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My boyfriend, Bryan, has traveled to 40 countries. So, when it was time to celebrate his 40th birthday, we knew we couldn’t just drive to Atlantic City or visit a restaurant in Philly. It would have to be something extra special to ring in another trip around the sun.

Due to work and time constraints (read: us planning everything at the last minute), we were a bit limited to the Western Hemisphere. I looked around the Caribbean to try to take the easy route and even got pretty far into planning a trip to Grand Cayman. But lazing around expensive beaches sipping all-inclusive cocktails didn’t quite feel like “him” or “us.”

We finally decided on Montañita, Ecuador. It’s a small coastal town known for great waves and, apparently, its party scene. We weren’t too interested in backpacker partying (after 30 we get tired easily and our lower backs hurt), but we were looking for surf, massages, and beachfront stays at South American prices.

We booked our flights to Guayaquil and plotted a few towns to visit along the “Ruta del Sol.” Everything was set and ready to go.

The night before our trip, we ate dinner with Bryan’s parents and dropped my dog, Bailey, off for her staycation. As we were leaving, the news reporter announced a shocking event in Ecuador: 13 armed men held up a live TV station in Guayaquil (the city we were about to fly into.)

We held back from panicking. We’ve both traveled to some reputedly “dangerous” places and felt completely safe. Plus, we’d be staying near the beach, far from the city where the attack had occurred. I imagined it would be like worrying about violence in New York City from the quiet beaches of Long Beach Island.

We went back to my place and mused for a little while, but decided to stick with the plan. The next morning, we drove to JFK. About five minutes from pulling into our parking spot, we both got an alert. Jetblue had canceled our flight.

There wasn’t any weather in the area, and an hour on the phone with customer service confirmed it was because of the uncertainty of the situation. A top gang leader had escaped from prison, and he was encouraging acts of violence throughout the country. All of Ecuador was in a state of emergency. Jetblue rebooked us on a flight two days later, on Bryan’s actual birthday.

Confused (and for me a little scared), we turned around to head home. Desperate to find some way to turn the day around, I drove us to Asbury Park to bring Bryan to an awesome vegan restaurant. They even gave him a free piece of cake to lift his spirits.

We spent the night ruminating and deciding what to do. It might seem obvious that we should not go to Ecuador in a state of emergency, but we’re both fairly adventurous and were still considering it. My travel friend put it this way: If millions of people can live through the state of emergency, I can spend a week there. She went to Bolivia during a post-election lockdown and said it was one of her most memorable travel experiences.

The next morning, I got a text from Bryan’s mom that Bailey had been getting sick through the night. I paused my work calls and headed over to find a puppy in a state of nonstop vomiting and diarrhea. I thought back to the gross gas-station-parking-lot chicken bones she’d tried to eat during our North Carolina road trip… I took her home and booked a visit to the vet.

The innocent face of a girl who’s about to eat something that will ruin everyone’s good night’s sleep for the week:

The nagging feeling not to go was getting stronger for me. The US state department website hadn’t announced anything, and Bryan would probably choose nice waves over his personal safety any day. Of course, he wouldn’t ask me to do anything that made me feel unsafe, so ultimately, it was up to me what to do.

The next day, Bailey’s illness slowed down thanks to meds from the vet. They said it was something she ate (ahem, parking lot chicken bones, anyone?) And I made the call to say no to Ecuador.

We weren’t sure if our flight would even take off. I couldn’t handle another disappointing drive to JFK and back. And we didn’t have much booked and paid for, so we wouldn’t lose money by canceling. We turned our flights to points and started to look for alternative destinations. We couldn’t let the birthday trip be a total bust.

Although the trip didn’t work out as we planned, there were a few upsides:

Not planning far in advance worked in our favor. We didn’t lose any money in changing our plans.
People were kind all around, from the free birthday cake to Bryan’s mom staying up with Bailey to the hotel owners understanding the situation and not charging cancelation fees.
Bryan got to celebrate on his actual birthday with his family. Hibachi and a movie are always a treat!
We ended up experiencing a totally unexpected and new-to-us city in South America. Stay tuned for the next post to find out where we went!