Category Archives: travel

black christmas

13 Friday Nov 2020

Posted by in christmas, coronavirus, covid, sevilla, spain, travel

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Those of you who know me also know that there are probably not many other people you know who LOVE the Christmas season as much as I do. This isn’t because of all the happy memories of Christmases past… in fact it’s the opposite. It’s because I never had any nice Christmas memories growing up, so when I left home at the ripe old age of 15 I decided to start making my own traditions. And Christmas became MY THING. And OMG I love it, not as a religious holiday but kind of based on the concept of the birth of Jesus being a metaphor for the birth of compassion in the world. Not a GOD, but just a person like us. So I always made sure to make a big fuss over everything about celebrating the birth of compassion, and yeah, also love the lights, the songs, the movies, the everything. Don’t care too much about gifts, but again, that is another expression of appreciating the people we love, and letting them know, so that’s cool too.

Thing is, this year is different. Really different. We have constantly seen catastrophes happening around us because people will JUST NOT LET GO  of the idea that they can’t do things like they have always done. First it was that they NEEDED their summer holidays (who the fuck travels abroad ON HOLIDAY during a global pandemic??) and as a result of people not staying put we are experiencing a killer second wave of this fucking virus. And don’t even get me started on non-maskers and “herd immunity” assholes and people who have still had big weddings, birthdays, etc. Anyhow, now it’s coming up to Christmas and my Twitter feed is full of people talking about getting home for the holidays and I am like WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??

Have people learned NOTHING?? Here we are in Spain not allowed to travel outside our own municipalities, with a curfew from 10pm to 7am, and yet they are still allowing tourists in and out?? This also goes for people who live here and have family elsewhere (or vice versa), somehow thinking that their family gathering is worth more than the safety and lives of others, that THEIR situation is the exception. This is the exact opposite of what Christmas should be about because this isn’t about giving or sharing or caring, it’s about selfish personal desire, and then just doing what you want at the possibly horrific expense of others. Honestly, I despair.

bilbao memories

28 Friday Aug 2020

Posted by in getaways, travel, trips

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This photo popped up in my azahar Instagram Memories today, and I actually got a bit weepy. It had been such a great day, checking out the Guggenheim in Bilbao, walking around town, looking for tapas bars that were open (top tip: do not visit Bilbao the week after their Semana Grande in August), later having cocktails on the rooftop of the Gran Hotel Domine at sunset overlooking the Guggenheim and the river. It was part of my first Basque Getaway, visiting Bilbao and San Sebastián.

I guess what got me choked up was the feeling of not knowing if or when this will ever be possible again. I still can’t even get on a train to go to Jerez or Cádiz on a day trip. But today I was whisked back to Bilbao, to the streets, the crazy architecture, the fab pintxo bars, the market, the river, getting lost in a dodgy part of town late at night, the museum of columns. What also got me choked up was that back then, just two years ago, there was no way of knowing what would happen to us in 2020. Hell, same goes for last December, but…

I dunno. Today I saw tweet by the regional government boasting that Andalucía had received the highest volume of travellers and hotel overnight stays in the country during the month of July and had established itself as a preferred destination for Spanish tourists. Meanwhile Andalucía has also registered the highest numbers of the pandemic with 909 cases in 24 hours, including 4 deaths. Coincidence?

I’m just so sad these days. Nobody seems to be in charge. People are doing WHATEVER because there is no direction. And my life… I honestly don’t know. Back in April I was doing okay by not thinking too far ahead, just getting by day by day. But the truth is that I could lose my home and that’s terrifying to me. So seeing these Bilbao pics was so bittersweet. Back when things were good we never thought things could ever change so much, or so quickly.

unsafe travel stickers

25 Thursday Jun 2020

Posted by in coronavirus, sevilla, spain, tourism, travel, welcome

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unsafe
These two so-called “safe travel” stickers (apparently there are others) are being promoted by ICTE and WTTC but do little more then create a false sense of security. Anyone can get one of these online just by PROMISING to obey the protocols. No inspections, no control, no nuthin. Worse than useless, they are actually dangerous.

Since our borders were flung open again this past Monday, the very first day after our three-month lockdown, coronavirus infections have been on the rise throughout Spain.

What has really made me feel sick this past week is seeing people on Twitter discussing their summer holiday plans, saying shit like “let’s go to Spain or Italy, they have way fewer cases than we do!” as if… what?? Think about that for a minute. How is it okay for you to go somewhere without even considering the people who live where you are going? The people you are likely to end up infecting. And who the actual FUCK decides to go abroad on FUCKING HOLIDAY during a FUCKING GLOBAL PANDEMIC? The mind reels.

Just to be clear… I am far from anti-tourism. My entire business relies on tourists, and especially from the UK and US. But we have all seen the whole tourism thing spiralling out of control over the past few years so maybe this had to happen. Problem is that people keep refusing to believe things can’t just go back to the way they used to be. Well, they can’t and they won’t. Because they never should have been that way. So deal.

death takes a holiday

15 Monday Jun 2020

Posted by in andalucia, coronavirus, sevilla, sevilla shutdown, spain, tourism, travel

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plague holiday
So remember when I was mostly concerned about tourists from the EU Schengen countries (and frankly, also from Spanish virus hotspots like Madrid and Barcelona) suddenly being allowed to travel freely throughout Spain from July 1st? Well it turns out those were the days!

In a blink of an eye the Spanish government caved once again and now we are opening our borders to Schengen countries NEXT MONDAY. That’s right, the very day that we are released from lockdown after 100 days. Without giving us any time at all to adapt and see how we do here with implementing the “new now” regulations as well as dealing with our own homegrown Covidiots. Like, we now have to deal with untested asymptomatic carriers coming here ON FUCKING HOLIDAY from day one. But okay, at least this new deal excluded tourists from the UK (aka Plague Island) so I thought that was at least one less worry. Except now it looks like it actually may become a worry, and a big one.

Ah who am I trying to kid? Of course our government is going to cave again and allow UK tourists in. Bear in mind there will be no testing or quarantining involved with anybody coming here. Just a quick temperature check (useless for infectious asymptomatic carriers, approx 40% of people who test positive for Covid), fill out a form, and welcome to Spain. The only question now is when? Also next Monday? Or will they stick with the original (still way too soon) date of July 1st?

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