One of the first trips we lost to the pandemic was a vacation in Spain. Originally we had planned on 2 weeks in Barcelona and Madrid during the spring of 2020. Obviously, all of those plans were canceled. We decided to try it again and booked a trip to the south of Spain for November 2021.
Safety and the responsibility of traveling were major concerns when we decided to go. We looked at that numbers and decided Spain seemed relatively safe. We committed to not going inside packed areas and being thoughtful while we traveled. After that deliberation, we decided to move forward with the trip.
We both asked for two weeks off of work last winter, long before we figured out any travel plans. Once we got closer to November, we decided to shorten the trip to a bit over a week and use the remaining day for family visits in the US and Lebanon. I’ve always wanted to visit Spain, and Andalusia (the south of Spain) is a pilgrimage for middle eastern travelers. Where else can you find incredible Arab-style palaces in Europe?
That is how we found ourselves on our first big trip during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of course, we’d been to Mexico, but that was relatively contained. Spain was our return to being travelers, and we were excited about it.