Retiree on the Road – Wintering in Spain 2022 #1 (Getting There Safely in the Pandemic)

You’re tired of the pandemic. I’m tired of the pandemic. Everyone is tired of the pandemic. The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory stating that we should not be considering international travel because of the wildfire like spread of the Omicron variant. Bummer!

Sorry, it’s been far too long since we’ve been anywhere interesting. So, it’s call in the house-sitter, it is off to the Costa del Sol in Spain for the rest of the winter for us!

Spoiler alert – we are already in Spain. We arrived on January 30. So, I am getting to finish off this article while I sit out on our terrace soaking up the Mediterranean sun. WOOT!

Spain vs Canada

You are probably thinking, “I’ve heard that all of Europe is awash in infection and the unvaccinated, why would you consider going to Spain?” Fortunately, Spain is a bit of an anomaly in the EU. They have amongst the lowest rates of infection and the highest rates of vaccination in Europe. And the Andalusia area where we will be staying has one of the lowest rates of infection in Spain.

In fact, Spain’s vaccination rates are slightly better than Canada’s. As you can see in the following two screenshots (click on images to enlarge), I have posted here from the New York Times excellent worldwide Covid 19 coverage. As I am writing this piece, Spain still has a mask mandate for indoor access to public places AND they also have a mandate that requires individuals to wear masks outdoors in public places. As in Canada, in many regions in Spain, you need to show your proof of vaccination to get into places like restaurants and bars.

Additionally, Spain clearly has a high opinion of how Canada has been dealing with the pandemic. Canadians are not required to show proof of a negative Covid test to gain entry. Instead, we only need to have proof of full vaccination. Interestingly, travellers from many other European countries do have to provide proof of a negative test.

We were required to complete an online form before entering Spain, which included providing a link to our Canadian vaccination passports. In return they sent us a “Spain Travel Health Pass” that we had to show on entry to the country, and for entry to restaurants I suppose if we decide to take that risk.

We are confident that we can keep ourselves just as safe in Spain as we can at home. So, why not escape winter for a couple of months and bask in warm temperatures, enjoy good food and drink, and indulge in leisurely walks along the Mediterranean every day?

Picking a Flight

Our normal strategy for getting to Malaga, the main transportation hub in the area, is to first fly to another city in Europe where we would like to hang out for a few days. After we have enjoyed that town and are over our Jetlag, we hop on a local flight or train to get ourselves down to the Costa. Over the years we have stopped in Dublin, Lisbon, and Madrid. All great places to visit.

This year we felt that approach probably put us in contact with too many people in places with high rates of infection and lower vaccination rates than at home. So, this year we decided that we would catch a flight directly to Malaga from Canada. We normally fly out of Toronto, but the only direct flight to Malaga is from Montreal, so that was what we booked. We thought we could even spend a couple of days hanging out in Montreal, like we normally do in Europe, before heading to the Costa.

Getting to Montreal – The Original Plan

Our original thinking around the trip to Montreal was that we wanted to make the whole experience pleasant and relaxing, and as safe as possible. The net result was we planned to take the Toronto to Montreal Via train; very relaxing and similar to what we might do in Europe.

Yes, going by train meant that we would be sharing a cabin with other people, but everyone on the train would have been fully vaccinated and we certainly planned on wearing masks for most of the trip.

Overnighting in Montreal Before the Flight – The Original Plan

We originally planned to stay at the Hotel Bonaventure, which is in the same complex as the central train station in Montreal. We weren’t certain if we would stay one or two nights, but we were planning on eating takeout food in our rooms and spending our free time walking around the city.

On the day of our flight, the plan was to take a taxi out to the airport. We didn’t think that a ride with just one other masked person would be terribly risky.

Getting to Montreal and Overnighting – The Actual Plan

Then Omicron hit, and our plans changed. What we ended up doing was shelving the train plan in favour of a rental car that we dropped off at the airport in Montreal. We booked a room at the Marriott hotel attached to the airport. After we dropped off the car we simply walked over to the hotel. On the drive, we took sandwiches and snacks in the car so we didn’t even have to stop for food. The only stops were bathroom breaks.

Once in Montreal, we used room service for all our meals. On the day of our flight, we arranged for a late check out and then simply strolled into the Departures area a couple of hours before our flight. Easy-Peasy.

The Places That Were Worrisome

Although we tried to make this whole undertaking as safe as possible, there were two places where we felt a little uncomfortable. The first was checking in at the airport and waiting for our flight. However, we found that people were properly masked and socially distanced in the waiting area before we boarded.

The second concern was disembarking from the plane and going through customs in Malaga. Again, our experience was that people were well spread out and the various checkpoints we went through moved people along very quickly.

Safety on the Flight

You might think that being stuffed inside an aluminum tube with a bunch of other people for seven hours might feel more threatening than waiting in the airport. The New York Times recently published a great piece about the relative safety of sitting in an airplane for an extended period. The research they accessed indicated that airplanes are definitely not the worst place for transmission of the virus, suggesting “that the risk of contracting coronavirus while flying is very low”.

According to their investigation:

“Most planes recycle 25 to 30 percent of cabin air. The air being recycled passes through the H.E.P.A. filter which traps virus particles. The other 70 to 75 percent of air is evacuated overboard every couple of minutes, meaning there is new air in the cabin every two to five minutes, depending on the size of the plane.”

One expert they interviewed, Dr. Freedman, indicated that:

“The air circulation on a plane is better than in an office building, better than your apartment because the air is changed more times per hour — most planes change several times per hour, plus it’s filtered, which isn’t the case in your office or apartment.”

So, these are all reassuring thoughts. That, along with the knowledge that everyone on the plane would be fully vaccinated and required to wear masks throughout the entire flight alleviated a lot of the potential stress around flying.

The situation on our flight was even safer than we had expected. The flight was only about half full, so people were widely spaced throughout the plane. The pilot announced that this was to balance the weight, which is true I’m sure, but it did help social distance everyone as well.

Getting to the Condo

The other aspect of our original plan that changed was what we did once we got to Malaga. Originally, I was going to book a hotel room for a couple of nights, and we were going to enjoy Malaga as best we could, given the circumstances. Again, we recognized that staying in a hotel puts you at somewhat more risk, and getting meals might have proved to be awkward. I contacted the folks we were renting from and asked if we could move into the unit a couple of days early and they were fine with that, charging us less for those two nights than we would have paid in a hotel.

Normally, we would simply have hopped on a bus at the airport and wandered off to Marbella. But again, Covid changed our thinking about that. Instead, we grabbed a cab the airport to take us directly to our apartment. Forty-five minutes in a car with a masked driver seemed considerably safer than jumping onto a bus with a whole bunch of other people.

The nice thing about catching a cab at the airport is that they have posted rates for trips to specific towns along the Costa Del Sol, so you know what you are going to pay upfront.

While in Spain

Now that we are in Spain, it is very clear that we will be able to keep ourselves just as safe here as we can in Canada. People are respectful of social distancing; even in areas like the waterfront where people aren’t always wearing masks, we have not seen crowding going on.

We are intending to wear masks everywhere we go. The only times I can see us taking them off will be if we are eating at an outdoor restaurant patio. Some respite, but not huge.

Getting Home

We are thinking that getting home may be even less stressful given that we are not leaving Spain for several weeks. Under current regulations, we will be required to have a Covid test before we come home. I, like many other Canadians, was under the impression that what you needed the Full Monty PCR, brain tickler test. A couple of friends who have been travelling recently pointed out to me that this is not the case, and that there are simpler solutions.

There are in fact three different tests that can be taken that will qualify us for reentry (assuming we test negative). They are stated in this Government of Canada webpage. Here they are:

Accepted types of molecular tests
• PCR – Polymerase chain reaction
• Nucleic acid test (NAT) or Nucleic acid amplification test (NAATs)
• Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP)

These tests use methods such as a nasopharyngeal (NP) swab, nose swab, or saliva sample.
• Rapid antigen tests aren’t accepted.

The net result was that I ordered two LAMP tests to take with us… pictured in the photo. The ones we ordered allow you to swab yourself and then use an included piece of hardware to test your sample. Apparently, you do this while in contact with an individual back in Canada via your cell phone.

Some Final Thoughts

Now that we are here, we are quite happy that we made the decision to come. We felt reasonably safe throughout the whole journey and are fairly certain we can keep ourselves just as healthy here as we could in Canada… he says for the third time.

The other thing that delighted both of us was after our arrival in Spain we got emails from the Spanish government providing us with phone numbers to call if we felt we were coming down with a Covid infection. Nice touch. Good to have a plan in place if things go off the rails.

Another thing I just discovered is that many regions in Spain are offering free health insurance to international travelers. Specifically, “Andalusia provides all non-resident international travellers with free Covid insurance for stays at any type of regulated establishment in the region between 1 January and 30 June 2022”

Safe travels everyone.