So what IS it actually like to travel to a green list country right now?

I write this in the intention of helping confused others navigate the moral and logistical dilemma of travel at this time :-)

So, finally the green list has been published! Not quite the range of choices people might have been hoping for, but some interesting prospects nevertheless. It was my big birthday this year so I had some fairly elaborate travel plans that were crushed by the current health crisis, so as you can imagine, I was very keen to resume travel at the earliest possibility. At that point, it doesn’t really matter where to, more the experience of travel, just being somewhere different. After the #greenlist was published I literally sat and worked my way through each option with curiosity and excitement at the prospect of some places that I’d previously not considered. The Faroe Islands for example.

However, with only a weekend to play with, travel needs to be efficient and fairly swift to reach the chosen destination. The only place with direct flight options appeared to be #Portugal. Other places would’ve had questionable viability because it would take us longer to get there than we would get in the destination itself and that worked against the general rule of thumb I like to stick to. I visited #Portugal a number of times previously but in the southern regions and Algarve. I was particularly keen to travel to Lisbon or Porto and had heard great things, so this was a really appealing option. Flights weren’t too badly priced with #Ryanair from #Stansted which really isn’t a major inconvenience when we’ve not been able to travel for so long. Midlands flights seem to not be an option right now or are indirect or hugely expensive. Accommodation options appeared to be extremely reasonable in Porto, so starting off I knew that this would make for a fairly reasonable trip, when there would be additional expenses incurred for testing. I knew the cost of living as well is incredibly reasonable in Portugal.

A major consideration at this time, particularly for short break travel is the cost and complexity of testing regimes that might be relevant to a particular destination. The information available is as clear as mud at its best.

Thankfully some of the airlines including Ryanair have managed to drive down the cost of PCR testing, not as low as the likes of TUI at about £20 a passenger but at the end of the day this price difference will be offset against the cost of travel difference with each operator. So you’re looking at approx £60 per person for a PCR test with a reputable provider like Randox. In fact, the prices and packages are refining so rapidly in the time between booking the flights and travel, Randox had gone from offering one off PCR tests to Green, Amber and Red list packages; taking the stress out of it all.

I was still a little bit in the dark about how we were going to arrange a pre-return test when we were in Porto. To clarify, for Green List countries you need:

1. Outbound PCR test (approx £60)

2. A return test (We paid 30 Euros at Porto Airport in the end)

3. A PCR test on day 2 after return (approx £60)

Again the information available to travellers is currently sketchy but keep reading as I report back. It is also improving all the time. So travel at this time requires significant financial investment but also greater cognitive load. It’s certainly not a relaxing affair (making sure you have done everything you need to) but I hope that will change once we are in the beautiful city of Porto.

The day of travel started bright and early. A 03:45 wake up for the drive down to #Stansted to catch a 09:20 plane. Something I must mention, which might come as a bit of a surprise to those who know me yet have not ever travelled with me. I’m shit scared of flying. It doesn’t matter how frequently I fly, it remains. And it particularly is worse after a long break in having travelled. I’ve tried everything; hypnosis, meditation, mindfulness and ultimately drugging (Propanolol work a treat here). The logical side of my brain knows that the risk is minuscule and in many aspects of my life, the risks I take on a daily basis are far greater. I think it’s just the sense of a lack of control. #Hypnosis did help and does help, all of the things do help but it is something I repeatedly have to grapple with. I will absolutely not let it beat me because the craving to see as much of the world as I possibly can is too great. And so it’s just part of the travel experience for me which ultimately results in a buildup of physical symptoms of fear in the week before travel, culminating to repeated bouts of physical sickness and sheer panic on the day of travel. This situation was no different and perhaps was exacerbated by the long gap since the last time I had travelled. However the one notable thing resulting from hypnosis is that it seems to centre on the anticipation of travel rather than flying itself. When I’m in the air I really enjoy it although that may be aided by the triple dropping of prescription meds. A truly wonderful experience!

We had booked into the short stay car park at Stansted. When it’s a short break I’ll always opt for that option it just smoothes things and makes travel a lot more seamless. So, from the short stay car park you’re literally adjacent to the terminal building. Never seen Stanstead so quiet, a joy actually in terms of travel experience. One of the things we hadn't thus far been able to bottom was the return PCR test. So just to clarify, at the moment the requirements for greenlist countries are as follows. You need a PCR test to be able to board the flight out of the UK. This is checked as you are awaiting boarding by the Ryanair (airline) staff. You also need a test to be able to enter the UK on the return journey. There are conflicting messages about this and the information is changing quite frequently. When we originally made our last minute travel plans we were certain that the gov.uk website said you needed a PCR test in order to re-enter the UK and then a further PCR test two days later when you are back home. This is not the case and the governmental advice has since changed. An antigen/lateral flow test is acceptable when travelling from Portugal back to the UK. Please check this link for current situation - it's changing all the time it seems. I’ll tell you about this in a little while. But upon arrival to Stanstead there was a private organisation Collinsworth offering a range of different testing options. However it didn’t appear that they had a clue what they were on about either and the only option that they were able to provide, but not provide because they didn’t have any tests in stock was to send us off to Portugal with the antigen tests to be able to have a call with a nurse whilst we were out there. What a faff, especially when they didn’t have any sets in stock and the only offer they can make was to post them to us. Not much use on a four day trip. So we decided to just take our chances and hope that there will be something a little bit clearer and more informative the Portuguese side. I’d also been told by the accommodation provider to download MY LUZ app which would enable me to book a test at the local hospital. However the response time was 72 hours so again not much use in knowing that something was a certainty before you departed. But at this juncture I will just say there is absolutely no need to worry as I’ll come onto shortly.

So despite all of the scare stories about lengthy waits at airports and chaos, this is absolutely not true. Never seen Stanstead so quiet, obviously as the volume of flights increase, that will change and there could be delays on account of further checks, but the checking (of tests, arrival forms) was happening at the gate and so was just part of normal process. No delays whatsoever at security. As I say, the point of checking whether you had a negative PCR test happened at the gate. The Ryanair staff would see your evidence and give you a little slip of paper to show as you were boarding the plane. All very #efficient and #seamless.

As part of my normal obsessive rituals related to fear of flying I’d been monitoring turbulence forecasts over the last week or so, knowing that the weather has been a bit shitty and wondering how that might manifest in the air. It was pretty much as predicted, bumpy takeoff and a bit more turbulence about an hour and 15 minutes in and a smooth flight other than that. Again I asked myself as I said as I sat there why do I get so worked up about this? It really is fine. It’s crazy because when thinking rationally I know that everything will be fine; I taught aviation travel geography for god's sake, but the chimp just won’t quieten.

As we approached Porto the aircraft circled over the city giving us a stunning view of what awaited us. On arrival into Porto we had to queue for possibly about half an hour, but that was down to the fact that we no longer belong to the EU and so that is one of the wondrous things again we get to experience as a result of questionable political decisions. But again that’s not a debate for here. Porto airport is really nice - spacious, clean and well laid out. A quick enquiry at the information desk about testing facilities at the airport told us that we just needed to go up to the third floor and speak to the SYNLAB testing facility there to see what was on offer. We decided to do that right away so that we had everything in place and could then go off and enjoy our short break. Again, another reassurance for prospective travellers - they (as in the Portuguese) have got it absolutely nailed. No appointment booking needed, no lack of clarity, the staff member at the desk just merely informed us that the test we needed was an antigen lateral flow as per the government's recent update on instructions and that for €30 this could be sorted in the matter of half an hour; so just come to the airport slightly earlier for the return trip everything will be provided in English and meet the requirements of the airline. Well it couldn’t be easier and again any source of concern and anxiety regarding return testing is not necessary.

So making our way to the city the options were of course- taxi, bus or #Metro. I always find the Metro more direct, quick and convenient so that’s what we opted for but it was half an hour to the next train so we decided to have the obligatory airport arrival beverage. Metro tickets were super cheap. €2.50 each and that was actually an integrated ticket that could be used for a period of 24 hours on any of the forms of transportation within the city. Amazing!

The Metro reached its destination at #Trinidade station and from there it was about a 20 minute walk through narrow cobbled streets adorned with the most beautiful, ornate, tiled buildings. I knew the city would be fairly hilly, but had not fully prepared for the extent. Roll on buns of steel!

We had booked some apartments in the #Riviera district, down by the river Duoro through booking.com (my go to accommodation provider for choice, price and convenience). There is such a huge range of accommodation to choose from in Porto to suit all budgets. We could’ve got something really great starting at about £80 for the apartment for four nights. We decided to splash out a little though because the weather was supposed to be good and get somewhere with a little terrace, with a plan being to enjoy a nice glass of wine and a pretty view in the evening. So in total it cost £150 for the two of us for four nights accommodation. Absolute bargain as far as we were concerned. The check-in was easy. The host Guillerme met us at the apartment, showed us around and then we were left to get on with things. Ultimately that means for me a quick change and turn around and off out we go to explore. Even though sometimes the heritage transportation of a city really makes a touristic experience, for me nothing beats exploring on foot. I particularly have a preference for this over any form of underground or Metro, you miss far too much. So the first afternoon involved a bit of a mooch and a slow meander around a variety of bars and eating establishments sampling the local beer and food.

A horse with unusually large nuts!

One particular spot worthy of mention is a place called No Mercado. It is a bar café situated on the terrace of what used to be a market and pre-Covid was used as a music venue. The walk down to the Riverside took us to an atmospheric area adorned with bars, restaurants with live music. A perfect place to pass the time and soak up the atmosphere of the city. Again everything felt incredibly clean and safe and unless people were eating or drinking, they were wearing face masks. Everyone being incredibly respectful of the rules. Our host had informed us that even though the official lockdown had been extended until the end of May, what this ultimately meant in practice, was that the curfew of 22:30 closure for bars, venues and restaurants would continue to be enforced. Pretty good as far as we were concerned as this would guarantee a bright and early start ready to make the most of this long awaited travel experience. For anyone visiting the city of Porto, the Riviera area adjacent to the river Duoro on the north bank there is a wonderful place called Bacchus Vini. It’s a wine tasting cellar and the owner is incredibly hospitable and knowledgeable. We enjoyed some amazing Vihno Verdi and red wine there that definitely didn’t break the bank. With an extra bottle in hand we headed back to the apartment to enjoy the terrace. It was lovely to sit looking across the river with the signs and lights of the many port houses twinkling in the distance.

So, I forgot I was going away with Mr Motivator. A word on me and running. For anyone that remembers me at School, I was generally the laughing stock of anything sport related, particularly running but for some reason under the encouragement of Alex, my partner, I took up running and, although I won’t be winning any medals any time soon, find it a really good way to de-stress and get a bit of exercise. So the day started intent on seeing whether we could run as far as Foz which is the city's closest beach area. I love swimming and was hell bent on getting in the sea. Luckily this was a shared aspiration. We haven’t actually checked how far Foz was but, after a 12 K return journey with dip in the sea, certainly worked up an appetite that was satisfied in the vintage bar at the bottom of the hill from us in a delicious Piadina and a couple of nice cold beers to wash it down. I found running (at a plod) a great way to cover more distance and see more of the city.

This was the day where we visited the sites that we wanted to see other than simply walking around and soaking up the atmosphere. I’d highly recommend a trip to the Clericos tower which from the top enables you to see the 360 view of the beautiful city of Porto. Again all movement was respectful of social distancing and at no point did I feel crowded or uncomfortable. The €6 entrance fee was money well spent. We then decided to walk across the beautiful LUIS 1 steel bridge to the south side of the river as we had bought admission tickets for Taylor's port Lodge. It had to be done. Keen to establish a booze related heritage and get the obligatory tourist snap with my namesake. I haven’t ever really been all that fond of port on the occasion I tried it at Christmas but after the tour we sat in the garden of Taylor's surrounded by peacocks, rosebushes, Jasmine and beautiful heritage buildings and very much enjoyed a couple of glasses of port and some cheese. Truly this was the good life and for that I’m truly thankful. I took a moment to reflect as I typically do when travelling as I have the space to think. Travel really is a privilege, even more so at this time where the cost and logistical arrangements increase the barriers to travel, so it really made me quite sad to see when locals are clearly abiding by all of the rules the handful of tourists that were there from the UK not abiding by those same rules within an environment of which they are a visitor.

The weather promised to be really good on the Saturday so this was a marked as a bit of a beach day, to get some rays on our pasty English bodies. To feel exhilarated by the crisp, cool power of the #Atlantic Ocean. But also a good opportunity to combine with a nice long walk. So we took a different route to Foz and were met by an example of how major sporting events can be safely and efficiently handled in a pandemic. The auto vintage rally was running through the centre of #Foz.

From across the river we could see the river mouth #Duoro nature reserve. This was a beautiful white sandy beach area and a place that really piqued our interest. So we decided we would look into to getting there later on in the day but first a gentle run. This gentle run got extended initially into a circuit over the two central bridges of the city but as it only seemed a little bit further to go we continued to the nature reserve along the south bank. This was a killer. I really thought that exercise was supposed to be good for you. Perhaps the benefits are yet to be seen. For now I get to enjoy my chaffey fat legs and massively sunburnt shoulders. We did however make it to the beach and the reward was well worth it. The ocean is incredibly powerful on this section of coast hence it being recognised as a top surfing spot but even for a strong swimmer I’d like to claim I was, I didn’t feel wholly comfortable with the power of the ocean and therefore chose our spot carefully. And swim we did in the freezing cold Atlantic Ocean but, boy, was it exhilarating!

On the south side of the river the atmosphere and pace was a little different; perhaps also a sense of carnivalesque in that it was Sunday, people are off work and spending time with their families inevitably outside eating in the many fish restaurants there. So it seems this is the area where you can get the best seafood and Sardines in particular. Yummy!

After a rather long wait and a hugely embarrassing backwards trip over in front of the amused diners we got a table in the sun at a lovely seafood restaurant and enjoyed a mixed grill fish for €25 for the two of us. An absolute bargain! we were ravenous after all the exercise. A lazy lunch and slow walk back to the apartment in the sun with pastel de nata pitstop was pure heaven!

The trip is drawing to a close and this inevitably means the finalising of all logistical arrangements related to the departure home. So we knew that we could get our return antigen tests at the airport, we had established that on the first day. So knew we needed to be at the airport about an hour earlier than we would’ve ordinarily been. For return travel back to the UK, currently you need to complete a passenger locator form (PLF) so that was something on the to do list and of course we needed to do the online check-in. We hit a bit of a hurdle when coming to complete the passenger locator form. Firstly compared to the two other countries' passenger locator forms that I have completed during the time of travel restrictions, the gov.uk one is far more complicated, and I imagine would prove very, very difficult to comprehend if you were a non-native English speaker - it was hard enough for us. But on the PLF they ask for evidence that you have booked your #PCR test on day two of your return to the UK if travelling from the green list country. We had, it was a home test kit through #Randox again and it was sat on the mat at home. The email confirmation had an order number so we tried to enter this.... nothing....... We asked a kind friend to go round to the house to open the test kits for the URN (unique reference) number, they still didn’t work and of course the Randox customer service line was now closed.

This small hiccup helps appreciate the fact that there IS an understandable heightened anxiety associated with travel right now. For me all I could think about was the fact that my little boy had been away with his nanny and grandad for a week I hadn’t seen him during this time and I couldn’t be more desperate to get home and see him. NOTHING would prevent me from doing that, apart from possibly a PLF and return Covid test. But the wonder of Twitter prevailed and my plea for help was answered by a friendly fellow traveller who had encountered the same thing. So basically if you are completing the passenger locator and are using Randox PCR tests then enter this code "RANDX0 ......." with your order reference number following. A sleepless night and much worry could’ve been saved!

So the next morning there wasn’t the same sense of urgency associated with getting to the airport but we knew that we had to get to the airport earlier in order to get the antigen test it was necessary to present at the gate for your return flight. The queue was quite a bit bigger than on the outbound journey but we were at the front within an hour; a quick yet uncomfortable swab, and the results were emailed to us within a further 30 minutes. Hurray all fine! and of course the tests were negative so we’re on our way to enjoy the rather bumpy flight home to good old rainy Blighty.

So what’s the verdict on travelling right now and particularly travelling to a green list country? Well first, I guess, you have to grapple with the moral dilemma of whether you should travel at all right now or not. Clearly there will be division of opinion on this topic as there is with every thing related to lifestyle and preoccupations. Admittedly, this is something that niggles and did niggle me, but I'm familiar enough with the debate on impacts of tourism to understand the paradox that exists between economic impact and social impact. We encountered no problems being there and certainly felt very welcome. Bottom line is that largely when a destination feels they have control over the form and nature of tourism and that visitors respect those rules, then tourism is welcomed and seen as good. I’m a true believer, that even though structural changes in the tourism industry have broadened access to tourism substantially over the years, to travel is still pretty much a privilege, that may not be available at all. We should respect that privilege and not take that for granted. At the current time this privilege is heightened on account of the additional cost, expense and challenge associated with travelling, creating further barriers and making travel again inaccessible for some. So the only thing I want to say attached to that is if you are in the lucky position to be able to travel, then don’t be a div. Remember that you are a visitor in someone else’s country and that you do not make the rules (which includes not wearing your mask under your nose, if you hadn't already realised, that renders it even more ineffective).

#greenlist #travel #pandemic #covid #portugal #uncertainty #advice #testing #PCR #airports #passengerlocatorform