Traveling through Pandemonium

by Pamelagrace Beatty

Back in the day, after working for two airlines, I knew how to make travel plans for myself.  If the trip was just go there, stay a while and do some touring, it was a walk in the park.  If the travel involved multiple destinations and places to stay, it was still easy, so I never used a travel agent.  I investigated doing that for a couple of trips, but found it would cost way more than just doing it myself.  So, I made my own plans.

Fast forward to the trip I am taking, now that Covid restrictions are lifting. Traveling during the shift from being isolated, to somewhat of a free-for-all, is confusing (to say the least) and frustrating as heck when you are trying to figure out what is needed for an international flight, by whom, by when!

My boyfriend made the flight arrangements and booked hotels for the trip. I am sure he had challenges with that, but he didn’t mention them.  We are going to Spain to see the art opening of a friend of his near Barcelona.  She’s a wonderful artist and has done a series of paintings based on photos my boyfriend took of southeast Asia monks.

She invited us to the showing of her paintings in the little town where she now lives near Barcelona. Well actually, she invited him to the art showing and he’s bringing me with. I, of course, am quite excited! I love art. I am a painter, and can appreciate the beauty of his friend’s work.

Plus, I enjoy traveling, and although I visited Madrid for a few days, I have never been to Barcelona.  Reading about the history of this city has been fascinating. It is part of Catalonia.  In Catalonia, there are castles, monasteries, and cathedrals over a thousand years old!  Some are located in Barcelona. There are also art museums featuring paintings by Picasso and Dali (the latter being a favorite of mine, and the former well admired by the world) and other noted artists.

All I had to do was find a way to the airport and, most importantly, find a place to get a rapid covid test because we thought the airlines would require a test within 24 hours of departure. I wanted to be sure about the 24-hour requirement so I went online to verify it.  That’s when the fun began.  By “fun” I mean frustration!

First, I couldn’t get a straight answer from anyone, anywhere, on the different sites. It was like trying to find out why something isn’t working on your computer.  The computer company says, “It’s not us, call your provider.” Your provider claims it’s not them. Whomever you contact denies they are responsible, and they give you someone else to call!  This continues until you get some kind and knowledgeable technical person who resolves the issue for you. 

Except, when trying to find out what test was required, I didn’t get any actual people to talk to, except the consulting nurse for my health care organization who said, “We don’t do tests for that sort of thing.”  Period. The end. I went to different websites: local government, federal government, the airline we were traveling on, the CDC website, the Spanish Consulate where the details were in Spanish. Not helpful, and I didn’t bother to use Google Translate because I knew it would be a waste of time.

I discovered there were multiple types of tests. I also found out that different airlines and different countries require different tests, but I couldn’t find out which tests they required.  For that answer the website said check…whatever! 

I was going around in circles trying to figure out what was needed.  I also discovered that different test sites gave different types of tests.  Since I still didn’t know which test we had to have, I filed that information away until I knew what we needed.  A couple of the tests were quite a bit more costly than the others.  As a rule, rapid test results cost more than 72-hour tests. My question was, “Did we really need a rapid test or could we get a 72-hour test?” 

There were more test sites for the latter.  Again, I was off to another loop experience. Since things were changing, I wasn’t sure we needed the test at all.  The research was fuzzy on that question.  Finally, I decided to assume we should get the test even though there appeared to be other options like completing a form for Spain prior to flying out. But what about Washington State requirements for flying somewhere and was flying internationally different from domestic travel?  Again, more loops. The WA state government site was no help.  The CDC, no help. I stopped investigating several times because I got so frustrated, and decided to take time out and come back with fresh eyes.  I even asked folks who had flown internationally recently.  They referred me to the sites I had already wandered around in.  Rats!

Finally, I talked with my boyfriend, and we agreed to just get the test that would be accepted no matter what.  That was the most expensive, rapid results one.  We thought it was better to be overly cautious than to not get a test, or get a test that wouldn’t be accepted by either the airline or the country, and ruin our entire trip.  Armed with that decision, I dug into the various sites and found one that gave us the rapid test we wanted for a reasonable rate.

In the past, I have enjoyed doing research online. It is fun to learn new stuff and get different perspectives.  This research, however, was as annoying as heck! So, to restore my enthusiasm for our trip to Barcelona, I researched Barcelona.  That turned out to be fun and educational. In case you’re interested, I will share some of what I learned with you. (Smile…I know you are dying to know!)

• Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia (I was not at all aware of Catalonia and how it related to Spain). Barcelona is the home of Sagrada Familia, a temple that started being built in 1882. Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect, took over the construction in 1883. He died before it was complete. Although it is still not completed, there are plans in the works to do so.
• Catalonia has three official languages, Catalonian (or Catalan), Spanish, and Occitan (that last one is not well-known to outsiders).  And Catalan is not a Spanish dialect; you will insult the people by referring to it as such. It developed on its own during the time the Romans controlled Spain. It is now spoken by around 9 million people, and has at least 6 dialects.
• Catalan was banned from schools and public administration for 36 years during the Francisco Franco era (1939-1975).
• Catalan made a comeback with the help of a publication “Ode to the Homeland” by Bonaventura Carlos Aribau. He inspired a renaissance for the language, and now many literary works are published in Catalan.
• Almost a quarter of Spain’s tourists visit Catalonia every year.
• Salvador Dali was from Catalonia.
• Antoni Gaudi was a famous architect born in Catalonia.
• The Moors were in control of Spain for over 700 years and Spain was very influenced by them but not Catalonia.

One last fact about Catalonia, my boyfriend and I will have a grand time and you will hear all about it when we return!