An Unexpected Trip Home

By Jeffrey M. Bowen

March 2020   

The minute we walked into the Quito, Ecuador air terminal on March 14, my wife Hillary and I realized something big was amiss.  We had just landed from the Galapagos islands where we had shared a week with 12 other U.S. citizens watching and learning about the island’s strange creatures.  Things were about to become strange in yet another way.  

Having been hundreds of miles off the coast and without wi-fi news about the developing coronavirus pandemic, our group was aghast when our Quito-based Avalon Tour guide greeted us by saying, “I’m so sorry, but tomorrow midnight, on orders of our Ecuador president, the airport will close!  No more flights in or out.  You will have to cancel your connections and travel back home immediately.”

 Hillary and I turned out to be the only ones in our group who were not already scheduled to return home before the deadline.  We had planned to fly on to the Amazon for a week of hiking.  While we fretted, we migrated over to a Johnny Rockets restaurant, grabbed burgers and shakes, and got on the phone.

Our bucket-list trip had been planned years ahead, with expert guidance from our favorite travel agent Mary Szafarski (Airwave Travel 716-560-9209; mary@airwavetravel.com).  She is always calm, honest, and resourceful. Within just a few minutes after calling her, Mary had set up alternate flights that same evening to Buffalo via Miami and Charlotte.  She even emailed us the electronic tickets! 

Potentially being stranded in the Amazon for weeks with no flights out had certainly worried us, but not for long thanks to Mary.  Conversations with nearby travelers, especially those who had arranged things on their own, suggested they would face confounding delays getting home. Fortunately for us, at 4 a.m., when very few were processing in at the Miami terminal, we moved quickly through immigration and flew home without a hitch.  It took 30 hours, but after standing on the steamy equator, thankfully no snow storms awaited us in the Queen City.   

 Now as we shelter in place, we hope that everyone made it home safely and in good health.  Undoubtedly, our next trip abroad will owe its efficiency and assurance to our awesome travel agent. 

4/8/20