A stranded traveller tells her tale

Caught in Peru’s border shutdown, we needed help, says Nicole Bayes-Fleming.

Four months ago, I did what many young people with a desire to see the world dream of doing: quit my job and bought a oneway ticket out of the country.

I had extensive traveller’s insurance. I had expensive vaccines. I had registered with multiple Canadian embassies. What I didn’t have — what no one had — was any idea a pandemic would be declared, and international borders would be shuttered.

When my boyfriend and I flew to Argentina in early January, news of novel coronavirus had only just begun to filter through to Canada. Yes, China was in crisis, but for the rest of the world it was business as usual. There were no flight cancellations, no travel bans, no discussions of

“social distancing.” We spent nearly three months crossing borders in South America without any problems.

Then, on March 14, the Canadian government recommended travellers abroad return home. We never received an email from the embassy; we found out only because we checked the news. At the time, we were in a beach town in Peru, four hours outside Lima. We already had a bus to Lima booked, so we thought we would travel there as planned and look for flights once there. We never had the chance.

The Peruvian president announced on March 15 that all land, sea and air borders would be closed within 24 hours. Scrambling, we caught our bus to Lima, calling our families back home and begging them to book us flights while we were without reliable internet. Flight ticket prices skyrocketed. Any routes that went through Colombia, Ecuador or Panama were useless: With those borders also shut, foreigners were not allowed on the plane, even to make a connection. A flight just to get to Mexico City was nearly $4,000.

At 9:30 a.m. on March 16, we finally received an email from the embassy telling us to leave Peru. We had already been at the airport for six hours.

In the end, we were unable to get a flight out of the country. As of this writing, we are currently in an apartment in Lima, unsure of our return home. I know there are many people who will say the situation we are in is our fault. I disagree, but that’s besides the point.

All citizens should feel deeply concerned that the Canadian Embassy is unable to keep travellers informed and up to date during this time of crisis.

It’s frankly irresponsible that the Canadian government expects the average citizen to navigate the complexities of foreign policy and border control during an unprecedented global emergency, when it’s clear most politicians don’t have a clue what to do next.

Despite being registered with the Canadian consulate, for the first four days we were stranded we received no support or information beyond an automated response.

Everything we learned was through our own research or that of our families — including news about the travel grant, which we have not been told how to access.

Not hearing from our elected officials or embassy in a formal communication has given way to rumours and confusion.

People on Twitter and Facebook have been sharing stories about chartered flights, the extension of the quarantine, and even Doug Ford rescuing schoolchildren, and we have no way to confirm them

The truth is, my boyfriend and I are lucky.

We had already budgeted to be out of the country for months, and we are young and healthy.

But what about pensioners on vacation, or families with small children, or those who had only planned a one-week trip to visit Machu Picchu?

They could not have prepared for this, for the same reason people in Canada have not prepared.

Never in any of our lifetimes has the world come to a stop like this.

Nicole Bayes-Fleming is a freelance reporter and digital editor based in Toronto.