Hello surfer,
yes there is still the corona pandemic. I think I feel like many others. For a long time in spring it was thought that "life" would start again from summer and that everything would slowly and continuously develop back to the way it was before.
I think everyone hoped a little bit for a miracle in the spring, for example that the first vaccinations would be given in autumn or that the "lockdowns" are so hard that Corona is practically eradicated afterwards. Some people may simply not have thought that far in advance, but simply work until the next day or at most a month.
But it was actually pretty easy to see that the situation would only fundamentally change when enough people were immune to the virus.
I'm not a pessimist, but maybe a skeptic sometimes. That means - I am sure that we can all go to concerts again, go to clubs without a mask, sit on the bus and much more. We will do all of these things (initially) much more consciously. We will appreciate the freedoms that we used to take for granted. But we will also always question why, even if it is really only a cold, one does not spare one's fellow human beings by wearing a mask.
Pictures that we previously only knew from Asia, where people wear a lot of natural mouth and nose protection in everyday life, will also be part of everyday life in autumn and winter. It doesn't have to be a bad thing.
Travel and surf trips are becoming more conscious and sustainable
Our leisure activities also include traveling, of course. I think here too we will become more thoughtful and act more consciously. We will appreciate the opportunities we have to travel.
In view of the much larger natural disaster, which fortunately (or unfortunately?) Runs much more slowly than the pandemic, more people will ask themselves: “Does it have to be a long-distance trip every year?” Or “Does air travel really make sense, if only one 4 days on site? "
When I started working as a surf instructor almost 20 years ago, almost half of the guests were still on vacation for 14 days. That didn't seem like much to me back then, because I grew up knowing that a trip in summer is always two weeks long.
Today most people take a week off, including me. But the really strange thing is that we now have almost as many bookings from holidaymakers who only come to Fuerteventura for 4 days as we do from those who come to Fuerteventura for 14 days. Not so long ago I had a cooperation request from an English agency specializing in long weekend air travel ... Does that have to be?
In the future we will be by the sea and surfing as much as we used to be
Everyone is already making all these considerations for themselves: "How will I travel in the future?", "How often will I travel in the future?", "Where will I travel in the future?"
For my part, I think about these questions and think: weekend trips shouldn't start with flights. If you travel by plane it doesn't always have to be halfway around the globe and you should be more conscious about air travel and also take more time to travel.
There are quite a few people who take flights several times a year, why not fly less, but stay longer?
As a surfer, I can say that this way, the chances of good waves are not reduced. On the contrary, the chance of good waves increases.
You already notice that I am the classic "The glass is half full type". In this case it is simple math, because if you make short trips several times, you unfortunately also spend a not insignificant part of the year arriving and leaving;)
In addition, it is also much less stressful and the actually desired relaxation and deceleration effect often only occurs when you are there for longer.
Aprops our villa in La Pared is the perfect place to adapt your life to the course of the tides and waves and to completely ignore everyday life.
Conclusion
I think it will take a while, but then we will be able to travel almost as normally as before the pandemic. The now enforced travel break or travel restriction will make many surfers travel more consciously. Maybe it doesn't have to be Indonesia every year ?! Perhaps it is nice to travel longer than a week on intra-European surf trips ?!
Aloha
Your Christof