The odyssey is almost over for a West Kootenay couple that was under lockdown in Spain earlier this month.
Greater Trail鈥檚 Garrett Kucher travelled to Europe to play in Spain鈥檚 Evolve Pro Golf Tour. While at his apartment in Murcia on Mar. 14, he and his partner Victoria (Tori) Apostoliuk, of Castlegar, were caught in a mandatory quarantine due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Efforts to contact the Canadian consulate proved futile the weekend the lockdown started, however, with the help of South Okanagan-Kootenay MP Richard Cannings, by the following Tuesday the couple reached the consulate by phone. They were subsequently emailed a letter in English giving them permission to travel and leave the country 鈥� if they were able.
鈥淲e had to prove that we had outgoing flights, and they didn鈥檛 guide us saying which airport to go to or anything like that,鈥� said Kucher. 鈥淚t kind of made Tori and I realize that we got this letter and either we look for flights and give this a go, or we just accept the fact that we鈥檙e stuck and going to stay.鈥�
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As the couple scanned through overpriced flights, they eventually booked two tickets from Valencia to Frankfurt, Ger. and then to Canada. They quickly stored their belongings in a locker, and got packed.
About a three-hour drive on army-patrolled roads led them north to Valencia and the airport, with ample time to check extra bags and board the flight to Frankfurt.
But they weren鈥檛 out of the woods yet.
鈥淲hen we arrived, we looked up at the board and every flight said, 鈥楥ANCELLED鈥�,鈥� said Kucher. 鈥淏ut lucky our flight wasn鈥檛 up there, and we just looked at each other and said, 鈥楻eally? that鈥檚 a good sign, right?鈥欌��
The next challenge was checking extra bags and his golf clubs, which almost didn鈥檛 make it, as hazmat-suited workers sprayed the waiting area, and others swabbed their palms, and checked each passenger for signs of COVID-19. The hopeful couple made their way through security and to the boarding area, where the airline attendant noticed that the flight from Frankfurt to Canada departed more than the mandatory 24 hours after their arrival.
鈥淭hey asked for our passports and boarding passes, and scanned it, then said okay, 鈥楽tep aside please,鈥欌�� explained Kucher. 鈥淭hey wouldn鈥檛 let us get on the plane, because our flight was greater than 24 hours apart. Our flight left Valencia at 12:30 and left Germany the next day at 1:30.鈥�
As they watched their bags unloaded from the plane, an anxious Garrett and Tori pointed out that by the time they arrived in Frankfurt it would be more than two hours later, and so less than the proscribed 24 hours.
鈥淔inally she goes, 鈥極kay, okay鈥� and lets us on the plane, 10 minutes after it was suppose to be in the air. But honestly, I didn鈥檛 care if the plane did somersaults into Frankfurt, I was just happy to be on that flight and leaving Spain.鈥�
The rest of the journey home went pretty smoothly for Garrett and Tori, as they were checked and rechecked for any symptoms at every turn and step of the way.
The couple was picked up at the airport by Garrett鈥檚 mom, Nona, on Mar. 20 and are now staying at her house in Castlegar, all three currently under a self-imposed, 14-day quarantine.
Spain continues to be under lockdown, with it鈥檚 coronavirus numbers among the highest in Europe.
Garrett and Tori were exhausted from the ordeal and the jetlag, but relieved to be back home, where family has been dropping off meals at the door and reconnecting from a safe distance.
鈥淲e want people to understand how serious it really is,鈥� said Kucher. 鈥淲e landed on Canadian soil and we will not leave our house for two weeks. It鈥檚 a real thing. The quicker we take the precautions that the health authorities are telling us to take, the quicker it鈥檚 going to blow over, and, really, it鈥檚 not up to anybody else, it鈥檚 up to us.
鈥淚f it was a month of quarantine, we鈥檇 do it in a heartbeat, we鈥檙e just super happy to be home.鈥�
sports@trailtimes.ca
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