I’ve been backpacking in Central and South America for the past few months. When the Coronavirus situation first caused some countries to close their borders, I joked with my family about getting stuck outside the U.S. The situation was serious in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. long before it hit South America.
Because I was so far removed from the situation, it was difficult to get a sense of how severe things were getting. Suffice to say, I did not see it as a good enough reason to end my trip early. Things were still pretty normal in Ecuador—until mid-March, when Ecuador mandated a nationwide quarantine. Suddenly, businesses were closed, activities were suspended, in-country transport halted, and flights became restricted.
I had originally planned on heading back to the U.S. after a few weeks in Ecuador, which would have put me back home last weekend. Unfortunately, for the entire first week of the quarantine, there were exactly zero flights leaving Ecuador for anywhere in the U.S. This week, they have started to have one or two flights going to Miami each day, but they are extremely expensive and fill up quickly.
Since I had budgeted for this trip to end in mid-March, I suddenly found myself in a predicament. I was not only stuck in the country of Ecuador, but in the exact city and residence where I had been when the quarantine was suddenly announced. As of that morning, no hostels or hotels were allowed to accept new guests. I was lucky that I happened to be staying in a safe and comfortable place (that’s pretty swanky, if I’m being honest) when the quarantine started. Unfortunately, this location was also twice as expensive as any of my other planned stays. It was supposed to be a treat to myself before the end of the trip, but this put me in quite a pickle financially.
I had been working for Baobab Partners as a freelance marketing and content writer off and on for over a year before taking these few months off in order to fully take advantage of my travel experiences. I was planning to start up again with my return in March. For most people who take a few months off of work, going back to a normal work schedule would require being physically present in a specific place.
Fortunately for my current situation, that is not the case. Acting as a remote freelancer gives me the unique ability to work normally from anywhere in the world. All I need is a wifi connection and we are good to go. For this reason, I am thankful this didn’t happen in January, when I was in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle with no electricity or running water (and only mediocre wifi—they really have got to work on that).
Since my place of residence has a wifi connection (only a step above the Costa Rican jungle, really), I am able to support myself during this uncertain time by returning to my normal job. If Baobab Partners were not a remote worker friendly firm, I would not be able to pay for this residence or food while here, especially since it is for an indeterminate amount of time. There’s no way I would be able to find work here; most of the country is shut down right now, so how could I possibly find a way to make money? Working remotely is quite literally keeping me alive at the moment.
Being able to take my laptop out to my hammock by the river and work while peacefully swinging away—that’s just a perk. ☺
Samantha is a North Carolina-based remote freelance writer and editor for Baobab Partners.
