Joy for couple forced to live apart because of Covid
BRITISH couple had an emotional reunion at Malaga airport yesterday after Covid rules kept them apart for nearly five months.
Kevin Smith caught up on lost time with wife Paula with a midday drink in the sun after the travel ban to Spain was finally lifted on Monday.
It allowed British tourists to return for the first time this year. Kevin, who arrived on an easyJet flight from Luton, said: “Paula lives here permanently but I’d been commuting between the Costa Del Sol and Britain because of work and I got trapped at home at the start of January.
“I’d been travelling between the two countries most months even after the start of the pandemic.
“But there was no way of coming this year with Spain’s travel ban in place.
“I had all the paperwork to show we were married but a solicitor I consulted said it wasn’t enough.” The 55-year-old from
Watford, whose firm manufactures high-end lighting, added: “The plan is eventually to move out to Spain full-time but that’s not possible just now.”
Paula, 57, added: “The last five months have really dragged by.
“I’ve had to get a lot better at using technology because of all the Skyping we’ve been doing.We feel totally safe here and Spain’s doing a good job of getting its coronavirus rates down.”
They were joined by expat friends Bob and Maggie Farrington for beers and coffee near the resort of Fuengirola.
Maggie, 65, originally from Haslemere, Surrey, said: “We moved out here for the sunshine and the lifestyle and because getting between Spain and the UK was so easy.
“It’s felt at times over the last year as if we’ve been living in Australia. My mum died last year but I couldn’t go back.”