The human race seems to have a predilection to panic, driven out of fear of the unknown. We have seen this over the last fortnight as the world moves into unprecedented times and many countries put residents and visitors under restrictions and lock-downs due to the Coronavirus. This includes images of the empty shelves featured in the media as people panic buy, headlines dramatically reporting what is happening across the globe, photos of army trucks on streets accompanied by messages of fear on social media.
However, here in the little corner of Spain that we will be temporarily be calling home for however long this crisis continues, there seems to be an air of calm and sensibility about this whole affair.
We are in day 4 of the national Spanish lock-down and for us this means we must mostly stay on our motorhome pitch (which is roughly 7 by 11 metres). We are very blessed that Camping Cabopino has residents that live here full time which means it can remain open, when many other(short-term) campsites across Spain have been ordered by the government to close. We can use the toilet, shower and laundry facilities for now, although as requested by the government restrictions, we are limiting our use of these. The onsite shop is open giving us fresh bread each day and other basics, plus the restaurant has opened for take away which is amazing as their kebab pizza is delicious! Everyone on site is just calmly going about their own business, remaining on their pitches as much as possible, following the rules set out by the government which mean we can all remain here. No-one seems panicked or upset about being confined, or by having their freedoms removed. Instead there is friendly chat in passing and a sense of community building as those staying settle in for however long.
Having stayed here before the lock-down and enjoyed all that Camping Cabopino has to offer, from the park to the soft play, the indoor swimming pool to the full activity programme which includes climbing walls and archery, and not forgetting the 5 minute walk to the beach, our girls are really aware of what these lost freedoms look like. But we are so proud of the sensible way they have reacted to the new rules and restrictions placed on them. With little grumbling they have sought out new activities – building a doll’s push-chair from junk modelling, making up ball games, and enjoying silent discos outside!
Today saw our first shopping excursion since the Spanish government declared the national state of emergency at the weekend. This meant that just one of us could go, walking the 2.5 km down the road to Lidl. Armed with passport, key phrases in Spanish in case the police stopped me and asked why I was out, and bags to carry the shopping the 2.5km back again I set out on the mission! I arrived at Lidl and again was struck by the calmness: there were 3 people ahead of me in the queue outside and it was one in, one out. Everyone was respectfully standing about 2 metres apart. When it was my turn I was ushered to a station with hand sanitizer and gloves. When the automatic doors opened and I walked in it was like a Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory moment! I hadn’t really known what to expect but was anticipating UK-style scenes. However, I was met with fully-stocked shelves, meat fridges filled with great choice and stock, toilet rolls and kitchen rolls stacked high, even hand soap! The only thing missing was the ‘Middle of Lidl’ aisle!
(Quiet Spanish Lidl compared to the craziness of a Sussex-based Sainsburys today!)
It was clear too that people shopping weren’t worried about there not being food next week, they were simply buying what they needed for the next few days or week. There was no panic buying, no limiting of items because people can’t self-monitor their buying, no need to stockpile because others are and there won’t be anything left. Again, a huge contrast to the scenes reported back in the UK. This moderate approach was comforting and reassuring that the Spanish people will make it through this time, in the same way a marathon runner completes their race – by pacing themselves, and going at a sensible speed!
Whilst it has been a roller-coaster of emotions over the last few days as we sift through news headlines, Facebook posts and FCO advisories, trying to establish if we can stay here in Spain, we do feel like remaining here is the best plan for our family of 5. We have all we need, we are interacting with very, very few people, the sun is shining (which makes playing outside easy) and we have peace. To travel would place us under greater risk and it is likely that we would arrive back to the UK and need to be isolated. Our peace and calm comes from knowing we are where we are meant to be.
True, these are worrying times, and no one quite knows how long the Coronavirus is going to affect so many. The world will no doubt be a different place when we emerge from this pandemic, however by keeping calm, and carrying on with family life we are hopefully showing our girls how our Faith helps us to respond calmly and thoughtfully in a crisis, while also growing their own resilience and trust in God.
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