SYDNEY, N.S. — It was supposed to be a relaxing getaway to one of the most remote places on earth.
But for two Cape Breton women, the once-in-a-lifetime trip to a yoga retreat on the Galápagos Islands turned instead into a frantic struggle to find their way home.
After being stranded in Ecuador’s capital of Quito for the past four days, Sheila Kennedy of Sydney River, and her 29-year-old daughter, Laura, are now heading home. But as recently as Monday evening, the pair wasn’t sure when they might secure passage out of the South American country that is now under lockdown and its borders for the most part closed. The Kennedys were among an estimated 5,000 Canadians still out of the country and wanting to come home.
“We’d been told that the border was not going to be open until April 5th at the earliest,” said Kennedy, adding that their original schedule had them returning to Canada on Monday.
“But we just received an email from the Canadian Embassy with a code attached so our group will all be able to get a seat home on a flight that leaves Quito on Wednesday morning.”
The Kennedys planned their trip to the Galápagos Islands last fall. Sheila’s husband, Peter, passed away earlier in the year and a vacation with the youngest of her three daughters was an opportunity to connect and heal in the tranquil setting of the equatorial archipelago best known for its giant tortoises.
Both mother and daughter had participated in a previous Shanti Yoga retreat five years ago in Costa Rica. It had gone well.
“The trip looked amazing and as we had both been with the group before, and Laura had also been with them in Bali (Indonesia), we knew how smoothly everything ran and how organized it was,” said the now retired senior Kennedy, who spent more than two decades as the Kennedy Animal Hospital’s office manager.
Their Galápagos excursion also started well and a day after leaving home they found themselves on Isla Santa Cruz, home of the Enchanted Galápagos Lodge. Kennedy said they were able to enjoy three days of activities before authorities closed the national park that comprised 97 per cent of the island.
“Our concern about how or when we would get home began to set in after they announced the closing of the Ecuador border,” she said.
Once the restrictions were imposed, the Kennedys and others at the resort were prohibited from leaving save for a run to the grocery store or pharmacy.
Fortunately, mother and daughter were part of a group that managed to catch a flight to Quito on March 21.
“We knew we had to be there because that was where we would have to be if flights were coming down from Canada,” she said, adding that they were fortunate to find lodging and food while stranded in the Ecuador capital.
“Each day, we have tried to make the best out of the situation, which is out of everyone’s control, but we were all stressed and concerned about how and when we would be getting home, and hoping that we all stay healthy in the meantime.”
Like all other Nova Scotians returning from either abroad or out of province, the Kennedys are required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days.
“Cold weather and snow never looked so good,” said Kennedy, upon hearing of the present Cape Breton weather.
Meanwhile, another Cape Breton woman, Helen Doherty, safely crossed the border into Canada on Monday after a four-day drive from Florida.
The Big Pond Centre resident, who wintered in the Sunshine State, said she and her traveling companion limited their stops to hotels and gas stations.
“Through New York state, the highway was eerily empty – hotels were open but seemed relatively empty,” Doherty reported.
“For us, there was no stopping except for gas, bathroom, hotel, always keeping six feet away from people.”
Like the Kennedys, she is now self-isolating. And given the circumstances, she has no issues with it.
“I take it extremely seriously and I find it disturbing when others don’t – we owe it to our health care workers and other essential workers to be vigilant.”
