene. I had been vaccinated for the usual B virus, but I fell ill one weekend. So did my husband and d...