Today is another fun filled day of isolation. I wanted a room with a private balcony and ended up with a room overlooking the car park and a wall covered with 45 km of barbed wire. On the plus side, after 3 days of feeling absolutely terrible, I have woken up feeling heaps better. As outside appears to be deserted, and it has been a full 5 days since my first symptoms, I decide to don a mask a take a walk round the hotel grounds. It’s my first time outdoors (unless you count getting in and out of the car) since I tested positive 3 days ago. It turns out Casa Conde is a quirky hotel with courtyards and fountains and stained glass windows.

The best news is the pool, which is in a courtyard garden, is completely empty – I can self isolate by the pool – yay! This is an unexpected turn of events and I return to the room and collect a book and towel.

I spend the rest of the morning lazing by the pool. I even manage a couple of short swims, although I’m totally drained after 15 minutes. Eventually, a man turns up and I figure I should go, but he keeps coughing. He sounds more like he has covid than me! So I stay a while longer, until the old man appears and announces he’s bought lunch.

After lunch and a nap, I return to the pool for my own special form of self isolation – this time it’s just me and the birds. I manage a couple more swims, although to be honest I’ve overdone it a bit.

I return to the accommodation completely exhausted, reheat some leftover chips and go to bed.