First, an update on my dilemma:  nothing new.  I did find out that should I choose to put one or both dogs in the hold of the plane, I’ll have to fly on a different airline than Delta, which is the airline that issued my original ticket.  Delta has an embargo right now on dogs in the hold and there is no clue as to when that will be lifted.  I can probably fly Iberia, but it may cost me.  I’m still waiting on a lead on a possible “dog mule”… but until then, I’m just going to forget about it for a couple of weeks and see if anything changes.  It seems like things are changing rapidly.  You never know…

At the moment, my immediate concern is that the babies are back!  Damnit.  Besides my lovely friends who live in the complex, there is a family directly across from me.  The adults are very nice.  The man owns a fiber optics company, so he is very helpful with computer/wi-fi issues.  The woman is very friendly.  But the children are screamers!  I think they’re like two and four.  The four-year-old squeals a fair amount, but the baby cries so loud so often, it’s unnerving.  I was thinking of starting a log to keep track of how often/how long he screams.  I think as an adult he may suffer a loss of range or strength in his vocal cords from overuse.  I know it’s been a long time since I’ve had a baby in the house, but I honestly don’t believe either of mine put up near this much fuss.  The other neighbors agree – we talk about it all the time.  I thought maybe there was something wrong with him.  But, there’s not.  My other neighbors and I commiserate and console ourselves by saying  the crying is at least reassuring that there is life outside our doors.

I don’t know if it’s a cultural issue that I have not observed, but I don’t think they pick him up when he’s crying.  They seem to ignore him.  I don’t hear them trying to calm him or placate him in any way.  He’s just a baby.  Why don’t they give him a pacifier for God’s sakes?  I really can’t overstate how much crying there is.  And because they’re Spanish, the kids don’t go to bed until after dinner, which is like 11:00 p.m. or so.

Last week, they disappeared.  They went back to their first home because the dad still has a lot of business and now that the virus has calmed down a bit here, it’s more convenient for them.  I was ecstatic.  It was so quiet here.  But they came back.  I hope it’s only going to be weekend torture from here on out.

 

It’s been a crazy week.  I may lose some of you as this is long, complicated, and probably boring, but I’m going to explain my dilemma about leaving here.  When the lock-down occurred, I probably could have gotten out of the country, but it would have required someone flying over here to help me transport the pets; it had to be done fairly quickly; and it would have been a MAJOR hassle.  So, for good or for bad, I decided to stay.  I had been planning to be here for three months; the car was paid for that time; and my rent was paid for that time.  It’s beautiful here and safe and I love it.

About a month ago, Delta cancelled my reservation for May 17, 2020, and so any hope I had of actually leaving in May was dashed.  I’ve been pondering since then how/when I could get back to the US.  This week I found out for sure…it’s not going to be easy. 

I called Delta.  There are currently no flights scheduled from Barcelona to the US until July 3, 2020.  I explained to the agent that I have two dogs and that the rule is one person-one dog to bring the dogs along in the cabin, but that I don’t have anyone already here to fly back with me.  I asked if it might be possible to get an exception made.  I’d asked this before and been told no, but I thought it might be worth asking again as times have changed significantly.  The agent made a provisional reservation for me on July 3, and gave me a number to call for Delta corporate to discuss a possible exception.  I must admit that as content as I am here, I had a momentary glimpse of what it might be like to get back and hopefully see friends I’ve missed.

It was momentary.  The Delta corporate agent listened to my story, checked with her supervisor, but the answer was the same — no exceptions.  I explained that it seemed unnecessarily risky to have a friend or family member fly to Spain just to escort a dog to the US.  She said understood, yada, yada, yada…

My next move was to contact the Embassy.  I’d been keeping this potential for assistance in my back pocket.  I wrote an email explaining my situation and that I needed an answer quickly because arrangements would need to be made, one way or the other.  I asked if they might be able to put me in touch with another American citizen who is waiting to fly back to the US, because I did not want to put my son, or anyone, in danger of potentially contracting the virus by flying here to retrieve me.  There are so many disclaimers on the Embassy’s website that I feared I would not hear back, at least for a while.  But hours later, they did respond.

I wasn’t expecting the response I received.  The email said that they could not give me the name of any US citizen who might be headed back because of privacy concerns.  Secondly, they said, my son would not be allowed to enter Spain as he is neither a Spanish citizen nor a resident.  So even though international flights would again be entering and exiting Spain, no US citizen in the States could come to my rescue.  This could change, but no one knows when.  Interesting article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/with-coronavirus-american-travelers-are-about-to-find-out-what-its-like-to-be-the-pariah?ref=scroll

That was a blow.  And that’s where it stands.  There are two alternatives that I briefly considered — either to leave my dogs here with a friend or to send them back in the hold of the plane.  I just can’t do it.  Besides that I love them very much, they’ve been my companions through this and I feel like I owe them, to protect them.

Basically, I’m stuck here until non-Spanish citizens/residents, specifically Americans, are allowed back into Spain — when might that be??? or even less likely, until someone I know or accidentally come across wants to fly from Europe to the US with me to take one of my dogs.  I’ve reached out on expat websites and to friends of friends who are living in Spain.  Hopefully one of these possibilities will come through.  So, that’s where it stands.  I’m trying to stay positive and mostly succeeding.  I love my adopted country, but I feel a need to be in my native one now.

Any viable alternative accepted. 🙃

PS:  Late today I talked with my neighbor here who told me his dog flew in the hold of the plane from Mexico City to Spain, and also that his vet said that hundreds of dog fly in the holds of planes everyday.  Although I’m skeptical and I’m going to continue to try to find a “dog mule,” as a friend referred to it, to help me take mine in the cabin,  if that falls through, I think I’ll consider it in order to come home.  I wish there were a better way… who freaking knew?

 

I think I need to go home now.  The lowest of blows, my relatively new MacBook Pro laptop just stopped.  No flashing light, no warning, no error message, nothing ….  The only reason I’m not starting to swim home is that I at least have a Methodist laptop with me.  I’m sure I’ll discover relatively soon that there is something I desperately need that is ONLY retrievable from my Mac.  Can’t worry about that now.

An interesting aspect of this pandemic which I have read about and I have also experienced is Covid dreams.  I rarely remember my dreams, but I have had three very vivid dreams involving flying – presumably because I am worried about getting home with the pups.  This week, I dreamed about a woman breaking into my garage to try to sell me life insurance.  When I ran next door for help, I found that they had opened a terrace where they were serving food.

Random comment, but recently I had to contact American Express because someone in Queens, New York had purchased $91 of food from Popeye’s on my card.  That’s a lot of chicken!

 

The weather here is curious to me.  In Houston, when there is a winter, the temperature nevertheless yo-yo’s between cold and pretty warm.  You wake up and it’s in the 40s but by afternoon it’s approaching 80.  And this can happen any month during winter, some years more than others.  It makes dressing for the day very difficult.

Here, it seems more consistent – lows in the 40s/highs in the 50s during winter, which gradually transitions to lows in the 50s/highs in the 60s.  Then, suddenly, one day it becomes summer.  And that was May 2 this year.  On May 1, I was still wearing three layers – long-sleeved shirt, sweater, hoodie.  On May 2 – shorts and a tee shirt.  Just like that.  Same thing happened last year.  Now, it’s low 60s to high 60s.  So far, it’s perfect walking weather.

I found these quotes that seem appropriate:

All things seem possible in May!  (Edwin Way Teale)
May, more than another other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive              (Fennel Hudson)

Now, my door onto the balcony is open most of the time, which brings bugs – flies and mosquitoes inside.  I thought there was a flyswatter here (matamoscas in Spanish) but I couldn’t find it.  It was an essential purchase!

Yesterday, the family next door went swimming in the pool.  I wouldn’t do that except maybe in August…hope I’m not here then…

 

Nothing much new this week, except I got to walk further than I have previously been allowed (reasonably close to home with dogs).  Now, we’re allowed to go one kilometer from home, but I went closer to 4.  If the cops stop me, I’ll plead ignorance.  I listen to podcasts while I walk, mostly “This American Life.”  If I don’t have something playing, my mind starts to wander and that isn’t good right now.  At the house, I keep it under control with my word games and jigsaw puzzles.

I ordered a guitar from Amazon.  I bought one a year or two before I retired, but I never found time to try to re-learn how to play.  I figure I have time now and I think it will make me feel like I’m accomplishing something, if I actually do it.  Maybe before I leave I can record something for you.  Ha!

I said in an earlier post that I was doing my hair and make-up every other day.  Well…that didn’t last.  Besides becoming lazier as this goes on, I’m also becoming more accustomed to seeing myself without makeup.  At one point in my life I wouldn’t have gone to the 7/11 without makeup.  My how times have changed.  Fuck it.

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Besides the obvious need for attention to my hair, my toes are in dire shape.  I took extreme measures last night and gave them a bath in olive oil, due to a lack of anything else!  It helped, but they smelled oddly and were very slippery for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a bench near the top of my hill on a promontory with a splendid view.

When I walk the dogs sometimes we stop and sit and I just look out at the vista.  Today I was thinking about Elizabeth Taylor.  She was here in 1959 making a movie of the Tennessee Williams’ play “Suddenly Last Summer” with Montgomery Clift and Katherine Hepburn.  It is probably the most exciting, news-making thing that has ever happened here.  Shortly after I arrived in 2018,  when I was at Begur’s City Hall finalizing my resident’s visa, I was told I wasn’t the only American to come to Begur.  No, they had Elizabeth Taylor!  I don’t know how long the filming lasted, but it made a big impression on the town.  In the camera shop in town, there are photos on display that the owner (I think deceased now) took of Liz and the crew while they were here.

I was thinking of her and how it must have looked to her then – the view she had was the same as I have everyday.  So we have that in common!  Plus I also loved Richard Burton!  I wish she were still alive.  I’d write to her.

 

 

I’ve finally had a few beautiful days and the energy to do a yoga class at home.  My yoga studio in Houston is holding online classes, but 11:00 a.m. in Houston is 6:00 p.m. here, and I’m at happy hour then, so that doesn’t work.  They sent me a video made by one of my instructors so I can follow it at any time.

Pro’s to doing yoga at home are that you don’t have to rush to make it by a particular time before they lock the door.  You don’t have to remember to put your mat in the car.  The con’s are that you may have to battle your dog for use of your yoga mat/blanket.

Tomorrow we’re all allowed to start walking outside!  Until now you could only walk a pet and only reasonably close to your home.  I’m lucky I have pets.  There have been jokes on the Internet about people in Spain borrowing other people’s pets so they can go outside, and others of people walking their goldfish or chickens.  Spain’s CoronaVirus confinement measures, which have been in place since March 14, are among the strictest in the world.

The walking privilege, however, is going to be regulated:  children and parents can walk between 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m.; elderly (70 or over) can walk from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; the rest of us can walk from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  For once I wish I was 70!!  And who walks for exercise at 11:00 p.m.?  I guess if you eat dinner at 10:00 p.m.  Last night I took the dogs out for their last walk before bed at about 10:30 p.m.  I was in my nightgown and robe.  My neighbor was outside grilling dinner for the family!  We’re so different.

I have to say I feel like I’m missing something.  I’m keeping my mind active with word games and puzzles, language learning, writing this blog, and a little work for the hospital when I have it.  And I’m keeping my body active (to some extent) with yoga and walking (though not as far as I’d like to walk up to now).  I have all the food and booze that I require and I’ve enjoyed making some new recipes (perhaps an upcoming post).  I have almost daily WhatsApp or FaceTime calls with friends and intermittent face-to-face conversations with my neighbors.  It all adds up, but I feel like something is missing.  I guess I just need to look a little harder.

Last year when I was here I felt challenged to adapt and assimilate.  I spent a couple of months alone in the winter.   I’m adapting to the alone-ness, but it’s different.  This challenge is on a different level.  I know I’ll be fine, but the uncertainty is a little unnerving.

Chins up!!  At least the weather is finally spring-like and perfect!! Yeah!

Addendum:  This is an addendum to my post of November 2018.

Can you believe it?  I had another freaking flat tire today when I ventured out to take my trash to the recycling.  The garbage men were there emptying the bins.  One of them noticed my tire was flat.  It was pretty flat.  I can’t believe I hadn’t felt it when I was driving.  Then, they changed it for me!  One of them jokingly made a gesture of showing his muscles and said “see, men come in handy sometimes!”  to which I said “YES!  sometimes!”  That was sooo nice of them and they certainly didn’t have to do it.  I made them each take 5 euros and said to please have a couple of beers.  Thank God.  Now I just have to get a new tire.  They told me car repair shops are essential, so, I’ll need to do that.

After I wrote the post below, I had another flat tire in June 2019.  That was an ordeal.  They didn’t have my tire in stock anywhere in town and it took two days to get one, all while I had guests in Barcelona waiting for me.  

November 2018:

The second day in Spain in my new car, I hit a curb on a curve going faster than I should have on a dark, narrow and winding road, and punctured the tire.  It entailed an expensive cab ride home from town and a trip to the repair shop the next day.  Peugeot, the lessor of my car, will reimburse me for the tire, but I must return the original tire when I return the car.  I’m storing the tire in the storage closet at my apartments.

Last week, in Barcelona, multiple people on the street, drivers, and motorcycle drivers let me know that I had a flat tire.  I called Peugeot and the guy they sent to change the tire told me the tire had been deliberately slashed by a knife.  He said that it is common that a motorcyclist will puncture your tire with a knife and then indicate that he will help you if you follow him.  I was too busy negotiating traffic to pay attention to what he was trying to say, so fortunately, I avoided being robbed!  The tire store where I replaced the tire confirmed that is what happened.

I am starting a collection of tires in my storage closet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hate to whine, but the weather recently has been a low blow.  There have only been a handful of days with sun over the past month.  The forecast for the next 10 days is more of the same.  Only two days of partial sun and temps in the 50s.  Temps in the 50s with sunshine is glorious!  Temps in the 50s with rain is dreadful.

And then, the electricity went out on Tuesday.  All day.  I felt like I had done something to offend the gods.  I’ve been chill and calm for all these weeks, but without wifi throughout a full day of constant rain… it was beyond the pale!

I am so glad I have my dogs Cassie and Cam with me.  They are a comfort and a pain and a constant.  I would definitely feel lonelier without them.

Last time I was in Spain, I was traveling so much I had to leave the dogs many times.  I found a place near me, Elena’s Guardaria Canina.  Elena is a Saint.  She runs the establishment, slightly outside of Begur.  There are huge outdoor enclosures where the dogs are segregated by size and temperament.  She boards, grooms, and trains dogs.  She also has a couple of horses.  She is a radiant soul and she cares for the animals as if they were her own.  She would send videos of the dogs to me while I was away to let me know how they were doing.  In the evening, they went indoors where they were kept in kennels heated by a central fireplace.  Elena spoke to the dogs in Catalan, so I guess they’re sort of trilingual now.  They spent a lot of time there.

In the spring, an American friend from my Catalan class offered to keep my dogs for half the price.  He lives in Begur permanently and brought with him from the US six dogs, two cats, and a bird.  I thought maybe the bird was a parrot or a mynah bird or something “pet-like,” but it was a pigeon named Chiquitita.  He has a big yard with plenty of room for them to run and play with the other dogs.  Cassie and Cam loved it there.  I was really lucky to have had two such great dog keepers!

Now it’s just the three of us.  An added perk this time though is that the “Hitler” of the apartment complex who wouldn’t let me walk the dogs on the grass, isn’t here.  And, after the wild boar infestation last spring, they’ve reinforced the fence, so the dogs actually get to nose around a little on their own.  Oh happy day!

This couple of months has been SO different from my last time here when I had 30 visitors in 40 weeks.  I was constantly picking up, dropping off, and traveling somewhere.  In between, I was plotting distances and routes and making reservations at AirBnbs, restaurants, and tourist destinations.  This trip absolutely couldn’t be more different.  I still love Spain, but within a much smaller radius!

And my toothpaste exploded!

 

 

This is another post that I was working on pre-confinement.

Off my balcony I can see the snow-capped Pyrenees, above.  France is just on the other side.  They are BREATHTAKING.  SPECTACULAR!  I say breathtaking because they literally take my breath away.

I read a book in graduate school, which is one of my favorite books, called “La Casa Verde” by Mario Vargas Llosa, an author who was later elected president of Peru.  It takes place in the Peruvian jungle and the jungle itself is one of the primary characters.  I feel that way about the mountains.  They aren’t just part of the landscape, they’re a participant, they play a role in life.    That is one of the the main things I miss when I’m living in Houston.  I love the sea too, but it doesn’t reach inside and grab me like the mountains do.  I like both!!