Our trip to Ecuador during Corona was a very special one the planned 3 weeks went differently than planned. Read more about why this happened.

Finally, I was in my fiancé’s country of birth. After we arrived at the hotel at the beginning of the evening and rested for a while, my mother-in-law turned out to be with her sister near the hotel. We decided to freshen up quickly and take the opportunity right away so that I could meet my mother-in-law for the first time. What a wonderful mother my fiancé has. I immediately had a new girlfriend. We were also immediately taken care of with a snack and some drinks. Despite the fact that I don’t speak Spanish and they don’t speak English or Dutch, we were able to communicate well with our hands and feet and some translation work from my fiancée. We had an unforgettable evening.

We used this wonderfully partly sunny day to explore the city my fiancée had grown up in. She showed me the best spots as a real local. However, I was looked at by everyone, a tall white man while there were no tourists except for a few. Of course, that took some getting used to for the locales. Also for me, a very special experience I am of course used to the fact that there are always tourists around when I travel. But this time it was so quiet in most places, where otherwise would be crowded with tourists.

Port Santa Ana

in the vicinity of Port Santa Ana, you can walk along the boulevard. There is also a small park Estatua A Julio Jaramillo which is full of birds. We also walked to La planchada. To get there we walked through a street to dream away in such beautiful and authentic buildings. Unfortunately, we did not go to Escalinata Santo Domingo de Guzmán anymore. We did not think this was justified because there was no security on the roads because of Corona. But despite that, we had a good time and saw beautiful things. Take a look at some pictures of this beautiful area below.

Day 3 Cuenca

On day 3 we delved into what to do next. We decided to go to Cuenca the next day. We also invited my mother-in-law and brother-in-law to go with me. After completely dreaming away at the photos and stories about Cuenca, we rented a van and booked a hotel. Then we went into town with my girlfriend’s friends. Where we went with the Aerovía Estación de cable car to Estación Aerovía Durán.

After a wonderfully quiet day but with a satisfying feeling. We walked around the city and went to bed early.

Day 4 Change of plans

On day 4 this was the Wednesday, we got up in time to go to Cuenca. During breakfast, I had just set up the press conference about Corona in the Netherlands. It was said that there would be a flight ban on Saturday for all flights from South America. That was a bit of a shock and we hadn’t counted on that. But the big question was what does this mean to me. Can I come back to the Netherlands in a moment? After breakfast, please make contact with the embassy and KLM. neither could give me any information about what was about to happen.

KLM could only tell me that there were 2 more flights to Amsterdam for Saturday. if I were to rebook my ticket this would put me between €1000 and €1500. That is almost 2 times as much as the return ticket I had booked. Why? the reason turned out to be that everyone wanted to go back at once and then the price shoots up. Then wait for news and just to be on the safe side but stay near the airport. This meant that we had to cancel the trip to Cuenca and make an appointment for a PCR test. Because who knows, it might have been the last chance to return to the Netherlands in the near future. Despite the fact that there was an exception for Dutch citizens who were repatriated, I was not waiting for that.

Day 5 Family

This day was again a very special one. We hade again spent time getting information about whether or not flights were possible from Saturday and on. Did turned out to be more difficult than expected because there was still no information available. however, we read in the media that KLM threatened to cancel all flights because the new rules would cause staff to get stuck abroad. This finally turned out to be good for me, but we didn’t know that at the moment. But because it seemed more and more that I really had to go home. On this day I did a PCR test. Better to have it than to not be able to leave because we do not have a test. Our trip to Ecuador during Corona seemed to come to an early end.

Despite everything, we went for a delicious lunch with my mother-in-law. In the shopping center, Riocentro Rorte was a delicious restaurant called Chili’s. Here we had a delicious lunch. After we also looked around in the many shops.

The ticket

Because it was little time left, I called the embassy again. They still had no information and couldn’t help me. i also try to call KLM again. They could finally tell me that my booked return flight to Amsterdam was “being canceled” at that time. This meant that they could rebook the ticket free of charge. But unfortunately, the flights were fully booked and there was no direct flight to Amsterdam anymore. Then via a detour back to the Netherlands before everything is about to be canceled. Because everything was so uncertain and no information was provided. We decided that i should return as soon as possible. For this, I had to fly to Panama and Paris first.

Last evening

Because I would fly the next day, this meant that this would also be our last evening. I would fly back alone because after 90 days in the Netherlands my fiancée had to have been outside the EU for another 90 days to be allowed to come back.

Day 6 Departure

The last day had arrived. Fortunately, I had already done a PCR test, but it took a while. So long that we only received the results 1 hour before going to the airport. As expected, the test was negative and I was able to make the return trip. After we had a delicious breakfast with my mother-in-law, it was time to pack the things.

Then we went to the airport with the 3rd. There I was waved off by my girlfriend and mother-in-law. Super sweet that mother-in-law’s special had come to see me for a while. Despite everything, the trip to Ecuador during Corona was still successful. The purpose of the trip was to get to know my in-laws. This goal had succeeded and what a nice family I had met.

The return trip to Amsterdam

When boarding the plane, the trip to Ecuador during Corona was officially over. But I just had to get home. Because the flight would land after the flight ban had started, everything was still a bit exciting.

After I landed safely in Panama with Copa Airlines. I saw that I had received an email from Air France. This was the company with which I would fly from Panama to Paris. This finally gave information about the flight ban. It was also explained that there had to be a rapid test before departure. I didn’t do this one because KLM and the rest of the government websites said that this was not necessary. After further inquiries with Air France staff, it turned out that they too had the information that this was not necessary.

Rules are rules.

After sleeping happily on the plane I arrived in Paris. With a transfer time of 1.15 hours, this airport is not ideal. Certainly not if you have to go from terminal 1 to 3 without knowing the way. But secretly I was a bit worried about the rapid test. In Panama, I had plenty of time to do this. But what if they asked for it in Paris. So as soon as possible to the gate. With 50 min left on the clock until they close the gate. I was refused at the gate because I didn’t have a rapid test.

Chaos

No time to discuss this because that made no sense. And no one could tell me where a test could be done. By accident, I heard someone talking about a test. This person could tell me that there was 1 test street on the other side of the terminal. This was definitely a 15 min walk. After a quick calculation, it was feasible provided I was fast. With 35 minutes to go running and at the same time trying to call KLM. I arrived at the test street where there was a whole line. That flight seemed to leave without me. But the holder wins they sometimes say so just continue the plane was not yet gone. In the meantime, I was on hold at KLM. And the people who had to catch a flight were taken out of the queue.

The test

And after filling out a form, I was allowed to stand in the fast lane. At that time I still had 25 minutes to get to the gate. But even though I was in a fast line, people in the normal line were helped first and even people who came after me were helped first. With 15 minutes left on the clock, I was helped. Fortunately, the test result was already in after 5 minutes. And in the meantime, I already had someone from KLM on the line. Fortunately, this lady was very helpful. and with 10 minutes to go, I ran to the gate while calling KLM. Here I arrived exactly with 0 min to go at the baggage checks for the gates. Completely forgotten, here too there was a line of at least 10 minutes. So I wasn’t going to get that plane anymore.

KLM

With the lady from KLM still in line, I had to get catch my breath before I could inform her that I was stranded at the baggage check. Fortunately, KLM understood the situation and they were able to get me on a flight that same day. This flight was even within the validity period of 4 hours of the rapid test. So what could possibly go wrong? Fortunately for me, everything went well. At the gate, other people were less lucky. Here, people were regularly sent away who did not have a rapid test of up to 4 hours old. I think finally 50% of the people at the gate were on the plane. But thanks to the cooperation of the lady from KLM, I landed in Amsterdam on day 7 of the trip. After more than 35 hours of travel, I was happy to be back in the Netherlands.

Mop policy?

After I had made a lot of effort to get home, the biggest surprise came 3 days after returning home. The government changed the only rule that had caused my flight to be canceled. It was no longer necessary for aviation personnel to be tested before returning to the Netherlands. So all flights were resumed. Later it turned out that the flight ban meant that everyone who did not live in the Netherlands was refused on the flights.

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