Two weeks from today, we were supposed to board a plane bound for Quito, Ecuador, embarking on a once in a lifetime trip to the Galapagos Islands. At this stage, I thought I’d be confirming plans, making lists, and starting to pack. Instead, I’m cancelling flights, trying to rebook tours and hotels, and planning to see nothing but the inside of my own house for the foreseeable future.
When Covid-19 first appeared in China in December 2019, few people would have predicted how it would impact the world in a matter of weeks. Quickly spreading from country to country through infected travelers, the pandemic has devastated economies worldwide and brought the travel industry to a grinding halt.
The evolution of our trip from booked to cancelled was a swift one. At the end of February, there was no thought that our trip would be impacted. It wasn’t even on the radar. The first signs of concern popped up in the first week of March. On March 3, Ecuador started to enforce a 14 day quarantine period for travelers arriving from the 4 most impacted countries (at the time, China, Italy, South Korea, and Iran). I reached out to our main hotel and a tour agency I had used, and both assured me that there was no concern that the US would be added to the list anytime soon. At that point, there were only 4 cases in Ecuador and the US seemed under control so nobody imagined that a destination 100% dependent on tourists (a large majority of which come from the US) would ever block US tourists from coming.
So we settled into the “concerned but optimistic” category and continued on the assumption that we would be able to go. But just 3 days later, it became evident that more restrictions were on their way. My employer put out a new travel policy that anyone who travelled internationally would have to register their trip before leaving and was subject to a 14 day quarantine upon their return. This in itself didn’t overly concern me, as I often work from home and could easily (and happily) spend 2 weeks doing that after the trip. The boys having to miss 2 weeks of school though would be another story. I held off on asking the school what their stance was because things seemed to be changing by the day at this point (if not by the hour).
But with things changing so fast, “optimistic” quickly dropped out of our “concerned but optimistic” status. Now we were just concerned. Would we get to go? Would we have to quarantine ourselves at home afterwards (or be forcibly quarantined somewhere else)? Would we get stuck in Ecuador, denied re-entry to our own country? Would we lose all our money if the trip was cancelled entirely? The questions were piling up daily and no answers were in sight.
As the situation continued to evolve worldwide, it soon became evident that there was no way we would be able to go. The pandemic was spreading at breakneck speed. Whether legally allowed to travel or not, it was clearly too risky. We couldn’t risk getting sick or inadvertently spreading it to others if we had already been exposed or getting stuck somewhere or any of a million other things. As heartbreaking as it was to give up on our trip, we knew that it was not going to happen. At this point we shifted to hoping that some sort of legal order (by either the US or Ecuador) would make the trip impossible to complete, which would give us the best chance of rescheduling or recouping some of our money.
On March 13, Ecuador added travelers from several European countries and 4 US states to their list of places requiring a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon arrival. Within a few days, countries around the world were starting to advise their residents who were traveling abroad to come home as soon as possible (while they still could). It was evident that an international border shut-down of previously unseen magnitude was imminent.
Ecuador officially closed its borders to incoming foreigners on March 15. Ecuadorian residents had one additional day to get home before they too, would be closed out of the country. Beyond just closing its borders, the country was essentially on lockdown, with significant restrictions put into place on when/where/why people could leave their residence. I would have never believed it two weeks earlier, but this announcement was actually a relief to us because it meant we had hope for rescheduling our trip.
The Galapagos Islands are a unique tourist destination. It is a “bucket list” trip for many people. With a limited supply of hotels/cruises/tours to meet the high demand, most trips are booked almost a year in advance and must be paid in full 60 days before arrival. Indeed, we had paid our last remaining balance just 3 weeks before this situation escalated and as the situation developed, I was obviously concerned that we would be out thousands of dollars on this nonrefundable trip. The Ecuadorian government’s restrictions actually gave us hope that we could get our money back or reschedule. After all, this was not us choosing not to come; this was us being told we could not come.
I am extremely grateful to Iguana Crossing Boutique Hotel on Isabela Island and the tour company book-ec for working with me to rebook our trip. As soon as the restrictions were announced, I reached out to them to ask what the options were. As companies completely dependent on tourism, I feel for them in this situation. They face a complete loss of income for an undefined period of time. They would probably be within their rights to just keep our money and tell us to reread the contract we signed (and many smaller cruise ships are doing just that). But they are working with us to reschedule everything to August. And for that I will be forever grateful to them.
The last missing piece was the flights. I knew airlines were being bombarded with people cancelling trips, as well as people trying desperately to get home from wherever they were stuck. Since my trip was still 3 weeks away I decided to just bide my time. I was extremely relieved when American Airlines announced cancellations of all flights to Ecuador (among many, many other destinations) until May 5. Clearly if they cancelled my flight, they would have to refund or reschedule me.
I had booked my flights separately – one ticket with American to/from mainland Ecuador and one ticket with TAME to/from the Galapagos. I had booked the Galapagos legs using Chase credit card points and was hopeful they would help me recoup my miles if TAME refused to refund me. Thankfully that wasn’t necessary. I was able to cancel everything online through Chase and I have a credit out there waiting for me to rebook.
So now the new worry… will things be back to normal by August? Or will we just be reliving this cycle again? We are entering unchartered territory almost daily during this pandemic. It feels like we’re living in a movie. Never did I imagine working from home indefinitely, as offices across the city shut down. Never did I imagine my 4th and 6th graders embarking on a “distance learning” initiative, with schools across the state closed until at least May 15. (I certainly never imagined all 4 of us on Zoom meetings at the same time in different rooms of the house!) Never did I imagine “stay at home” orders from the county allowing us to only leave the house for essential items or walks around the block. But even with all these unprecedented restrictions, up to a week ago, I still probably would have said there was no way this would still be going on in August. But now, I just don’t know. Nobody does and that is what is so scary.
And obviously it is scary beyond the travel implications. I am not in any way suggesting that this trip is a top concern in the face of Covid-19. Will it be heartbreaking if we don’t get to go on this trip? Yes, but I know there will be other trips. Will it be a big financial hit if we don’t get our money back? Yes, but it won’t bankrupt us. It is important to keep these things in perspective.
But in the face of so much fear and unknown, I have made a conscious decision to focus a good percentage of my worry on this trip. I still follow Ecuador travel blogs and read compulsively about the situation there and travel in general. Why? Because in a world where things are out of our control now more than ever, this is something I have a small amount of control over. Aside from social distancing and following all the guidelines (which are obviously important), there is nothing I personally can do to stop this pandemic. When it comes right down to it, I also can’t personally do anything to ensure my trip happens in August, but I can certainly be ready for it if it does.
Travel has always been an escape for me. I love to learn about a new place and immerse myself in the trip planning. It gives me something to look forward to when work and family schedules become overwhelming. And now more than ever, I need the distraction and I need the hope. I can’t allow myself to get bogged down in the terrifying statistics of the number of cases in NY and NJ, where all of my family lives. I can’t take the weight of the worry over my 75 year old father, who is still a practicing pulmonologist and head of the ICU in a 470 bed hospital with coronavirus cases rising daily. Or of my sister, who is also in NJ and recently completed breast cancer treatments. Or of my husband, who is upstairs in the guest bedroom fighting off some sickness that we hope isn’t the coronavirus. Or of my children, who thankfully seem to be at the lowest risk in this situation but whose childhoods will forever be changed by this experience. It’s almost too much to bear and the worry can drown you if you let. And there isn’t a single thing you can do to change whatever is going to happen. So for now, I’ll choose to worry about whether my 10 year old will get to fulfill his dream of seeing a blue footed booby do its mating dance because the alternative worries are too heavy. And I’ll be thankful that travel has yet again been an escape for me, even while I am quarantined in my own home.