And suddenly, just like that, we are back open....

Open Malaga 

On Thursday after my Padel class (which I wore a mask for), I heard that shops and restaurants were opening back up from Saturday here in Malaga.

And so on Saturday, I was back volunteering in the Cudeca Charity Shop and then afterwards we went out for a late lunch and glass of wine, well, just because we could.

It was pretty busy about town but there was a big police presence (look in the background of the pic of me) probably to ensure all of the bars were closed by 6pm - which they always are.  In fairness, they tend to start closing well before time and are always finished serving and shut up by closing time. It felt safe for us given that we ate outside.

A new restriction that has been introduced is that only wine or beer can be bought after 6pm. I had heard that there was going to be restrictions on buying alcohol and had anticipated that that would be for all alcohol. But the Spanish way seems to be a restriction on "hard liquor" and not vino y cervesas. 

There is still travel restrictions and people can only travel from one region to the next if they have a reason too.

Let's see what happens next, it is very different from the lockdown that is currently ongoing in Ireland and was extended from a March 5th finish date to sometime in April. Numbers are running at about 1,000 a day so still too high to open up.

2 Weeks of Restrictions in Malaga: Restaurants and Non-Essential Businesses are closed

2 Week Closure of Restaurants, Cafes and Non-Essential Businesses

Malaga capital cierra su actividad no esencial a partir del miercoles

Well it has happened. New restrictions are starting in Malaga from midnight tonight. The number of Covid cases went above 1,000 per 100,000 and so new restrictions have been brought in where restaurants and shops are to close for 2 weeks. Up to this point they had to close at 6pm with a 10pm curfew. 

Of course we know that it is 2 weeks initially and this is sure to be extended.....

How we will be affected by the new restrictions

We don't think we will be very affected by the new restrictions. We have not been visiting restaurants or bars and have only been occasionally going out for coffee over the past while. We had signed up for 3 weeks of intensive Spanish lessons in a language school with 3 days left to attend but in actual fact schools are not closing so we will still be able to attend. 

Unfortunately we were also doing 2 hours of Spanish lessons with Speak and Learn where we met with a teacher in cafes in Malaga. These have been put on hold for the moment as the cafes will be closed so we can not meet up. In the past we have done these classes online but have decided to take a break from them while the restrictions are in place, as we did not find the online class as useful as the face to face class.

PIGSY Art

For Ciaran, his studio will be still available to work in but the art gallery that it is connected to will be closed for the next two weeks. Unfortunately his newest solo art exhibition was due to open in 2 weeks time so for the moment that has to be postponed. This is a big disappointment.

Other activities 

And the other thing that we thought would be affected would be Padel but it seems that non-contact sport can still take place so I will go to my padel class on Thursday. Along with all of the above, my volunteer job in Cudeca Charity Shop is also on pause for the moment as the shop will not open for the next two weeks as per these restrictions.

So let's see how all of this plays out and whether the numbers reduce in order to allow for reopening in 2 weeks time. I'm not feeling hopeful and think there should probably be more extensive restrictions like hairdressers having to close along with sport being restricted.

For posterity here's how the streets looked this evening at 5.50pm just 10 minutes before all the bars and restaurants have to close at 6pm for the next 2 weeks.

                                                                    Calle Granada

                                                    View of the Irish bar from my balcony

                                                                Calle Caldereria