Howlanders 2020 tour: The year that changed our lives

This post is also available in: Español

That 2020 has changed everyone’s life is a fact. Nothing will be the same as before because, even if we hug each other and travel again, we will always remember that, for one year, the whole world was stopped. Flights canceled, monuments closed and trips planned that did not take place.

The coronavirus has stolen one of the best years of our lives. Because no matter how old you are, you always hope that the year that begins will be THE YEAR. But in spite of this, and although the Covid-19 has taken away a freedom that we didn’t know we had when we started January, the world has continued to turn despite everything.

Today is the last day of the year and it is time to look back. What has happened with Howlanders during this strange 2020? We invite you to take a different trip, to get to know us, and to join us on a journey where you won’t need a backpack. Are you coming?

2020 in Howlanders’ life

The year started better than ever. Thousands of travelers continued to join in the experiences with us and we couldn’t be happier. Apart from the workload, why not say so. Hours and hours on the phone and in front of the computer trying to make life easier for those of you who were on the road.

Incorporations to the team

January was a good month. February followed the same path and in the middle of it, Ángela joined the team to manage the Marketing department. It was a short time in the office because within 3 weeks of she started, a global pandemic came and with it a quarantine.

Two weeks after her arrival, we went to a companies party in which Javier, one of the CEOs of Howlanders, cooked for the whole team (how good it was, boss!). We didn’t know what was coming for all of us in just a few days…

How do we lived quarantine in Howlanders?

The quarantine was hard for all of us. All of a sudden, we saw how in a matter of days all the effort we had put into a project, fell apart.

Thousands of canceled excursions and with them, the illusion of many travelers who could not start the trip.

In Spain, we were at home from March to almost June. These were weeks of uncertainty. Of not knowing how long it was going to last if we were going to be able to go back to being what we were or were going to end up there.

The return to life and reunions

With the end of the quarantine, we met again, although everything was different. We had had to get used to living with a mask and keeping our distance, and at Howlanders we don’t like being so far between us. We all met for the first time after so long in the office for the birthday of Ana.

She is the queen of Instagram, and the one who tells you all those interesting things on social media. Like many people, she was also affected by the pandemic when her trip to Chile, Bolivia and Peru, which she had been planning for so long, was cancelled.To make her feel better, we gave her a fun photo montage of “her trip to Latin America”.

Summer and the opening of activities in Spain

It was time to adapt, and in fact, it was one of our greatest adventures. We decided to open up the market in Spain, our country, to contribute to the recovery of our home economy, which, as everywhere else, had been badly affected.

We started the “Ruta del bakalao” campaign, and if you didn’t know us a few months ago, we’ll tell you: It was crazy. If you are not Spanish and don’t know what this route is about, we recommend you to read about it and about what happened with Howlanders and the Ruta del Bakalao. We will summarize it in 3 words: confusion, media, and laughter.

Ah! And in August we all went rafting together. The #teambuilding is necessary from time to time and although some swallowed too much water, we had a great time.

End of the summer

Summer at Howlanders was an oasis. A time to disconnect from the workload we had to the previous summer, and to reconnect with ourselves after so much time indoors.

It was time to return to reality because although the earth continued to turn, the planes were still unable to fly. But that didn’t make us lose the desire to continue working so that Howlanders would continue to be what it once was: the place to go to live life as we really like it, with adventures.

Family grows again

Just because we traveled less doesn’t mean we didn’t have any work. All this “quiet” time, we invested in looking at what we could improve and we had not had time to do so until now. We created a new website, we started with adventures in Spain…and in November we made the jump to the United States.

For this to happen, Javier,or Bonilla as we call him, started working with us, taking part in development department with Dani, our IT and CEO. Now, Dani doesn’t feel alone talking about code and computers’ things.

In addition to Javier, Paula, Celia, Inma and Vicent, started working in the marketing team and they work telling you everything you find in this blog.

Christmas at Howlanders

We don’t know if we have ever told you this, but at Howlanders we love “events”. For this, we have Rut, one of our customer service girls who, by pure vocation, makes sure that every birthday or anniversary is special.

Actually, Rut would be able to come up with a reason to celebrate anything as long as we get together, toast and have a party with decoration and lots of colors. And that’s why we love her so much. Christmas was going to be no less, and the day of the #uglysweater had been marked on the calendar for weeks.

And with this time, hope came. Certain borders were opened, many travelers called us again to start planning your next adventure and several of you already started a journey. It must be the magic of Christmas.

With the arrival of December, it was our turn to say goodbye to Ester, who arrived at Howlanders when it all began. Although life takes her elsewhere now and she likes neither goodbyes nor hugs, she knows that we will always be her home and that we will miss her.

What will 2021 bring?

2020 is ending, a year of broken dreams, sad losses, and changes, and we have had to learn to reinvent ourselves.

We hope that with it, all the bad things will go away and that 2021 will bring for everyone millions of adventures to live, dreams to tell, and good memories to store in our backpacks.

We will continue working as we have done so far so that Howlanders continues to be the family of travelers it always has been and goes even further. Howlanders is more alive than ever. Will you join us?