If you’ve been following along on my Instagram, you might have noticed I’ve been in Spain for the last 2 weeks. We spent most of our time in Barcelona chasing sunrises at Park Güell, wandering the streets of the Gothic Quarter and sampling tapas by the Basílica de la Sagrada Família. All while the incoming threat and worry surrounding coronavirus grew. In the back of my mind, I wasn’t sure how long my time in my Spain would last.
First it was the cancelled festivals. We had made plans to attend St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland and the massive street festival Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain. Both were cancelled on the same day. I felt extremely uneasy. Valencia alone would lose $700 million by cancelling Las Fallas. They wouldn’t do it without reason right? Yet we still only saw a few people wearing masks. Everyone went about their day as usual. Those who had colds weren’t rushing to get tested. But colleges had begun calling all the study abroad students home from Europe. Meanwhile, the travel companies I work for began to receive a cascade of cancelled bookings.
Denied Entry into Andorra
But then things started changing rapidly in Spain. The number of confirmed cases escalated. The number of deaths rose. Spain was starting to catch up to Italy, where the virus outbreak was the worst behind China itself. And then, the weekend came where we were headed to the tiny European country of Andorra for a ski trip with Stoke Travel. As we drove from Barcelona and were nearing the border, we received word that Andorra was closing all hotels and ski lodges. And if we entered, it was likely the border would be closed and we would be unable to leave the following day. Our bus was forced to turn around.
Feeling slightly panicked, our group booked a large Airbnb just outside Barcelona in the small town of Vilanova i la Geltrú where we could spend the weekend. Upon arriving, we found the groceries stores picked over and the streets eerily quiet. We stocked up on food for the weekend ahead.
The following afternoon when we returned to buy some forgotten supplies and food, the grocery store had started implementing stricter rules. They were monitoring the total number of people in the store. Two could come in when two came out. Plastic gloves were given to wear while shopping.
Barcelona Entering Lockdown
While making dinner in our Airbnb, we began to receive word that Barcelona would be entering a lockdown starting Monday morning at 8am. And my flight back to the USA on Thursday was one of the thousands that were cancelled . So I promptly rescheduled it to the available Tuesday flight. Would that be soon enough?
As the night progressed, more information trickled out but the situation was changing rapidly. We learned no one would be allowed outside in Barcelona unless absolutely necessary. Police would patrol the streets ensuring everyone complied. The border would be closed. Trump imposed a ban on all non-USA citizens traveling to America from the EU. Would I still be able to get back?
Americans “scrambling” to get out
With confusion over the regulations regarding lockdown and Trump’s ban, I began to search for a new flight. Twice I had gotten to the final confirmation booking page to be informed the flight I was trying to get on had sold out. Finally I was able to find a seat in first class for a hefty price. (As a budget traveler, I never usually fly first class!) But my card was denied, apparently the purchase looked fraudulent. We would have to wait for our bank to open in the States to validate the purchase, which would only be a few hours before the flight the next day.
Barcelona: An Eerie Ghost Town
As we made the journey back to Barcelona, the streets were quiet. Empty. Hardly any cars. As we took the public transit back through the city, we only encountered a handful of people. And the usually crowded metro cars of Barcelona were now empty. We kept looking around at one another in disbelief. Absolutely shocked at how quickly the city had changed.
Upon arriving back, I received confirmation my flight was thankfully booked. But the girls I was traveling with had their flight for that evening cancelled last minute. So in a frenzy, they booked a new last minute flight to London. Meaning we had to get to the airport NOW. Frantically grabbing our things, we made a mad dash to the airport. Chucking my things in my suitcase and grabbing any last minute things around the house and dumping them in a plastic bag- we raced to the airport feeling scattered and a little frightened.
Delays, Masks and Keeping Distance at the Barcelona Airport
Upon arriving at the airport, we found the situation to be tense. Signs were everywhere reminding people to keep their distance from one another. Nearly everyone was wearing masks. Gate agents and workers had their areas roped off so passengers couldn’t get too close. All the restaurants and shops were closed. All the public seating areas were roped off to avoid people spreading the virus on tabletops. Announcements kept playing over the speakers reminding people to keep their distance from one another.
I didn’t have a proper mask so I hastily tossed on my face mask from a sandboarding adventure in Australia that was still in my bag. When the fabric tickled my nose causing me to sneeze, a man whipped around and started yelling at me. “WHY WHY WHY!” He repeated as he grabbed his wife and together, they ran away from me. I stood there in disbelief. Rooted to the spot in a crowd of people feeling scared and embarrassed for being called out in such a way. I had no symptoms. But the man’s reaction had frightened me.
An Empty Flight Home
My flight was delayed by two hours. Then another hour. As I stood in front of the announcement screen watching the flights get cancelled, I wondered if I would be allowed to fly out at all.
Finally, I board my flight. But despite the airline saying the flight was full online, the plane was almost entirely empty. Due to all the travel bans and President Trump’s restrictions- many people could not leave and simply missed their flight. Or if they were American citizens, they had already flown home earlier this weekend. Apparently, I had waited until the last possible second. So just me and a handful of other people onboard a massive international jet, began the flight back to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Ideally I would have flown straight home to Minnesota but if you were traveling from Europe, you could only fly back to certain airports that had a system in place to check people for coronavirus.
Mandatory Temperature Checks at the New York Airport
The flight landed and immediately we had to turn in a health declaration form revealing where we had traveled recently and what symptoms, if any, we were experiencing. Again, Spain was high on the list of countries with the greatest number of outbreaks, only behind Italy and China.
As we disembarked the flight, we formed two lines to hand in our forms and go through a mandatory temperature check. So long as we didn’t have a fever, we were given a card with information about coronavirus and allowed into the country. I passed. But those of us on the flight were told we needed to self quarantine for the next 14 days to make sure we didn’t have the virus.
Self Quarantined For 2 Weeks
Self Quarantine. So what does that mean?
My father picked me up at the airport and I came straight home. He had stocked up on food and supplies so the two of us could isolate for the next two weeks. He’s even spending his birthday with me here at the house. However, until I am sure I don’t have it- I am maintaining distance from him around the house and wearing a mask if we are in the same room.
Rules for Self Quarantine According to Live Science.
This time is weird and scary but the best thing we can do now is quarantine and pracitive social distancing to protect any of our wonderful grandparents, elderly, or high-risk individuals. It’s of the utmost importance.
I hope you take time over the coming weeks to disconnect, relax and finally read that book or write that song or learn that new skill. Sometimes slowing down isn’t such a bad thing 🙂
In the words of Kitty Meara:
Stay tuned on my Instagram this week as I share adventures I never got around to posting so we can all travel virtually together! Stay safe out there. And please, wash your hands!
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