Before and After

Before and After

Before the coronavirus hit Europe hard, we were on our holiday. We we work super hard, my husband works every week day and some weekends. We have no small holidays and do not spend any money on entertainment, coffee or meals out and the result is, some years we get to go away for a long family trip.  This year we went to Portugal. We had done mad things the year before, we managed to make some money by renting out our home, while we camped in canvas tents for 10 weeks and again later in the year, while we stayed for six rainy weeks in our caravan.  It’s not an easy thing to do with small children, carrying on a normal life, whilst camping in an eco campsite but it is an adventure and the kids absolutely love it.

So this year, at the end of January, we packed up and drove to the ferry, boarded and sailed across the sea and drove across Spain and Portugal for a long family holiday and quality time together.  The first four/five weeks were crammed full, we spent days in the sunshine exploring beaches, coastline, towns and countryside.  It was exciting and tiring, it was everything and more than we had expected.  We danced at carnivals, canoed and paddle bordered the ocean and biked to the beach for hot chocolate sundowners. Portugal was shaping up to be an amazing family trip.  

And then, we started to realise, the coronavirus was spreading, talking hold in other European countries. We tracked the Portuguese news.  On the18 March, Portugal declared a state of emergency but in all fairness the people of Portugal had already been responding to the news from other countries. The Portuguese had already been practicing social distancing and many schools and universities already closed. And in one district a lockdown was introduced early to stop the spread of the virus.

It has been very interesting to watch the coronavirus unfold and how different countries react and the paths they take to protect their people.  And while this has been happening, boarders have closed, ferries have stoped sailing and our family trip has been extended.  Although now our budget has been squeezed even tighter. But luckily the only things that have changed for us, is our days out have ended. We could only go away for such an extended time because we never spend money out and about.  I cook every meal from scratch, we always have rolls out for lunch and only brought ice creams out, on very special days.  We have are own coffee flask cups and take away coffee is made before we leave our place.  It works, we really do spend very little and we can explore places for free.

So now only our days have changed.  Instead of packing up the car and heading out for the day to some new beach or castle.  We spend days at home, playing in the garden and going out for a small walk or bike ride.  Somedays we head into the scrub and have our lunch sat on a rock somewhere secluded, enjoying the quiet in the sunshine (the quiet and the extensive noise our kids seem to be able to produce).  And our hot chocolate on the beach for sunset has been replaced by hot chocolate in the garden.  The kids enjoy it just as much, collecting sticks for the Kelly Kettle and toasting marshmallows while their hot chocolate cools to almost cold, before they slurp it and grin with chocolatey smiles.  

These days are just as special as when we first came and as I think about it, possibly more special.  Instead of exploring views and new places, we are exploring down time, home time and family time in a whole new and extended way, like never before.  In fact, our children have very easily accepted the no beach, no pool holiday, adapted and we have all changed, in a way I don’t quite know how to describe. I would like to say its calmer but they are kids, our kids, calm would possibly not be the word to describe them.

So for now, it’s happy hot chocolate sundowners, in the garden.  The garden of the Algarve.