By the time you read this, you may have heard that the Spanish government has declared a “state of alarm” and is meeting today, Saturday, to decide exactly what that means. If you are interested in more details, check out the English language version of the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
In Madrid, the hardest-hit place in Spain so far, it has meant shutting down everything except grocery stores, butchers, bakeries and the like, as well as pharmacies and newsstands. This is a big blow to Spain’s national pastimes of cafe sitting and tapas eating. There are going to be some serious withdrawal symptoms.
Chris and I did some cafe sitting yesterday just to make sure we got it in before the hammer came down. Today, to celebrate the state of alarm, we are walking one town over, to Orio, to have a nice meal on the beach since that may not be possible for a few weeks. As the kids have explained, there is already no school or sports or band for the next two weeks. We are going to be a very close-knit family by the time this is over– if we don’t kill each other first.
In all seriousness, the general tenor here in Zarautz is fairly relaxed (despite Henry’s comments to the contrary). People are concerned, but there is not a sense of panic, at least not that I have noticed. Spaniards are normally close-talkers and touch each other more than Americans, and we’ve noticed a change in those behaviors, but it is sunny today and this morning the malecón (the concrete boardwalk on the beach) was busy with folks walking and talking, just a little further away from each other than normal.
Given the situation in Spain, we can’t really go anywhere except the US (our idiot president’s so-called travel ban from Europe does not apply to US citizens; it doesn’t even apply to British citizens, which is just weird), and if we go home we’ll have to go into quarantine for two weeks. Frankly, I’d rather just sit tight, enjoy the beach and the mountains, the cheap wine and the fresh seafood, and just wait this out. As long as the Spanish government doesn’t kick us out, that’s what we plan to do.
So, please, don’t be alarmed, not for us at least.