Shops that are normally full of happy consumers are closed.
Watching the Facebook videos online of cars being driven through Torrevieja´s vast, empty streets puts into perspective the effect this global pandemic has had on our beautiful town.
Roads that are usually bustling with shoppers and workers are as quiet as the bottom of the ocean. Shops that are normally full of happy consumers are closed, their stacked goods hiding behind locked doors, desperate to escape but with no way out and no-one to buy them even if the doors were able to be opened.
Life has changed here in Torrevieja, as in the whole world. We are gripped in a global pandemic meaning we are no different to hundreds of thousands of towns and cities all over the world, but this is our town. That makes it personal.
Torrevieja is made up of many nationalities. We have one of the most diverse ranges of people in Spain, and because of that we have such a fantastic culture and history. We must remember that this diversity hasn´t gone away.
We are all still here, just locked away at the moment like the property in the local souvenier shops; but one day we will be out.
One day we will be able to watch the sun rise over playa de los locos, we´ll be able to hear our children run and play in the sand of Playa del Cura, we are going to be walking hand in hand with loved ones along the paseo and we will be supporting those local businesses that are suffering so much at the moment.
Hoping that the end is in sight but also understanding that we need to stay at home for as long as necessary will get us through this.
Hearing the houses burst into applause for the health workers makes me proud to be a human being in this crazy world and makes me proud of our town.
We should all take time to breathe, to watch the sun set wherever we are and knowing that the whole of the town is watching the same sun, we are all part of this, we will be part of our recovery. We are Torrevieja.
