The beaches, terraces and hotels of the coast have come to life this weekend in the first full weekend without a state of alarm, after it declined on May 9.
The forecasts of a large influx of public, mainly from Madrid, have been fulfilled and the reinforcement of police controls to enforce the anticovid regulations have been a constant.
The exodus started after 3:00 p.m. this Friday when the first retentions began to take place from Madrid in all directions.
Proof of the desire for the beach after the end of the state of alarm is that in the last 24 hours traffic on Spanish roads has increased by 42%.
The tonic of the day has been crowded beaches, hospitality businesses to bursting and family reunions.
The reactivation of national mobility has provided an oxygen balloon to the punished tourism sector while the authorities insist on the need to maintain security measures.
Terraces in great demand in Benidorm.Manuel LorenzoEFE
"We needed this movement. They have been very hard months"
PEÑALOSA GEM
The diaspora of Madrilenians to the beaches of Alicante has been an easily verifiable fact since this Friday, when many brought forward the festival of San Isidro to head for the coast.
What during the state of alarm was a constant temptation to escape to second homes or enjoy the sea has turned this weekend into total freedom translated into a large influx of visitors.
Crowded beaches, full restaurants, hotels in operation and traffic jams are the tonic in Alicante.
The recovery of mobility, which at the moment is limited only to the national market, has also led to the resurrection of travel and tourism.
Benidorm, Xàbia, Dénia and the beach of San Juan are the main scenarios of this first approach to normality.
"We already wanted the sun and beer on the beach," says Sergio, who rushes a third with his family in one of the restaurants on the first line of the San Juan beach.
On the walk along the beach was a river of people with masks, summer clothes and hats.
María, a regular on San Juan beach and a resident of Albacete, missed these trips.
"We come every year for some weekends, long weekends and part of the holidays. During this time, a neighbor has been taking care of the apartment. We have found it well but it has been a long time so we have taken a few days and we are going to stay all week. "
"I like the beach and the climate of Alicante and during these months I have missed it but in reality we were worried about our house because it has been closed for a long time. We wanted to come and take a walk, explains Conchi, owner of an apartment in the same area.
The San Juan beach, El Postiguet beach -located in the city of Alicante- and El Campello beach concentrate the bulk of visitors and the influx has not only been noticed on the promenades but also on the access roads, which have featured heavy traffic congestion.
"We needed this movement. They have been very hard months and seeing everything up to the top encourages us," says Paco, a waiter at a place on the beach in El Postiguet.
"It seems incredible to us that there is a queue to sit at a table," he continues.
In Benidorm, the main regional employer's association expects an average occupancy of 60.7% this weekend.
Madrileños, Castellanomanchegos and Aragoneses are the main tourists in a municipality in which, despite the fact that many hotels have posted the full sign, they are still far from the usual figures at this time of year.
Promenade of La Carihuela beach in Torremolinos.Daniel PérezEFE
Crowded beaches in Andalusia and tourists carrying suitcases inside
SILVIA MORENO
The first weekend without the restrictions of the state of alarm and the good weather have filled the Andalusian beaches, to the point that the images that have been seen on the coast were quite similar to those of the weekends before the pandemic of the coronavirus, except for the masks.
According to data managed by the Andalusian Government, for this weekend there are a large number of reservations in hotels and apartments, especially in the coastal area, which could be assimilated to a weekend in May prior to the crisis of the Covid-19.
Meanwhile, the Andalusian inland capitals have also received numerous visitors.
In Córdoba, where the courtyard festival is held, there have been long queues at the door of the award-winning venues and, in Seville, groups of tourists have once again been seen in the city center carrying suitcases.
In Andalusia, the data on the pandemic are evolving favorably.
The 14-day coronavirus incidence rate has recovered its downward line this Saturday, standing at 165.97 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is 5.6 points less than this Friday, while the number of new infections in the last 24 hours is 1,087, more than half a thousand less.
For his part, the vice president of the Board and Minister of Tourism, Juan Marín, has told Efe that Andalusia has "done its homework" during the tourism pandemic to be "prepared" to face the new stage that opens in the sector, which is going to "recover quickly".
Operators of the Barcelona City Council control the capacity of the beaches.Marta PerezEFE
Catalonia suffers from large bottles
GERMÁN GONZÁLEZ
The end of the curfew has aggravated the bottle bottle phenomenon in Barcelona.
With the first weekend after the state of alarm, more people, usually young people, took to the streets, which made the situation complicated in some areas, mainly on the beaches.
The Urban Guard had to evacuate at dawn this Friday some 7,180 people from Born, the Arc de Triomf and some beaches that were divided into groups that exceeded a maximum of six allowed, did not maintain a safety distance and, in most cases , they did not wear a mask.
There were no incidents after the agents alerted by public address that they could not be without complying with the health prevention regulations.
The fifth deputy mayor for Security of the Barcelona City Council, Albert Batlle, assured that "people want space and enjoy the city", although he recalled that they must act "with great responsibility". For this reason, he urged citizens and tourists who are beginning to arrive in the city to avoid concentrations of people, to use masks and to respect the capacity of bars and restaurants, as well as the closing times of these establishments " scrupulously ", given that" the pandemic is still present and we cannot take steps back. "
The Government also urged that the scenes of night crowds not be repeated with the end of the state of alarm.
The agents tried to control to avoid possible sources of contagion and that the sanitary security measures were fulfilled, and they have also controlled the street sale of alcohol.
Police sources remarked to this newspaper that many of the people who were eating and drinking in these central areas were tourists.
In addition, for Saturday night a special device has been prepared between agents of the Mossos and the Guardia Urbana, coinciding in Barcelona with the Night of the Museums, which aims to prevent the proliferation of 'bottles' in some areas and overcrowding in the streets .
Precisely this situation provoked the indignation of the Fecasarm night sector employers, still affected by the restrictions to open, who lamented "the chaos and nighttime lack of control of what weeks ago we had been warning that there would be more and more and without brake in Catalonia with multiple 'bottles' and illegal parties that have overwhelmed the police, mainly in the big cities ". In this sense, they assured that the situation would worsen over the weekend as more people go out for leisure at night.
The employer also denounced the increase in illegal parties that "are held indoors in private homes and that are very difficult to detect and control by the police."
In this sense, they emphasize that in these flats and private houses "in many cases the capacity exceeds the maximum occupancy of the house by 400 and 500% and without any health or security measures."
For this reason, Fecasarm claims to extend the restaurant hours, limited to 11 at night, and reopen the nightlife, with a security system with previous tests and air disinfection devices, since "legal spaces are the only A safe alternative to the chaos, anarchy and lack of control that is becoming more and more and that has been triggered since the lifting of the state of alarm and the curfew. "
Police agents watch over the padreras of San Isidro.JAVIER BARBANCHOMUNDO
Leave Madrid to see family and friends and return to the sea
DANIEL SOMOLINOS
The end of the state of alarm came to Madrid and, with it, the desire to leave the region to visit family and friends or, simply, to see the sea again.
After the massive flight from the capital this Friday - with an increase of 42% compared to the previous weekend, according to the DGT - similar images were seen again on the A-1 and A- 6, in addition to the usual 'Sunday' outings to spend the day in the mountains.
A tranquility that was noticed since the early morning. Far from repeating images like those of May 9, when young people - and others who were already combing gray hair - took to the streets to celebrate the end of the curfews, toasting and getting drunk as a celebration, this night has been "very calm, and this one that comes will be more so ", in the mouth of the Government delegate in Madrid, Mercedes González.
This is how the police device of about 2,240 agents that will be deployed throughout this weekend to avoid crowds and, above all, bottles. A good example of this calm has been seen this morning in the prairies of San Isidro. The party of the patron of Madrid, due to Covid issues, has been transferred to Ifema. Something that did not discourage many 'faithful' who, far from lacking in their tradition of paying their respects to San Isidro in his hermitage, dropped by the Quince de Mayo walk, this time without food or drink stalls, much less without the characteristic smell of intricacies and chicken coops.
"This San Isidro is being a bit sad, but as I always say: we do the parties. We dance with our partners and have a great time," said David, who along with his wife, Carmen, danced before fifty people a chotis to the sound of an organ.
Next to them was Reyes Caro, fan in hand and red carnation in her hair.
At 81 years old, he stressed, he has always come to San Isidro.
Without exaggerating.
"I was born in February and that May they brought me here in their arms. Since then I have never been absent, rain or shine. At the end of the 40s we were like a family, it was more like a village, it was not like now. People invade you, although this year you can see how it is, half empty ... It's sad, "concluded the veteran.
"We missed the sea breeze. We will abide by a curfew."
INMA LIDÓN
Since Friday night, Gandía, Cullera, Oropesa or Benicarló have another color.
Second home owners took advantage of this first weekend, and the good weather, to get their apartments ready.
"Since September we had not been able to come and the truth is that we were already restless to see how the house was after all winter and to be able to breathe the air of the sea," says María Burgos, a Madrilenian who is not going to miss the opportunity to the first dip on the beach, "although the water is still a little cold".
There is no problem in keeping your distances on a beach specially guarded by the reinforcement of the Gandía Local Police, it is patrolled incessantly on the sand and on the promenade, where the terraces have finally come to life. Maica drains the rod. She does not have an apartment, but has booked two nights at a hotel with her partner. You can't see the smile behind the mask, but he confesses that he wanted to leave Albacete. "The sea breeze is what we missed, what is there a curfew? Well, we will comply with it, like all restrictions, but that gives life," he warns.
That feeling is what those who have booked at Dori's restaurant, in the dunes of the Dossel beach in Cullera, seek. At Chiringuito El Mayo you can have a paella with your feet in the sand. "We have everything complete for days. The terrace is still limited, to respect the distances, but we are beginning to notice that this is starting. There are many people from abroad who have already begun to come to Cullera," he explained to El Mundo for a few minutes before you start serving meals.
The restaurant is experiencing its first good weekend since last summer, there are those who admit that they have removed "four or five workers from the ERTE" and the hotels are beginning to open their doors. The demand was activated on May 9 and the occupancy this weekend is around 80%, although only a third of the Valencian hotel plant is open. And it is in this month when even residents have been encouraged to spend the tourist voucher that the Generalitat launched in October and that many Valencians had kept in the drawer before the coup and the restrictions of the third wave.
In the capital, the rebound began to be noticed on Friday night, with the terraces of the Marina more alive.
The locals increased security measures to remind customers of the restrictions, but the Local Police of Valencia did not detect any notable breach.
In the morning, the Paseo de La Malvarrosa and the Playa de las Arenas was abuzz with people wearing masks, but already in swimsuits and, in many cases trying to find a table to eat, mission impossible on the promenade and in the neighboring neighborhood of The Cabanyal.
Meanwhile, in the center of Valencia the 'fight' was to look for shady terraces where to endure a summer day, the first of a season that seems to be getting closer to normal vaccination.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Madrid
Coronavirus
Andalusia
Catalonia
Alicante
Barcelona
Valencia
Albacete
Burgos
Juan Marin
Cordova
Seville
Mossos d'Esquadra
DGT
Covid 19
Beaches
CoronavirusRestrictions in Spain: curfew, hours and closures in each community
People under 60 years vaccinated with AstraZeneca who have overcome the Covid will not receive the second dose
Coronavirus Where to travel: Communities with perimeter closure and mobility restrictions between provinces
See links of interest
Work calendar
Home THE WORLD TODAY
Newcastle United - Manchester City
Espanyol - FC Cartagena
Opelka - Nadal, live
Burnley - Leeds United
Genoa - Atalanta