Lockdown in Lanzarote
Who knew that 2020 would become such a crazy year! When we booked our flights to Lanzarote Covid-19 wasn’t in the news, and we were both just recovering from having really bad flu over Christmas, which meant that we didn’t really get to spend any time with family or friends. After feeling a bit sorry for ourselves we were looking forward to kick starting our travels this year with a bit of sun after another gloomy winter.
Fast forward a few months and the world was slowly being gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic. We had just attended the IMM Travel conference in London and keeping one eye on the news all was clear to fly to Lanzarote. The island at the time had 1 case and we didn’t think there would be any issues with our trip going ahead.
We arrived late at our hotel and after some food we went to bed. The next morning we got up and decided to chill by the pool before a massage in the afternoon. We would then spend the next week exploring the island. We got an email informing us that some places had been closed because of Spanish rules as the mainland became engulfed by the virus. The restaurant where they cook from the heat of the volcano had been closed and our trip there cancelled.
After a first relaxing day by the pool we jumped in the car and headed to the north of the island to explore some downs before finding some hidden beaches. An hour into our drive we came across a police road block. The police man shouted at us in Spanish and we explained that we don’t speak Spanish. He said that a lockdown had been enforced by the Spanish government last night and that we were to return to our hotel otherwise he would fine us 600 euros.
We quickly drove back to our hotel to figure out what to do next. The hotel was still operating as normal and they even had the beach open out of the back of the hotel, although there was now tape stopping the public from crossing and we quickly felt like the hotel was being quarantined.
We noticed a sudden hustle of people bringing their bags to reception and having lengthy conversations with hotel staff about leaving before airports closed. We found out that flights mid air had been turned back to the UK as Spain locked down and wasn’t allowing any flights to land. We thought it was a bit extreme as Lanzarote still only had 1 case.
We spent the afternoon on the hotels beach and then the next day by the pool when we found out that our flight home had been cancelled and that we would need to book a rescue flight. We were told that we would be emailed in the next day or two when we could book a rescue flight. We jokingly said that we would be happy to wait out the virus on the island as it was the safest place to be and apparently some guest had offered to pay to stay at the hotel for however long it would all take. The next morning we got up to find the pools drained and barricaded off as we felt the Spanish government were doing their best to force holiday makers to return to their own countries. With the pools off limits and even the beach now closed we were confined solely to the hotel. Suddenly the thought of staying here wasn’t so appealing. The next morning I got up early as thats when we could book a rescue flight. I booked the earliest one available and we hoped it wouldn’t be cancelled. We were hearing stories of people turning up at the airport for rescue flights and then getting cancelled just before take off.
When the day came for our rescue flight we arrived at the airport and it was chaos! People everywhere and long lines of hopeful people trying to get on any flights available. There were some confusing rules about social distancing when having tickets scanned but no other social distancing for lines. We eventually managed to get on our plane and it took off!
We are grateful for all the people who have worked so hard during this very difficult and unusual time. We arrived back to the UK in March and it is now June. It feels like forever since we all went into lockdown and now with rules easing we have been able to start planning for some of our next trips that we had planned this year in the UK. We can’t wait to get travelling again soon but obviously want to do it in a safe way without putting anyone or ourselves at risk.
We want to give a massive shout out to Paloma at Princesa Yaiza Hotel for looking after us the entire time. She extended our stay when the lockdown happened and even offered for us to stay at her home if the hotel was to close and we couldn’t get off of the island. She became a friend and really looked out for us, we hope you and all of your team are doing well Paloma. We can’t wait to get back to the island and explore it properly.
We have spent lockdown totally redesigning this website and we are really happy with how it looks so far. There is a lot more to come and a lot more content that we have to write. Stay tuned for what we get up to next and we hope you are all safe and happy!
