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| Joe was prepared with a mask |
Well,
Joe and I are feeling lucky
to be home from Spain,
and safe, after our very short Camino!
In late February, we thought, like many,
that this Coronavirus news
was being blown way out of proportion
and would soon blow over.
So we chose to leave on March 4,
expecting to walk in Spain for 6 weeks.
The first 7 days were awesome.
Normal.
People in Spain didn't seem to be concerned at all about the virus.
By March 8 we had made it to Merida
and spent 3 wonderful days there.
We saw no concern.
No masks.
No panic.
On March 11 we walked to Aljucin.
We checked into the albergue there and rested.
Still no concern.
UNTIL we found out that the albergue
in the next village, Alcuescar, was closed.
Not because they had cases of the virus,
but because they cared for
people with compromised immune systems
there, and didn't want other people
bringing in the virus.
Because of this,
we took a taxi to Alcuescar next morning,
March 12,
and walked to Aldea de Cano.
There, all seemed well.
Nobody was wearing masks.
Nobody seemed concerned.
However, that evening, in the bar,
I was reading notices on the Camino forum
that things were getting worse
all over the world,
and that travel bans were beginning to take place.
I was beginning to get a nervous feeling in my gut and I told Joe,
"Maybe we should think about HOW
we would get home if we were forced to leave
in a hurry.
Should we walk on tomorrow?"
We decided to wait until morning,
and to sleep on it.
There were several other pilgrims
in the albergue that night.
None seemed to be concerned.
On Friday, March 13,
we got up and had breakfast
in the albergue
and waited for the bar to open.
When it opened, we got online
and there we saw the warning from Ivar
and the moderators about not starting a Camino,
and about getting yourself home
if you were ON the Camino.
We quickly decided we'd better
try to get home.
What was sad to me
was how the demeanor of the bar owners changed, literally, overnight.
I was ignored at the bar.
I had to follow the lady up and down the bar
to get a coffee.
It never happened.
She would look right through me
as though I did not exist,
and go to a local person.
There were maybe 7 locals there.
My phone was not working.
Joe's phone was nearly dead,
and so we asked her if she would help
and call us a taxi.
She ignored us.
I asked another lady sitting at the bar,
and after 3 requests from HER,
the bar lady went and got a flyer
with a taxi number on it and shoved it at me.
She would not make the call.
It was so weird.
She had been so friendly the day before.
I'm sure she was just scared out of her wits,
wondering why these pilgrims
were walking through Spain,
possibly spreading this virus,
that we still didn't know much about.
We managed to get a call through on Joe's phone,
and hired a taxi to Caceres,
where we caught a bus to Madrid.
In the meantime, I "Signaled" my son
back in Oregon, and asked him to search
for a flight
from Madrid to Los Angeles.
Several airlines were price gouging
asking $2000-$3000 for one-way seats!
British Air, American Airlines, IberiaAir
were all charging THOUSANDS of dollars
for a one way flight home!
They had a few flights listed in the $400-$500 range, but when you chose them,
they would tack on many charges.
We were lucky that my son travels constantly
and was able to get seats for us
from Madrid to Miami then LAX
on one of the last available flights out.
He had to try for a long time.
Flights were disappearing off the boards
and being canceled as he worked.
It was pretty stressful.
We met one man who paid $10,000
for a flight home to Australia.
TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!
This should be illegal
and I hope airlines that do this
will get horrendous fines,
but right now, it's just the way it is.
The Madrid airport was like a tomb.
The only flights were flights coming IN
with Spanish residents.
We arrived early afternoon at the airport
and our flight was not to leave until the next day.
We waited at the airport for over 14 hours
for our fight.
We found a closed restaurant
and sat at a table
where we were able to charge our phones.
We were working at this point
on being awake over 24 hours.
We prayed the flight wouldn't be canceled.
On the way to board,
we were herded to a desk
where they interviewed Joe (not me.)
They asked Joe his name,
what he did for a living, his address,
questions that didn't seem to make any sense
under these current conditions.
We finally boarded.
About 1/3 of the seats were empty.
Many people were now wearing masks.
Some, mostly young people, were obviously sick, coughing, and NOT wearing masks,
which upset me very much.
Joe and I had taken masks with us,
so we were able to mask up.
This flight was pretty good.
They served us food and drinks many times
and were very kind.
When we arrived in Miami,
it was announced that we would be screened
upon arrival.
We were only allowed to un-board
20 passengers at a time.
We were met by officials who were friendly,
but sorely lacking in logical training
in my opinion.
For instance, the same gloves were used
for every person,
spreading this virus, in my opinion,
if anyone DID have it.
Since Joe and I were traveling together,
they only interviewed him.
I thought that was bizarre
since I was the one coughing
from my MCS and exposure to perfume
on the flight.
They asked his name, address,
and if he'd had contact with anyone with the virus.
They took his temperature.
Then we had to go through customs.
Unlike usual, when we do NOT have to go back through security on connecting flights,
we DID have to go back through.
We were separated because I have TSA pre-boarding, and he does not.
Even with TSA pre-boarding,
I had to remove items I don't usually have to remove and it was really stressful and confusing.
And there again
were those gloves,
doing pat downs on one passenger,
and then the next without changing.
Crazy.
After getting through security,
and finding Joe again,
we were rushing to find our connecting flight
in the huge Miami airport
when I realized I had left my jacket
and eyeglasses at security.
Joe went ahead.
I went back and after a search, found my things.
It was crazy, and very stressful.
The gate we were leaving from
seemed like miles away
and I arrived just as Joe was boarding.
Our flight from Miami to LAX began
fairly empty.
At the last moment,
it was filled,
according to the stewardess,
with people from all over the world
who were on a cruise ship that came into Miami
and unloaded clients.
Nearly all of them seemed stressed
and just trying to GET HOME.
It was horrible.
Children and babies were crying.
It was hot.
There was no food served
unless you paid for it.
Seems like under the conditions,
the airlines could have done a lot better!
I don't know where they found that plane,
but it was nasty dirty
(literally there were chunks of "stuff" on the floor),
the trays had spilled coffee on them
and it was NOT the best experience I have had.
We had run out of Clorox wipes
so did our best to wipe things down with baby wipes.
They sat an old couple right behind us
from the cruise ship.
The old guy leaned all over Joe's seat
while getting to his own,
and at this point, our nerves were pretty shot.
We had bulkhead seats - two abreast -
and the seats behind us were in rows of 3,
so there was a big open space between me
and the woman.
Once they sat down, the man coughed
all through the flight,
that dry scary cough you are told to worry about.
The woman sneezed about 5 times
without covering her mouth,
and scared the poop out of me.
I had my head covered with a blanket
because I was so paranoid.
By the time we got to LAX
we had been awake nearly 2 days
and were both punchy.
After getting off the plane,
I immediately found a bathroom
where I soaped up my hands, face,
and arms and washed the best I could.
Joe had thought ahead
and had the smarts to reserve a car from Madrid,
so we were able to jump on a shuttle,
get a rental car,
and get on the freeway pretty quickly.
There were big creepy lighted signs
on the freeway saying:
"COVID-19.
"LESS IS MORE.
AVOID LARGE GROUPS"
Whoah!
Nothing has felt so life-changing
in such a short time since 9-11, for me.
I have an elderly mother in California
that I could not see for 14 days,
and a double mastectomy scheduled
at home in Oregon in a month,
and I was worried they'll close the borders
between the states.
Then what would I do?
Life as we knew it two weeks ago
has changed,
and feels like it will never be the same.
And it only took about 3 days
to go from "Happy on my Camino"
to
"Go home.
"Don't talk to anyone.
"Don't meet in groups
where you can discuss what's going on.
"Don't go shopping.
"Stay in your house."
The next morning,
as we watched the news,
we realized how lucky we had been.
We saw hundreds of people
jammed together into small rooms
in Chicago O'Hare.
If there was ever a good way to spread the virus,
that was it.
In addition,
they were complaining of wait times
up to 6 hours.
We got through in less than an hour.
And so,
Joe and I both did our14 day self-quarantine
as instructed.
I packed up the van,
stopped by to wave at my mother,
then headed to Oregon
so I could be here for my surgery.
Since then, things have worsened considerably,
and though I haven't had news that my surgery is postponed or cancelled,
I'm considering postponing it
until the worst of the virus wave is over.
I'm just not too comfortable
spending time in the hospital,
with all of the active cases of Corona
in Oregon.to wrap my head around the past 11 days.
I am praying this all blows over
sooner than expected,
that no more people die,
and that the Camino can get back to normal soon.
In the meantime, I'm just happy to be back on familiar,
though bizarre,
soil.
What an adventure life is!
And sometimes it leaves you with scabby knees.
I'm feeling the burn.
Love,
Annie
