The lockdown has begun to be lifted here in Spain. Since last Saturday May 2, we’ve been allowed out for exercise for an hour a day, either 6-10AM or 8-11PM, within a 1 KM radius of our house. Elders over 70 and children have their own hours, to minimize overlap. They’re calling this Phase 0 of easing the lockdown, similar to what I’m reading about WA. We have been out every day and from what I can see, people are being mostly careful about keeping social distancing.

First day of Phase 0, everybody keepin’ their distance

I’ve been cheating a bit, going out both morning and evening because I really need the exercise and the crowds have been manageable. Cindy has been following the rules but she has Zoom Pilates to fall back onto.

Happy to be out!

Our available area includes all of the old part of the city, a big chunk of the middle of the Turia Garden (where they turned the river bed into a garden) and a little bit of Benimaclet neighborhood north of the park, including the Jardins de Real (Royal Gardens). It’s easy and entertaining to get an hour’s worth of energetic walking in and the people watching is fantastic. Probably half of the walkers are wearing masks, half don’t (we’re in the latter half but work really hard to maintain the 2 meter distance). We carry masks with us in case we find a shop to step into or need to get groceries. A few places are open for takeaway; from what I can tell they’re bread and sandwich shops.

On what is evidently the most important topic of the day, hair salons are open by appointment and only one customer per hairdresser is allowed inside at a time. Construction work is allowed again with social distancing rules in place but beyond that, shops and business are still shut. Repair work is not allowed in the home if the resident is present, which is pertinent to us for a little plumbing issue we found in our apartment. We have to wait to have it addressed and it’s beyond my personal ability to deal with.

Evening walk. Traffic is pretty light.

The government announced yesterday that some more rural parts of the country would be moving to Phase 1 starting Monday. We were hoping Valencia would be included, as our case load has been very light for some time. We were not so lucky though. In an abundance of caution, we were included with Madrid, Barcelona and Catalunya in the group of kids that would be held back “for at least a few more days.” It’s disappointing because Phase 1 allows shops, restaurants and museums to open at limited capacity, and groups of 10 or fewer to gather inside or outside homes. There’s a cool little bar that lives in the plaza right below us that we can’t wait to see re-open. Not to mention all of the tiny shops all around us who must be suffering terribly through the shutdown.

We soldier on, reminding ourselves that for us, it isn’t so bad. The weather has turned, with a long string of 75+ degree days and sunshine coinciding with the end of the super-tight lockdown. We are using our imaginations and cooking some pretty delish meals for each other. Last night I made oven-baked ribs with a rub I adapted to the recipe using what is available here. That came out pretty good. We can get out when we need to and we remain healthy.

I hope you all are OK and safe where you are.