A Community in the Chaos: 9 Travellers Experiencing a Global Border Shutdown Abroad
- Caspian K. Brock
- May 10, 2020
- 16 min read
Updated: Jul 9, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic: a series of interviews with European and North American travellers stranded in a Guatemalan, beach-town paradise El Paredón, all contemplating the same question: do I stay or do I leave? The whole world is telling you to ‘stay home,’ but home is thousands of miles away. This is the story of a group of travellers’ immediate, emotional responses to the worldwide lockdown.
I had been living and volunteering at Cocorí Lodge El Paredón, a beach-front, surfer hostel, for three and a half weeks leading up to worldwide, coronavirus stay at home orders. The moment I arrived in El Paredón I knew I wanted to stay for a long time. I instantly felt welcomed in the local community, shopping at the tiendas and restaurants, enjoying the company of the hostel workers, and swimming in the balmy and inviting Pacific Ocean. Life already felt like a secluded paradise, so why would that change?
At 10am on the morning of March 16, 2020, the Guatemalan President announced his plans to shut down the country including all public transportation, nonessential businesses, the airport and its borders in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In compliance with these regulations, the owners of Cocorí Lodge — Walid, Ito, and Diego — immediately closed their hostel to the public and placed the hostel, its guests, the volunteers, and me in quarantine. Once quarantine was imposed, no one could enter the premises and, if we chose to leave, we could not return.
Because of our quarantine restrictions, Cocorí’s regular cleaning and maintenance staff were not able to work, and so the hostel volunteers were called upon to keep it running. The volunteers, who all normally worked at the bar, were regrouped: some working in housekeeping, some in gardening, some in the kitchen, some in the bar, and some working on maintenance projects. It became a community of people working together to keep Cocorí alive.
We created a fixed meal schedule: breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1pm, and dinner at 8pm. These moments became time markers during the day, moments where everyone in the community would come together. These specific meal times gave us structure and stability in a time of chaos. Dinner quickly became everyone’s favorite meal. Freddy, one of the volunteers, was a talented chef back home. He brought creativity and experimentation to the kitchen, always cooking the most delicious meals out of whatever was left over. Every night, we could feel people’s excitement over what meal Freddy would concoct next and the chance to get to know one another better.
In trying to retain normalcy, keeping everyone preoccupied was key. The owners, Walid, Ito, and Diego, organized “Diego’s Fat Camp” workouts, yoga classes, and pingpong nights. Everyone in Cocorí was incredibly well taken care of; all necessities were considered and provided.
The first few days were an emotional rollercoaster. New information and regulations were constantly thrown our way: the beach will now be closed, there will be random temperature checks, there will be a strict curfew implemented from 4pm until 4am, and there can be no gathering for meals after 4pm. As the regulations increased, our freedoms shrank.
The military and the police roamed the streets during the day, increasing their presence after the 4pm curfew. Granted, these were precautions taken to encourage safety, yet sometimes, we just did not know how the police or the military would act. Being around the armed and masked police felt eerily dystopian.
The constant questions still lingered in the back of our minds. Would we be able to go home? How would we get home? Foreseeably, there were three options:
(1) to stay at Cocorí for an indefinite period of time,
(2) to wait for a repatriation flight from Guatemala City home, or
(3) to travel across the Mexican border and manage to organize a flight home.
If we chose to stay, when would we be able to travel next or return home? No one knew, but we knew that it could be potentially several months before we were able to move again. We had to decide now.
Waves of panic and tranquility ripped through the hostel every day; everyone experiencing their own mix of emotions and trying to make the right decision with little to no information and future uncertainty. For most, time went from a surge of panic and urgency to go home to a moment of peace and gratitude for our safe haven in El Paredón.
“It’s okay; we still have the ocean.”
“It’s okay; we are safe in Cocorí.”
For most backpackers, travelling is the ultimate form of freedom. We are accustomed to making our own decisions based on our own individual needs and wants at any given moment, allowing us to have a fair amount of control over our circumstances. So, how do we react when suddenly that personal freedom of movement and ability to control our situation is revoked? Why do a group of people, who for the most part have chosen to leave their homes for months at a time, suddenly find that returning home is the preferred option?
It was constant change, constant reevaluation, constant decision making, constant uncertainty, and constant uncontrollable variables. So, how did we regain control?
D
uring these last few days in quarantine, I interviewed 9 of my friends about their experience and their internal struggle in deciding whether or not to go home. These interviews have been shortened and edited for clarity.
Currently, the families of Cocorí are experiencing immense financial hardship due to the lack of tourism caused by the shutdown. Please consider donating to their gofundme. The link is attached at the end of this article.
Annelot, Age: 23, Nationality: Dutch
Lounging in the heat of the sun, Annelot recounted anecdotes from her travels. She had been travelling around Central and South America for 4 months before arriving in El Paredón. She had a return flight out of Guatemala City on March 24 and thought to spend her last few days relaxing in the tropical paradise of El Paredón. There was a little romance to be had, friends to be made, and waves to be surfed. Instead, she ended up in quarantine. Annelot wasn’t unhappy about the situation; she wanted to stay. Her father had been urging her to come home in the days before the shutdown. “I felt really calm, but I was really afraid of telling my father.” Staying in Cocorí, she felt safe and believed that there wasn’t a better place to spend this period of time. “They are doing an amazing job [here], and I hope everyone can see that.” Naturally, she had moments of missing home, but she knew that home would always be there for her in the future.
Annelot felt strongly that the Guatemalan government was in the right for how quickly and how effectively they shut down the country. “I’m really glad they did.” At the same time, “it doesn’t make me feel more safe because I think it points out the urgency of the situation.” The enforcement of the President’s curfew and restrictions demonstrated to Annelot that they were doing everything in their power to prevent the spread of the virus. “I think they have to take it seriously, and in Holland, they are just advising you. I would not feel as safe there as I do here.” Having the girls and the community around her in Cocorí made her “feel less trapped and more normal.” “I have had many, many highlights, many times where I’m really at peace and really happy. I feel free in my mind… I really feel free when I pray, and I feel that in God I am free. But in here, it’s obviously a big cage, and it feels like that.”
Annelot is safely residing in El Paredón.
Johanna, Age: 24, Nationality: Belgian
Johanna came to Guatemala in the beginning of January with plans to travel for an indefinite period of time. She started volunteering at Cocorí in mid February and planned to leave for Antigua the same Monday we went into quarantine. Luckily, she stayed and was able to stay in a place she felt comfortable. “I felt relieved. For now, I feel safe. I think Guatemala reacted really fast, so that’s a good thing. For example in Belgium, you just have to stay at home, and the government didn’t plan anything else. Here, they check on your temperature and check on everyone. They try to be fast and to regulate.” All these regulations reassured her. However, she did not know how the country dealt with crises especially in health care, and that concerned her. “I think it’s a big crisis, and we were not prepared for it.” Johanna, like the rest of us, was still trying to make the right decision with a lack of information and immense uncertainty. “Just some questions: if it’s a good decision to stay, or if it’s better for me to go home. If it makes more sense, if it’s more responsible.”
There were many issues that encouraged Johanna to stay in Guatemala. For one, “I don’t have a place to stay at home, if I had my own place, somewhere safe to stay maybe.” In the past, she learned from her previous experience traveling and working in Peru that coming home caused her depression. “I would feel really lost. You’re forced to go home, and you’re stuck.” Traveling fulfilled her and allowed her the freedom to adventure and see new cultures. “I think it’s because that’s how I feel good. When I’m at home I feel like I need to move, discover things.” Johanna planned to stay in Cocorí for the duration of quarantine and was content with the community and the comfortability. “I think I am lucky to be here and to have really nice people, really nice vibe, really nice environment.” Despite all this, in the back of her mind was the thought of how long this could last and how long she could be stranded in El Paredón.
Initially, Johanna was set on staying in Guatemala. However, the morning of April 1st, in a last minute decision, she found her way to the airport and boarded the last German repatriation flight out of Guatemala City.
*Johanna returned home safely via a German repatriation flight.
Freddy, Age: 21, Nationality: German
Rumours of perfect surf breaks and empty lineups brought Freddy to El Paredón. Freddy had been surfing and volunteering at Cocorí Lodge since the beginning of February and felt safe in quarantine here. “I’m feeling safe here, but not in Guatemala because I don’t know the country and how the government works.” He was greatly concerned with how Guatemala would react economically and politically in the future due to the nationwide shutdown. In fact, he was concerned about the worldwide reaction in general. “I am worried about the world in terms of freedom for humans.” According to Freddy, he believed in the possibility of “a shift in democracies…I’m not sure about it, but it seems like there’s a new world after the virus. It depends on how long the quarantine is lasting, and how long the governments are shutting down.” Once he heard about Germany’s efforts to repatriate their citizens, Freddy quickly decided he would return home if he had the chance. “I’m trying to go home.” In Guatemala, he felt restricted in his travel and his freedom. The constant, fast-paced news and new Guatemalan restrictions only reinforced his decision to return home. “Everyday comes something new, new restrictions.”
Nonetheless, he tried not to overthink much about the situation. Freddy said, “you can’t change it; don’t think about it,” encouraging acceptance of the quarantine. For him, staying calm and not panicking was the most valuable mindset. In fact, going into quarantine, he was “excited about how things will change in Cocorí,” because he would be able to cook for his friends and coworkers. The primary reason that Freddy came to El Paredón was for the surf. While the beaches were still open, Freddy took every opportunity to be in the water. In quarantine, “my best moment was my barrel, definitely. It was sick. It was the first quarantine day or second one. I was so happy.” Freddy’s calmness and level-headedness helped him, for the most part, relax during his last few days in Cocorí and of his travels.
*Freddy returned home safely via a German repatriation flight.
Esthi, Age: 24, Nationality: Swiss
Esthi arrived in El Paredón just two weeks before we went into quarantine. She came for vacation to visit her dear friend Charlotte and had planned to stay only for 3 weeks. She also wanted to travel and surf in El Salvador. However, those plans were quickly cut short, for El Salvador had already closed its borders. Like the rest of us, Esthi did not foresee the national shutdown, the airport closure, and the border closure in Guatemala. “When my flight got cancelled, it was already too late to book another flight. I have to go home as fast as possible because I would have started working by today. My boss and I together decided that I wasn’t going to Mexico” to try and get home. She was going to wait for the Swiss Embassy to organize a flight out for her. Esthi knew the story would be different if not for Cocorí. “I’m not feeling insecure. It’s pretty clear to me now that I feel safe… we are really lucky to be here.” We were fortunate and grateful to have food, a safe place to stay, a good environment, and special people. From a greater perspective, she thought about how this economic shutdown would affect many countries around the world, specifically countries and people that rely on tourism. “For some people, this will mean that there is no food on the table.”
Esthi has strong faith in God, and her relationship with Him provides her security and freedom. “My whole family is Christian. I believe in God… and that He will take care of me and my family… So I’m safe.” Although her physical freedom was restricted by the Guatemalan Government, she was accepting of their regulations for greater safety. “I see the reason behind it… it’s necessary.” For Esthi, her freedom lies inside of Jesus, her heart, her mind, and her humanity. “I’m free as a human creature. Freedom happens in the heart, not necessarily in a physical way.”
*Esthi returned home safely via a German repatriation flight.
Josi, Age: 19, Nationality: German
While Josi was painting one of his many art projects, we joked about how long he had stayed at Cocorí. He arrived in El Paredón almost two months before Guatemala closed its borders and quarantine commenced. Josi had aspirations of traveling and working for an indefinite period of time throughout Central America heading towards Columbia. Josi planned to leave Cocorí on March 16 to explore the rest of Guatemala, but rumors of a nationwide shutdown discouraged him. “I was happy to stay here because I knew everyone… It was a relief to stay here knowing that everything was going to be shut down.” Cocorí had been his home for almost two months, so he felt safe there. “I was not worried about being here because the way that Guatemala reacted gave, everyone I think, a feeling of being cared about at least, because they did all the [temperature] tests and the police were around… I was never feeling unsafe.” However, similarly to Freddy, the potential economic effects of the shutdown on the local community worried Josi. “I have a concern about the economics going on here. That’s pretty much why I leave.” I will “just go home because I’m feeling insecure here with judging the situation, so at least I know what’s going to wait for me there.”
The police and military presence, the national shutdown, and the quarantine confinement to Cocorí left Josi feeling particularly trapped. “My sense of freedom is being greatly violated right now because I can’t move, I mean everyone here can’t move, and I’m a person that likes to move a lot. That is why everyone here travels I guess, because we like to move, see new places, come to places… and then go to new places.” Despite feeling incredibly physically limited, he sought freedom in other places. “It kind of forces me to deal with myself more. It’s like a mind experiment… to make up my own freedom within the boundaries I have here.” He started working on art projects and gardening around Cocorí. “I’m kind of adapting to the situation and learning more about myself than I would have learned without the quarantine. I think it’s a way of mindset… you have to accept the situation as it is… and then make the best out of it.”
*Josi returned home safely via a German repatriation flight.
Laura, Age: 23, Nationality: Canadian
On March 16, Laura walked into Cocorí expecting to come teach a yoga class and walked straight into Walid’s announcement that Cocorí would be entering into quarantine at 2pm. Laura quickly decided to move and stay at Cocorí. “I feel safer here than at home right now.” Her spirituality aided in staying calm and in her decision making. “I know that everything will work out.” Being a free spirit, Laura immediately accepted the fact of life in quarantine. She also had been living a nomadic lifestyle for a while before this. The world was her home; her home was wherever she was.
However, because of the quarantine and others in Cocorí, she would find herself asking the confusing question: “Everyone wants to go home, so should I want to go home?” She kept coming back to the same conclusion that she was incredibly lucky to be there, to be in nature and outside. In Cocorí and in Guatemala, her creativity was her freedom in lockdown. Laura believes her creativity enables her to be “free,” especially in a physical sense through the art of dance or the practice of yoga. She felt secure and confident in her personal freedom. Although in a larger sense, she wondered about the state of the world in quarantine. “I am curious about how this is going to affect humanity. People can choose to take this as an opportunity to go do things that they have always wanted to do but haven’t had the time, or they can panic and attach themselves to the fact that we are stuck and that this is happening. I just have hope — I don’t think that this is necessarily all bad.”
After 6 weeks in quarantine, Laura returned home safely via a Canadian repatriation flight.
Magnus, Age: 24, Nationality: Norwegian
Magnus arrived in El Paredón a couple weeks before quarantine to surf and volunteer at Cocorí, while his longtime girlfriend, Rina, was in yoga teacher training at Lake Atitlan. Entering into quarantine, he was accustomed to life there and felt comfortable. “I don’t feel unsafe, but I am not in charge anymore… I’m more accepting of the situation we are in.” Magnus understood and accepted the purpose of implementing and enforcing the President’s regulations, despite feeling a loss of freedom.“I understand why; I don’t think it’s too much. I think they [the Guatemalan government] are doing a lot of things with these restrictions. Seeing them take it so seriously makes me feel safe.” Despite feeling safe and the governmental precautions keeping everyone safe, he knew that he would go home given the chance by his embassy. “I was worried when they took our temperatures. I am worried about going to a hospital here. I don’t want to go to a hospital here.” Being taken to a hospital meant being transported to Guatemala City (3 hours away), being in hospital quarantine, and being fully isolated.
During this time apart from his girlfriend, Cocorí and its people became his home. Magnus’ first thought entering into quarantine was Rina. When and how would he see his love again? “I was thinking we are not going to see each other as soon as we wanted and things will get harder. I was the lowest when we first got all the information… because then it was impossible for Rina and I to meet up… [and] I was the highest when I got to know it was possible again.” He was not going to make any decisions without certainty and without being with Rina. Magnus and the owners of Cocorí discussed bringing Rina to the hostel and the logistics. “I think we are going to find a solution” for her to come home. “I am a little worried about getting in trouble while getting her here… getting stuck in some police [checkpoint].” Because of the checkpoints and the measures in place to limit travel, the planning had to be strategic. “We might have to smuggle her into El Paredón.” Fortunately, a few days later, Rina made it safely to Cocorí, and they were reunited.
*Magnus and Rina returned home safely together via a German repatriation flight.
Charlotte, Age: 25, Nationality: Belgian
Every afternoon in quarantine, Charlotte, Esthi, and I would sit down for margaritas at the bar and talk about our day. This was just another afternoon. Charlotte had been vacationing and volunteering in El Paredón for a month before the Guatemalan government shut down the country. Because she is a doctor back in Belgium, she had a unique perspective on the virus. She had heard stories from her colleagues about the impacts of the virus on the healthcare facilities at home, causing her distress. She worried about what would happen when and if the virus spread all around Guatemala. “I don’t think that the situation will be better here; I think it will be worse.” From her doctoral perspective, she did not think the health care system could support the effects of the virus due to a lack of resources and equipment.
For Charlotte, her colleagues’ coronavirus stories influenced her desire to return home and help on the frontlines. Her brother, with whom she is quite close, had also come home to stay with their parents. Additionally, she did not feel any safer with the increased military presence in Guatemala. She witnessed four people being arrested on the beach, before the beach closure was announced. Furthermore, there was little organization in disseminating the Mayor of El Paredón’s new orders and their enforcement. Charlotte felt that “this is becoming more a game of power than something logical to protect the people.” She was ready to go home and had contacted the Belgian Embassy. “I’m scared that the countries will take home their people now, and later they wont do anything more.” Nevertheless, her father encouraged her to stay in Guatemala, claiming it was smarter and safer for her to stay.
Charlotte is safely residing in El Paredón.
Renae, Age: 37, Nationality: American
On our way home, sitting outside the Guatemala City airport in the sweltering sun, Renae and I discussed the experiences we shared. Renae came to El Paredón about one month before to surf, enjoy the ocean, and look at buying some land. Being an incredibly independent woman, she was concerned about how quarantine would work because we would be entirely dependent on Cocorí. “Initially, I felt a little uneasy about the idea of not being able to leave and get anything you might need and depending on others, but then I felt really safe, secure, and happy that they were taking the initiative to look out for us all.” Fortunately, in Cocorí, we also had a fair amount of space to walk around, to be alone, to workout, to eat, to have a drink, and to socialize. “I didn’t feel trapped because it was such an open space. There were so many different things to do. There was such a cool collection of people. It was very diverse… We had a little city.” As time went on in quarantine, she started to experience the emotional effects of the worldwide shutdown. Renae shed some tears for the state of the world, for people who are dying, and for people who lost loved ones. It was her way of being able to “connect with the rest of the world that is experiencing this sadness and pain.”
“I wasn’t planning on going home.” However, her perspective changed “when they started making the mandatory business closures and school closures in the U.S. out to the end of April.” She was hopeful that things were going to be short lived. Instead, she witnessed these closures, global border closures, and flight cancellations, adding a level of seriousness to the crisis. “The police presence and the different rules they were creating around El Paredón really took away from the safety and security feeling.” Renae felt that the addition of certain rules and others like them provided a false sense of security. It made her feel uneasy, uncomfortable, and more like a foreigner than she had before.
Deciding to return home made her feel like she was able to take control of her destiny. She wanted to make a decision that was educated and her own. “I still feel free. In fact, I feel like I’m going back to the U.S. to feel a little more freedom.”
Renae returned home safely via an American Embassy organized commercial airline flight. I travelled with her back to the United States; our last day in Guatemala was March 27, 2020.
*Germany arranged availability on their charter flights to repatriate citizens and residents of the European Union as well.
Community
Looking back and processing this quarantine, it was evident that there was one largely shared experience. Cocorí was all about the people. We became a community. In anticipation of personal freedom and independence through travel, we found ourselves craving interdependency in a time of great uncertainty. We all met each other in this confined space and created special, unique relationships by finding common ground. Although everyone was dealing with their own problems and inner struggles, we supported one another.
“Everybody was super supportive of each person when they had their moment of anxiety or panic, because it’s unprecedented times.” — Renae Slatky
We are all fortunate to have had the opportunity to go home. While this was the experience of the backpacking community, what was truly concerning was and still is the consequences of this economic shutdown for El Paredón. This surfer, beach-town paradise survives off of Guatemalan and international tourism.
Currently, the community that surrounds Cocorí is financially suffering. There is no tourism, so therefore no work and no income. During this difficult time, they are in need of donations.
Please consider donating to their gofundme page:
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