Lynne Mowbray|
After taking a ‘trip of a lifetime’, a Yamba couple have been stranded in Ecuador.
Kerrie Huxham and husband Angus Fay recently took a three-week holiday to the Galapagos Islands, only to find that themselves stranded in Quito, Ecuador.
Yamba resident and close friend Lesley Pickering said that she is in daily contact with the couple.
“Kerrie and her husband Angus left Australia on Friday, March 6,” Lesley said.
“Because they are both scientists, they have been trying to get to the Galapagos, for most of their lives and this was a very much looked forward to trip.
“The tour went for about 10 days and everything had gone perfectly. They got back into Quito the capital of Ecuador and had one or two nights left in their hotel. They were booked to fly out on a (South American) Latam flight at 10pm one night and the airlines completely changed the time and moved it forward by 11 hours to 11 o’clock that morning and did not inform them.
“They got to the airport with it all over – no flights from that point on.
“So, they immediately contacted the consulate and they were told to just stay put.
“They are very fortunate as they are staying in a semi-rural hotel about seven kilometres from the airport have been comfortable and safe and getting three meals a day.
“They’re now starting to get very worried because things have become very fractured in the capital and they’re unsure of how it’s all going to work out.
“Their daughter who is based in Canberra has found another small group of Aussies in the capital and has put them all in contact, but all the borders are closed, you are not allowed out on the street; no taxis, no shuttles, no buses,” she said.
At the time of going to print (on Monday) the couple had managed to get on a KLM flight at Quito airport and had flown to Guayaquil (Ecuador), where they were still sitting on the plane, which will fly to Amsterdam.
The flight was organised by the EU – with a number of Australians on board. They are due to fly from Amsterdam to Abu Dhabi and through to Sydney.
