Trapped by Coronavirus: The Day Motorcycle Travel Came to a Sudden Stop

Quite simply, the whole situation with the military plane put me in the mindset of going home and, after having the time that day to think through all the pros and cons, I realised that it was the wrong decision. I had turned down the first offer of repatriation from the UK Embassy on March 29th, so why was I suddenly bailing out now? Realising that I was making the decision based on pressure from friends, family and military/intelligence contacts out here, rather than what felt right with me, I reverted to my original call and decided to stay. This meant staying whilst the Ambassador and Foreign Office Crisis Team flew back, as well as turning down a last-minute flight from Cusco to Lima to connect with the German plane on April 19th.

Like with anything in life, there is no reward without a bit of risk. The reward here is the opportunity to see South America without tourists, given that international air travel will likely be shut for a while. As a young lad with nothing really forcing me back to the UK, a few months of lockdown here as opposed to home makes zero difference. I have a good airbnb with an outdoor terrace overlooking Cusco, the ability to leave to buy cheap food and, more importantly, alcohol, as well as strong WiFi to get on with personal admin. I’m aiming to nab the world record for the youngest person to ride round-the-world, if I were to leave now that would be out the window as this was my one year to crack out a RTW trip before finding a job. Just hoping the gamble pays off!

In all honesty, aside from the tedious delay, all COVID has buggered up is the amount of time I spent in Bolivia. If lockdown was to happen, I figured that I would rather be stuck in a tourist town in wealthy Peru than some backwater in poorer Bolivia. As it turned out, the border closed indefinitely the day after I crossed and the whole of South America shut down shortly after – lucky escape. I made it to Cusco at six o’clock on March 16th, with the nationwide lockdown commencing at midnight – talk about cutting it fine! Unwanted police attention, including the use of drones to look for people drinking or talking in groups, forced the closure of the large hostel I was staying at. A hundred odd people then moved to Airbnbs whilst waiting for repatriation flights, in scenes of absolute and hilarious chaos. 

I stayed with a British group before they all boarded a repat flight on March 29th. Despite intense pressure from family and friends, I decided to stay, take a gamble, and roll the dice on things reopening. Moving to a solo Airbnb overlooking the city, I started coming down with COVID-19 symptoms that same day. Moral of the story? No matter how lovely she is, if she has a persistent cough, do not pursue! A UK Consulate contact who is here training Peruvian Special Forces set me up with a hazmat team swab test, which quickly came back positive on April 2nd. Therefore, I found myself alone and infected with a global respiratory pandemic at 3,500 metres altitude – excellent! From then on, I was completely quarantined in the Airbnb, with my contact dropping off food and terrified neighbours treating me like the Walking Dead whenever I showed my face at the window. If I left, I would be swiftly arrested.

After almost two weeks in solitary confinement, I got a call from the Embassy late on April 14th saying that the Peruvian Air Force was sending a C-130 transport aircraft to Cusco the next morning to evacuate all remaining tourists affected by COVID to Lima. Civilian airlines refused to fly anyone with a positive test so this was the only option to connect with the LAST British Airways repat flight that afternoon. Only £250 for a door to door return? It would have been ludicrous to pass that up. I was warned by my contact that the Health Ministry would overreact and they did not disappoint. Myself and an Australian biker mate were duly covered in head to toe PPE gear and loaded onto a fully kitted out ambulance with various others for a blue-light police escort to the airport. Once there, we were held onboard just outside the runway whilst the military plane landed. However, in a stunning turn of events, the pilot saw the ambulance full of PPE-clad westerners, decided that this wasn’t what he had signed up for, and swiftly f****d off into the air again! At this point, I turned to Ray the Aussie and said: “if we stay on this ambulance in this ridiculous clothing we don’t stand a chance – let’s get off and distance ourselves from the problem group”, of which some were still COVID positive.

We both shed our PPE and jumped off to assess the situation, with the ambulance returning to the problem hostel shortly afterwards. We waited the entire morning outside the runway gates, with the plane returning at one point under direct orders from the Minister of Defence in Lima. Rumours swirled among the different European consulate officials that they would do a rapid finger prick test to decide who could board, and who would be forced to stay. Finally, after hours of heated debate between the Health, Defence and Foreign Ministries, the whole effort was canned and the plane took off again for the last time. Bemused at the whole situation, Ray and I got into my contact’s truck and drove to his place for a beer whilst we found an Airbnb. By this point, Ray just wanted to get out of the country and boarded a bus to Lima a few days later which connected with a German flight to Frankfurt on April 19th, the last one before Peruvian airspace closed on the 22nd.

Since then, I’ve been holed up in the Airbnb by myself, the last Brit in Peru, waiting for the lockdown to end and things to calm down. After finishing my two-week quarantine, I got an immunity letter and am now allowed out for only three things: supermarket, bank or pharmacy. There is a curfew from 6pm-8am every day and nobody is allowed out on Sundays. Roads are completely shut down and use of personal vehicles is prohibited. My bike is in a locked storage room at the hostel and TIPs have all been extended by the government. Lockdown here is supposed to now end on May 10th but, given it has already been extended three times, I am not holding out much hope!

My plan now is to hunker down in this airbnb, keep my head down for the time being, and hope that things reopen gradually from May 10th. I doubt that the entire road network and inter-regional travel will open immediately, so I am mentally prepared for several more weeks of this. Perhaps the most crucial factor is the situation in neighbouring Ecuador and Colombia – if it remains dire then the borders are unlikely to reopen, leaving me stuck in Peru. Worst comes to worst and I am stuck in Cusco Province, I’ll go and spend a few weeks living in the Amazon Jungle! In terms of the record, I have until June 2021 to get back so hopefully that should be enough to get over the line!