Tag Archives: Coronavirus Majorca

Lockdown Log in Mallorca – Day 8

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A beautiful morning with mist in the valley – before the lockdown

Well, we’ve survived the first week of lockdown in Mallorca. Today is day 8, and Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has today announced that he will ask Congress for a 15-day extension to the current State of Alarm. They’re hardly likely to say no, under the current circumstances.

When the initial lockdown began, staying at home for 15 days almost felt like having an enforced holiday at home: more time to read, catch up on household chores, pamper ourselves, watch movies, get in touch with neglected friends, and tackle something we’d always wanted to learn. Realistically, though, 15 days of social isolation were never going to be long enough to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

Since my last post, we’ve kept ourselves busy. I’ve been researching and preparing weekday coronavirus update bulletins for Mallorca Sunshine Radio. It’s taken longer than I expected, as the Internet is running very s…l…o…w…l…y. But it’s not as if we have anywhere else to be right now. And it’s good to feel as useful as possible within the restricted conditions.

Although I am, as they say in the news business, “keeping across what’s happening”, I’m not recording bulletins this weekend. This meant a little extra time in bed yesterday and this morning, and a more leisurely paced day.

Life Online

For many, life in lockdown has become life online. We all want to stay in touch with families and friends: social media is coming into its own. We’ve been appreciating my Dad’s short Facebook posts in the morning (which are tinged with the gentle humour of a stoical person who grew up during World War II). He’s bought himself a new iPhone too so we can connect by WhatsApp. I am extremely proud of him.

I thought this time of social isolation would be a good opportunity to explore the gazillion possibilities to connect, learn, participate in something, and be entertained – all online. It’s not surprising that the Internet is creaking at times here in our valley, where the signal is not too brilliant at the best of times.

For an island that’s, in area, roughly the size of the county of Hampshire (UK), Mallorca is home to a huge number of creative and talented people. Some of them have come up with ways to engender community spirit, by facilitating online material or setting up Facebook Watch Parties – designed to help us learn new things, get fitter, be entertained, or simply cope with the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of my Living in Rural Mallorca followers live or have second homes in Mallorca. If you’re one of these followers and aren’t already aware of the following Facebook groups, you may be interested in checking out the following.

Majorca Mallorca, At Home Together

Ivan Gonzalez Gainza and his partner Lara Corfield of Wine Industry presented a video on wine tasting

This Facebook group now has more than 1,100 members. It was set up by my friend and fellow writer (plus photographer/all-round good egg), Vicki McLeod, who is one of the most community-spirited people I’ve met since living in Mallorca.

Vicki and her very small team invite group members to contribute videos designed to teach, inform, or entertain other group members. If the Internet had been more reliable at home this week, we could have learnt some new skills.

I predict that group members will be raising their game in the kitchen department, as a result of the various cooking demonstrations this week. These have included making sourdough, home-made pizzas, overnight oats, and carob bites. There have been online quizzes and live concerts by local performers, as well as yoga, boxing, and other exercise lessons, and even a wine tasting tutorial video. The group is a place for members to share useful information – such as businesses in Mallorca offering home deliveries. I’d be riveted to it if our Internet were better behaved.

Online Community Immunity & Vitality Live Retreat

This is a group for those who want to improve their mental and physical well-being during the lockdown. This week I managed to watch two of their videos: Ruth and Eran, (from Palma eatery Santosha) making sauerkraut, and brewing ginger beer. The Boss can look forward to a probiotic boost soon – assuming the ginger beer bottles don’t explode during the brewing process.

Coping in the Countryside

The first barrowload of cut ‘swords’ to go down to the bottom corner of the field.

Yesterday, The Boss and I committed ourselves to some physical activity as part of our daily routine. We walked countless circuits of our field, with the intention of doing this twice a day. We followed our first session with some gardening and, between us, worked on sawing off and removing 52 ‘swords’ (they live up this name) from the bases of two of our monster agaves.

We’d have been doing the same thing today if it hadn’t been for the thunder, lightning, and lashing rain most of the day. Oh, well, there’s always tomorrow.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re staying well.

Jan Edwards©2020

Lockdown Log in Mallorca – Day 3

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A view from our finca in rural Mallorca in better times

Positivity took a bit of a slump yesterday. I woke up way before the birds and lay awake thinking about the coronavirus pandemic. I’m not usually a worrier, but these are not usual times. And this is not our usual Mallorca.

What would happen if The Boss or I showed symptoms of the virus? I made a mental note to make up the guest-room bed, so that if one of us had to self-isolate, we could do so immediately, without the hassle of having to ready the room in a hurry.

My mind was also whirring with concern for my dad, who lives alone in the UK and not close to any of his family. After the latest gloomy news from the UK, I decided to contact Dad later in the morning, when I was sure he’d have completed his ablutions, daily exercises (impressive), and eaten his breakfast.

In addition, The Boss’s aunt – who is 96 years old – is in a Birmingham hospital with a chest infection, after her carer found her collapsed at home last week. Would today be the day we’d receive her coronavirus test results?

When the alarm went off, worrying was off the agenda. I’m currently producing some daily coronavirus bulletins for Mallorca Sunshine Radio and the first goes on air at 8:30am. No lingering in bed, sipping my morning mug of hot water and lemon, for the time being. I have to fire up the laptop (always a tad sluggish first thing), squeeze into my wardrobe studio, and wake up my voice. Would you like to hear me yodel? No, I thought not.

Keeping Contact

After an exchange of emails with one of my brothers, The Boss and I Facetimed my dad (thank you, Apple) and, as usual, found him in good spirits and looking healthy. Dad was a child during WWII and experienced far greater deprivations than the ones facing us now.

He’s arranging online shopping for food and essentials and I spent some time researching a milk-delivery service for him. Yes, doorstep milk deliveries are coming back into favour in the UK and, environmentally, that’s positive news: glass bottles and electric delivery vehicles. The social aspect of daily deliveries to homes is also reassuring: if the previous day’s milk is still on the step, the milkman (or woman) will know there’s a problem.

Between us, my brothers, and all my nieces, we should each be able to give Dad some daily interaction. In this period of ‘social distancing’, any contact with the world beyond our own four walls is important.

At Least, Trying to Keep Contact

By midday, when I was preparing the lunchtime radio bulletin, the Internet was creaking under the weight of demand. With all educational establishments in Mallorca closed since Monday, children and students are largely learning online. Added to that load are the adults who are working online at home or trying to fill their days with one of a gazillion activities facilitated by the Internet.

The Highlights of Lockdown Day 3

  • The Boss’s aunt’s test results came back negative for the coronavirus. Phew.
  • Feeling that I was doing something useful by researching some things to help Dad through this crisis.
  • I learnt to make sauerkraut, watching an online class. I had a gut feeling it would be a good idea (probiotic humour).
  • Watching a YouTube video of a local opera singer on his Palma apartment balcony, entertaining his neighbourhood with a rendition of ‘O Sole Mio http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ffpLosAFKI
  • Baking a batch of shortbread biscuits (which our crazy-thermostat oven didn’t burn). And comfort-eating most of them with The Boss.

My Top Tip of the Day

Don’t watch or listen to any of the current depressing news coverage after dinnertime. Not if you want a decent night’s sleep.

Jan Edwards ©2020

Mallorca in Lockdown

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Shorty’s pretty chilled about the lockdown

A few weeks ago – when we were watching as China succumbed to COVID-19 – I wouldn’t have imagined that countries in Europe would soon be in the grip of a pandemic. Disbelief set in when parts of Italy – and then the whole country – went into lockdown. I couldn’t bear to think about what it would be like to be confined most of the time to home (even though I do love our home). Well, we’re about to find out.

According to the World Health Organization, Europe is now the epicentre of the pandemic, with Italy the worst affected. Spain is the second worst-affected country in Europe. At the time I’m writing this today (Saturday 14th), 44 people across the Balearic Islands have been infected with Coronavirus. Across the whole of Spain, the figure today is more than 6,000.

On Thursday I wrote most of a blog post about how Coronavirus was affecting Mallorca and the Balearics, and us in our rural home. It was quite a long post, which I hadn’t finished when I had to leave home to attend a press lunch.

At the time I started writing, the Balearic government had just announced measures to help reduce the spread of the Coronavirus. Schools and educational establishments would close for 15 days from Monday (16th) and numerous sporting, social, and cultural events and facilities had been cancelled or postponed. Restaurants, bars, and clubs, with larger capacities, would also have to close.

When I came to finish the post yesterday morning, everything I’d written was about to change. I hit the ‘delete’ button and awaited further developments.

State of Alert for Spain

Yesterday, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the Cabinet would meet today to implement a ‘state of alert’ for 15 days for the whole country. (I learnt today that there are three categories for emergency situations: state of alert, state of emergency, and state of siege. What I’ve heard about panic buying in supermarkets here makes me think that some people are already in siege mode.)

These national measures come into effect at 8am on Monday, March 16th, to restrict the movement of people. Basically, we must adhere to social distancing, by staying at home.

The government has listed eight justifications for leaving home, which include: going to buy food, medicines, other basics, and fuel for vehicles; travelling to work and back (although businesses are obliged to allow employees to work from home); attending health centres, or going to a bank for money. Travelling around for pleasure is banned. Eating and drinking out are off the menu: only businesses providing essentials will remain open.

Public transport will continue, albeit with reduced services. The Balearic president would like to sever air connections with the Peninsular, but this has not been agreed so far.

Staying Positive

With all this going on, we are so grateful to be living in a rural area of Mallorca, where we have few neighbours, clean air, and plenty of open land around us. I don’t even want to think about what it would be like to be confined to a small apartment in a town or city. The expression ‘stir crazy’ comes to mind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if both divorce rates and pregnancies soared as a result.

What I am thinking about is how to use this enforced confinement in a productive way – such as pressing on with writing my novel or doing some home-improvement works with The Boss (I won’t share that with him yet).

I try to find something positive in any dire situation and, hey, I just found one: I was due to go to the dentist this week, but now the appointment will be cancelled.

Meanwhile, whatever the COVID-19 situation is wherever you are, take care and stay safe. This, too, shall pass. We hope.

Jan Edwards ©2020