When Sydney residents Anne and Craig Dorrington embarked on their dream trip to Antarctica and Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands they never thought they would end up volunteering to clean their hostel just to avoid being kicked out on the street.
The couple, both in their early 60s, are among dozens of Australians currently stranded in Ecuador after the small South American nation declared strict border measures to slow the coronavirus pandemic on 14 March.
As hotels across the country closed their doors due to a lack of tourists, the Dorringtons were forced out of their original accommodation in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, and left scrambling for a place to stay.
The Australian couple in Antarctica during the earlier portion of their trip. Source: Supplied
That’s how they found themselves at the Secret Garden Hostel.
“We’ve got a community, we’ve got a reasonable number of Australians … we’ve got Canadians, we’ve got Americans here, we’ve got French, Italian, people from all over,” Ms Dorrington, who celebrated her 60th birthday on the day the lockdown was introduced on 15 March, told SBS News.
“But they [the hostel owners] weren’t used to having people here day in and day out.”
Ms Dorrington in the Galápagos Islands. Source: Supplied
Largely confined to the hostel, Ms Dorrington said many of the 60 young travellers there had nothing to do except drink.
She knew she had to do something, so she approached the hostel’s owner with a plan.
“We’ve got to look after their mental health … so we started the yoga that afternoon,” she said.
“Sitting around doing nothing is not something young people are used to doing.”
Slowly, other guests have got on board with Ms Dorrington’s activities and bright murals featuring animals and plants have unfurled across the hostel’s walls after days spent painting.
More serious, however, is the ever-present concern that if guests find a way home to their own country and start to leave the hostel, it will be forced to close - leaving the Australian couple once again without a place to stay.
Anne, 60, and Craig Dorrington, 61, from Mona Vale in Sydney are among dozens of Australians trapped in Ecuador. Source: Supplied
In order to reduce the costs of running the hostel, guests have been chipping in to cook, clean and do maintenance work around the property to reduce the financial burden of staff.
“Right now, the owner can be secure that we are here week-to-week but obviously if everyone was to disappear we wouldn’t be able to continue,” Ms Dorrington said.
“Australians are finding that they are out on the street. I’ve been in that situation and I don’t want to be in that situation again.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is currently working with a private travel company to organise an emergency charter flight to evacuate Australian travellers stranded in neighbouring Peru and Argentina.
Travellers paint animals onto the walls of the hostel to pass the time in lockdown. Source: Supplied
Australians in , a price many are unable to pay.
The Dorringtons say they have already spent about $10,000 on flights hoping to leave the country, all of which have so far been cancelled at the last minute. They are currently booked on a LATAM flight due to depart on 6 April, but worry it too will be scrapped.
“All of our flights so far have been cancelled, cancelled, cancelled and you’ve got to be vigilant every moment of the day to make sure it happens,” Ms Dorrington said, adding that most days they spend up to four hours on the phone to the airline.
In a last-ditch bid to get his parents home, the couple’s son, John, has launched a Change.org petition calling on the Federal Government to fund an emergency Qantas flight to evacuate Australian nationals from Ecuador, Chile and Peru.
“The situation is worsening daily, they are losing hope with no solution in sight,” the petition read.
The couple said they have also sent letters to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and their state member Rob Stokes.
In a press conference on Sunday, Mr Morrison said DFAT was working to repatriate Australian citizens, particularly “where there are larger groups”, but did not commit to organising evacuation flights.
The nearest Australian Embassy to Quito is in Chile's capital, Santiago. On Sunday, Australian Ambassador to Chile and Ecuador Todd Mercer tweeted that he was “aware the situation for Australians in Ecuador is very difficult” and so “safe passage” documents can be issued.
“There is no plan for the Australian Government to offer assisted departures to Australians overseas – Australians seeking to return home must do so by commercial means,” the form reads.
As of Sunday evening, 532 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Ecuador, less than half the number currently confirmed in Australia.
DFAT declined to comment on the number of Australians in Ecuador or if any plans were in place to facilitate their travel home if commercial flights continue to be cancelled.
On Tuesday last week, the Federal Government urged all Australians overseas to return home before raising the travel advice for the entire world to “do not travel”.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
