First weeks of the new year 2021 flew by without barely noticing. Although COVID-19 is far from going anywhere, there are worse and better days. Fortunately, my mood stays on the higher surface, focusing on the positives, longer days and greener scapes around me. It is actually a miracle to me to call the first quarter a springtime, remembering how much I struggled with the ongoing and never-ending winter even few years ago.

For a few weeks, I have been confined at a municipal level which prevented me from any further exploring. I am not going to complain though, as most of the services remained open and accessible, at least during a daytime. Now I am back to be able to move around the province – biking, hiking and spending time around nature. Human gatherings are still rare and special – and I miss them so much. Focusing on all the things I can do right now, I focused equally on eating out as well as actively discovering the nearby spots for birdwatching (will be coming back with another post though as the best ‘birding’ season is yet about to come – looking forward to welcoming the migrant species in March!), working out and hiking. Definitely, there are worse places to be confined than Costa del Sol, especially that the springtime weather has been mild and pleasant for active lifestyle. I am especially grateful for the culinary highlights from various spots I have discovered, all the way from Malaga to Fuengirola in the past couple of weeks. Basic needs like human connection, food, physical activity and a good laugh every day keep me happy.

So, there is not much to write about, I won’t pretend, at least to report back from the extrovert’s perspective. While staying confined, there are days which blend into the same routines and I am trying to keep my inner happiness about the fact that I have an interesting job, plans to look forward to and I know, I will be travelling and socializing again, at some point. As there are not so many external triggers and inspirations, my creativity stays quite low-key too. This is OK, and instead, I read a lot and watch the quirkiest facts about life possible, embracing the introvert and YOMO part for another year while increasingly gathering the ideas to explore once the restrictions are lifted. The springtime energy is definitely surrounding me, even though it comes out slowly.

Waking up with the blackbird’s song, watching the sun rise over the distant Sierra Nevada and set over the shores of Morocco makes me dream about the escapes I will once do. So far, the flights to and from Spain have been cancelled until mid-May. I look forward to the days I will be able to hit the road again, leave the city, province, country and lose the track of time and space.