Read the first from Joseph DeAcetis’ dispatch on the coronavirus from Peru.
On Sunday, March 15, Peru’s President Martín Vizcarra declared a national emergency, adding a strict 15-day quarantine and other severe restrictions due to COVID-19. I had flown to Lima the previous month for a series of meetings related to a new clothing company that I was launching with my partners after all, but it immediately became clear that we had to leave the country and return to the United States.
That night, when Lima’s airport would close in two days, I logged on to the U. S. State Department’s website to list my call for a flight back to the United States. I soon received an email from the U. S. Embassy in Peru that gave me a list of phone numbers of advertising airlines that could take us home. I called all the airlines – several times – but we didn’t get on the plane and we were confined for two weeks in the community of Miraflores in Lima. .
Even U. S. citizens who were lucky enough to board a plane, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, described the procedure as chaotic. “It’s chaos at the airport,” Rodgers told a radio interviewer about his ordeal in Peru.
As of March 28, there were still about 2,300 Americans stranded in Peru, and at this point, I have little confidence that we will be able to return home anytime soon. After speaking with other Americans here, as well as with U. S. officials, I get the impression that the U. S. Embassy in Peru is not prepared to deal with a crisis of this magnitude.
After spending more than two weeks at Hotel Casa Suyay, my business partner, Juan Benson, and I moved into a two-bedroom Airbnb near Miraflores. We weren’t the only ones to leave the property. Most of the other visitors – with whom we formed a crisis camaraderie – left about a day after our departure. The explanation for this exodus was largely due to the new restrictions imposed on the hotel, in addition to the confinement in our rooms 24 hours a day. If the emergency period were extended until April 12, this type of quarantine looked more like a criminal sentence.
The staff was excellent and tried to make the most of this amazing situation, but the hotel ultimately had to comply with the Peruvian government. It was a bittersweet departure, as the manager told us as we were leaving: “After 17 days together enduring the pandemic,” he said, “you feel like family. “He’s right, but there’s still some time to go.
Unusual offers: an empty shoeshine stand in Lima.
Moving to Airbnb was like a fresh start in Lima. As in the world, we take social distancing very seriously. We came to Peru for business, not pleasure, but being locked in a room in a foreign country all day is scary. . A short walk to eat or simply gaze out over the Pacific Ocean has become a must-have component of maintaining our intellectual health. Even being free to walk around in a spacious place gave us back a small sense of normalcy.
Among the expats who have left Casa Suyay, there is a small organization of us who keep in touch with others. We exchanged facts about repatriation and shared some war stories about our time in Peru.
Daily News: A man takes images of COVID-19 updates.
One woman I have gotten to know here, Ellen, traveled to Peru to hike Machu Picchu with her daughter, Isabel. When news about COVID-19 began coming out, they immediately cut short their adventure. Just to make it back to Lima sounded harrowing. After having waited more than six hours to board a train to nearby Cusco, they were fortunate enough to purchase bus tickets to Lima. That ride, Ellen said, took 28 hours to reach Lima, in a bus packed with so many passengers that they were crawling in the windows to board and stowing away in the luggage compartment below.
As if the adventure didn’t seem painful enough, Ellen said there were no open toilets on the bus and that there was a pregnant woman among those crammed into the trunk.
Ready to Go: The author at the Peru’s Legislative Palace.
Stories like Ellen’s help keep my own plight in perspective. Yes, it’s frightening to be stranded in a foreign country during a pandemic. And, yes, it’s inconceivable to imagine being confined to a small hotel room for two more weeks. But for now we feel safe and healthy—and that is what matters most.