I’ve already explained how I’m privileged in a lockdown with an arsenal of technology (for both work and leisure) at my disposal. Now I’m going to address another privilege: Nature.

I love the city. I miss New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok… any city: the energy, the constant offer of cultural activities and fun, the anonymity in the crowd… but when a lockdown comes, being restricted to a small apartment, maybe with a lot of other people, maybe without even a balcony, must be really difficult. I’m fortunate (and let’s call it like it is: privileged) to not be in that situation.

The current CoVid19 lockdown started while we were spending a few months in Spain. I have a house near the city of Valencia, so we decided to stay there. As the town is small, the government eased early on the rules a bit about where and when we could go outside.

But since my house is next to a mountainous natural park (Sierra Calderona), with awesome views of the Mediterranean sea, in a short walk to the trash containers or the mailbox, we get to enjoy all kinds of:

  • Vegetation: Mediterranean garrigue, cork oaks, Aleppo pines and rodeno, carob trees, olive trees, kermes oak, mastic, juniper, steppe, rockrose, salvias, gorse, heather, honeysuckle, rosemary, carob trees, fig trees, holm oaks, sarsaparilla, aladierno, palmitos, almond trees…
  • Wild life: goshawk, short-toed eagle, blue climber, solitary rocker, eagle owl, peregrine falcon, Bonelli’s eagle, bobcat, genet, badger, terrapin leper, ocellated lizard, foxes, ferrets, shrews, rabbits…
  • Birds: Hoopoe, common krestrel, European robin, great tit, common blackbird, sardinian warbler, common crossbill, crested tit, collared dove, black redstart, coal tit, European goldfinch…

I wish everybody could enjoy this amazing natural diversity. And I hope we’re all taking this opportunity to rethink what kind of world and society we want to live in, because it’s up to us, but we’re running out of time to fix both environmental and social issues.

Photos here