Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Jim, Garrettstown

Contributor

Jim

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Cork; Portugal; Algarve; 2020s:

Date

15 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

Fuseta, Olhao Municipality, Ria Formosa National Park, Algarve, Portugal

USUAL LOCATION

Garrettstown, Co. Cork

Q. 1 STAGES

I was due to travel back to Ireland early in March. The news of the virus at that stage was confusing. Though I believe that Trump and Johnson are extremely dangerous leaders, it still seemed that if this crisis was as potentially dangerous as some were predicting these two powerful states would be taking more urgent actions. I had seen one person wearing a mask in Portugal so far and the first event I had heard of being cancelled was a performance of a choir I am involved with in the Algarve. We had been due to perform at an older people's home in Tavira on 6th March but the management had become nervous and cancelled the performance.
News from Ireland was that some people were taking precautions but on the plane on 9th of March there was no evidence of any change in behaviour. On arrival at Dublin airport I was surprised to again see no obvious measures such as any type of personal distancing or wearing of masks. This was the situation for the few days in Dublin and Cork.
On Thurs 12th Mar my family gathered for an evening at my daughter's house in Cork. We spoke a lot about the virus but it seems now we were not taking it serious enough. One relative declined the invite to come in the first sign of a step up in concern at the escalating dangers. Later that evening I was in a bar in Dugarvan on my way to Rosslare. All was reasonably normal and as yet not everyone was talking about 'the virus' though the word was that the late night bar next door was closing early.
The following day Friday 13th Mar was spent in Rosslare waiting on the evening ferry to Bilbao. There was an air of nervousness around and the topic of conversation in the bar where I had lunch was 'the virus’. That being said the only people in the actual bar area were myself, the owner and two staff. The owner was concerned but not panicking and he told me that even though he was a horse racing fan, the lads who we could hear talking and laughing in the lounge next door really should have been tested before they were allowed back in to the country from the Cheltenham festival.
The ferry sailed on time that evening with just a few (around 25) non-freight vehicles.
On board everything proceeded pretty much as usual for this type of trip and a lot of the freight drivers sat close together in the bar and the dining areas.
On arrival in Bilbao early on Sunday 15th the usual passport control and customs routines were even quicker, probably because of the small amount of passengers and the only thing different was the face mask on the policeman who checked my passport.
Heading south, the roads were quieter than usual even for Sunday. News of possible restrictions on the Portuguese border meant that I decided to get to the Algarve as quickly as possible. As the day went on and the further into Spain I got the restrictions became obvious, mainly with the closed fuel stations and restrictions like hatch-service only on the ones that were open.
As it was possible that there would be delays at the major border crossing coming from Seville, I detoured to a crossing near Badjoz/Evora. For the first time of the many times I drove into Portugal from Spain, there were checks, albeit just a few questions about my destination. A few hours later after about 1200km in 12 hours I arrived back in the Eastern Algarve where the atmosphere had changed considerably in 7 days.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

The routine has not been altered in a big way. That being said the routine would have moved to include a lot more travel by now and that is just not possible anymore.

Q. 3 GROUPS

I am staying in a campsite, one of the few that has remained open with limitations in that 'permanent' residents have been allowed to stay for now. Also, Portugal has declared that all immigrants in the process of applying for residency are to be treated as legal permanent residents for the duration of the crisis. In practice this would seem to unofficially include all non-residents remaining in the county.
A lot of people left this campsite in March and travelled home to France and Germany. That would have been a more difficult journey for us in that most passenger ferries are cancelled and the option of going via the UK is not an appealing one given Johnson's fatal delays in addressing the situation there. Also the option of leaving the vehicle here and spending time in recycled air on a plane would seem highly dangerous; even if we could get a plane.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

A big change here is the fact that no one is able to access cafes where even some of the poorest in society here spend a lot of their time interacting with others.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

A striking picture is the notice on the taped off pubic seating by the beach telling people to stay at home.
The patience and good humour of people queuing outside shops is striking albeit that the Portuguese seem never in a hurry to get served in shops anyway and often spend time chatting with the shop assistants while people in the lines wait patiently. Not getting rained on very often is probably a bonus also.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

My grandchildren and how it would be good to spend some real time with them. However being locked down at home rather than here in Portugal would not make it easier to see them.

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response.

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

No Response.

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

No Response.

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

No Response.

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

I'll leave this for now

age

51-69

gender

Male