by Charlotte Hi Everyone,
Yeeeehaaaaa……..We’re open again and carrying out viewings. Happy days.
We certainly haven’t returned to how it was prior to the virus but we are moving in a positive direction. It remains to be seen whether or not this is all behind us, but one step at a time.
I hope this “unlocking” is working for you.
Living.
Firstly, I have to say I feel like life is for living again.
For me, daily life has a proper routine again. The office is open and we are here. We have things to do! New properties to list, viewings to arrange and carry out, offers to discuss. It’s great!
Our Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, still has the Malaga province a week behind much of the country. Still no reason give, certainly not a scientific one. The figures for the whole country are excellent including Malaga Province. At the time of writing, there have been no deaths for a couple of days and the number of infections continues to fall. We are looking forward to the next stage and welcoming people into the area soon.
Without wishing to get political, I do find the UK Govt’s policy of a 14 day quarantine if you have been out of the country a little frustrating. I should think if you are returning from a country where the infection rate is lower than the UK’s then there should be little or no problem. If there are any concerns could returning travelers not be tested? I understand if someone is returning from a hotspot such as Brazil but from a healthy country such as Spain seems a little extreme. I’ve heard that “travel corridors” are being considered for certain countries. That makes sense. Maybe I’m being a little impatient?
Homelife is continuing much in the same way.
Mum and Bish remain very well. They have been out a couple of times with friends already. It didn’t take them long!
Mum did get a scratch from a friends dog which required medical attention. No major issue but the doctor put her on antibiotics meaning no drinking alcohol. Then the drama kicked in! Suddenly it didn’t hurt. Amazing. Anyway, she seems to have got used to the idea of not drinking for now. In front of me at any rate.
Before the dog incident, the three of us went out for an Italian on Estepona Port in the first week of “unlockdown”. It was a strange experience. Some people wearing masks, others not. The waiter wouldn’t give us a menu at the table. He read out the list instead. That was fun with Mum! She ended up having the same as me. I’m sure a laminated menu could be cleaned after handling by customers? They seemed to be making an issue out of the situation. Maybe this was because it was their first week and they’ve since changed their processes now. Anyway, it was great to get out together and the food was fantastico. I drove whilst the others had bottle of wine….and brandy etc, etc.
It was a little quiet that first week as people were still taking their first cautious steps out. It’s busied up more now though as we are gaining a little more confidence. There are certainly more people around, more cars on the road, a spring in people’s step.
Shopping.
I continue to do this. It’s a good habit we’ve got into and I still think it’s best practice for our situation.
Queues seem to be a thing of the past and the shelves are stocked as normal. Security are no longer on the door but that might be because I go at a quiet time of day. The clean hands and wear gloves routine is still in place but it is up to individuals to do this. Certainly nobody has checked me over my last couple of trips. Hopefully we all know what to do by now anyway. It’s is compulsory to wear facemasks in store. I saw kids in the supermarket too!
I got the “where to park my trolley at the till/unload/reload” routine wrong again. I swear they see me and think how they can best mess with my mind. I just stand there like an idiot (as usual) and do as I’m told.
Routine.
As already mention, routine has a bit more “normality” to it now. Breakfast and off to the office proper. I’m so pleased about this. We are open 9am – 2pm although I tend to leave around 3ish unless there are viewings. It’s not quite a full day yet but I still feel we are moving in the right direction.
It seems people across Europe are also more positive. We are receiving plenty of hits on the website and advertising portals so we have work to do. Many clients are just waiting for permission to be able to fly and they will be here. I’m also pleased to report that we have started viewings again. People are unable to travel from province to province but there remains people who are here already looking to buy. I was also out with a Polish client last week. She had come from Poland in March ready to buy. Instead of returning home before the lockdown, she took up a 6 month rental. Her logic was that she would rather be in Spain and I can see her logic. She is still looking but I think we find her something soon. It’s what we do.
The end of June/beginning of July seems to be a big date in our calendar. Spain will open up internally and we are expecting
visitors from other countries. It seems that it’s only the UK that will have restrictions for those returning from places such as Spain. I understand that this is political hot potato in the UK and I remain hopeful that the aforementioned “travel corridors” will be opened. At least the UK Home Secretary has left the door open for these so I remain optimistic. Tourist destinations in both countries, tour operators, airline companies and a host of other parties will make sure this subject remains high on the political agenda.
The new social distancing rules have also been relaxed a little more. Bars and restaurants face huge fines for not obeying the rules but both people and places are largely sticking to the rules.
And……..Golf Courses are open again. Only played twice already and we are out again on Saturday. It was fantastic being out on the course but it was even better to see everyone again. The second round was celebrating a friends birthday with a BBQ after. Sticking to the distancing rules of course. It was just so enjoyable being with people again. I won’t take it for granted in the future. The food wasn’t bad either!
Weight Watch.
My rustico gym is closed. Sad in a way. But the proper gym is open!!!
I received a message from my training buddy to say the gym was open again so we went on Monday. Had to book a time, wear gloves, masks, clean equipment before and after use, that kind of thing. But it’s open and I am pleased about that. I have been everyday this week and I’m totally knackered. However, I weighed myself on the first day back. I was very surprised to see I weighed exactly the same as prior to the lockdown. Totally shocked. The honest truth is though that everything has moved south so I’m working on getting everything to move north again. Far easier said than done, I assure you.
And finally……..I have mentioned a few time about possibly hitting a 9 iron to the 14th green at Valle Romano (between two houses) from our garden. It’s definitely a 9 iron. I’ll say nothing else on the subject.
That’s me done for now. Hopefully my lockdown diary is complete. There will still be regular blogs and information coming your way.
It’s always great to hear from you guys so please, please keep in touch.