This is a travel story far from ideal. It’s about when travel plans go wrong… (and they went wrong)
It’s always nice when things go according to plan. When everything flows smoothly, when bookings align, when the route makes sense, when the days unfold exactly as you imagined them. It feels easy. Controlled. Almost like a small version of a dream you managed to organize into reality.
And part of why I share ideas, travel guides, stories, challenges, tips, and/or reflections is because I genuinely believe that one of the best things a person can do is to explore. And I know that there is someone, somewhere, hesitating over doing it… And I would love “all of this” to help someone take that step! To step outside of their routine, to experience different places, to immerse themselves in something unfamiliar. Even small moments in those experiences can shift something inside you, if you’re open to it.
En La Mitad del Mundo, Quito, Ecuador – ©A Lifetime Quest
At the same time, I’ve never been someone who travels in a completely rigid way. I like to plan only what needs to be planned — the things that require structure, timing, logistics. But I mostly try to leave space. Space to wander, to get lost, to follow something unexpected. To let the trip breathe a little on its own.
Because people travel differently. Some need structure, others move freely. Most of us are somewhere in between. But still, regardless of how you like to travel, whether everything is planned down to the day, or you’re just going with the flow, there’s one thing that remains true:
Things can still go wrong.
And not just small things… Not just a missed bus or a delayed flight. Sometimes, I’m talking like Murphy’s law, everything goes wrong.
I’m not here to tell you how to fix it. Or how to stay calm. Or how to “make the most of it” in a polished, motivational way.
I am here to share that sometimes, it’s those precise moments when everything crashes, the ones that open roads that we wouldn’t otherwise take… Weird times that turn into best trips…
(Worth disclaiming that this is hoping that you are always safe, with life, and avoid injury or any harm…)
After that, I wanted to share that a trip plan going wrong can still be amazing. And confess that sometimes, those moments can turn in some of the best things that ever happen to you…
This is a story of paths, experiences, and later possibilities that were only possible because our plan crashed…
Quito, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
The original plan, the Ecuador mountain range
Ecuador, June 2022, I planned a trip through the Ecuatorian mountain range, crossing the country from South to North. It was also a Birthday trip; it was Lorena’s birthday, and on the same day that we met! We joked about traveling somewhere… “Let’s Go To Ecuador”, so what was an inside joke was an upcoming reality.
We thought about a route through the Ecuadorian Andes, moving from south to north. Starting in Cuenca or Loja, then slowly making our way up through places like Alausí, Riobamba, and Baños. Maybe attempting Cotopaxi, or at least surely staying at the hobbit-like rooms of Secret Garden with those views that look almost unreal. And eventually ending in Quito.
Amazing Traditional Dance – Streets of Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
What happened, exactly when we were flying from Panama City to Quito, protests in Ecuador heavily escalated. To the point that we arrived and took a flight from Quito to Cuenca, and the first words in the hostel were: “Welcome guys! You are trapped with us.”
The protests had intensified across the country. Roads were blocked between regions. Transportation stopped. Entire areas became inaccessible. The government declared a state of emergency. There were clashes throughout the country, tension, and uncertainty.
However, Cuenca is considered pretty safe; it was less tense compared to several other regions, and all activities inside the city were operating normally, but what wasn’t possible was to move somewhere else.
Moving through the country, the core of our entire plan, became impossible. Every route we had mapped, every stop we had imagined, every transition between places… gone. Just like that. Sometimes travel reminds you that you’re not in control.
One of the most amazing season of our lives – Inishboffin Island, Ireland ©A Lifetime Quest
*Important Note:
There’s also something important to understand here.
As travelers, it’s easy to see disruptions as inconveniences. As things that are “ruining” a trip.
But for the people who live there, these moments are not interruptions — they are part of their reality. Their struggles, their conditions, their voices trying to be heard. And being there, even briefly, puts things into perspective.
As a Latin American myself, I know that local mainstream media mostly portrays people protesting as a bad thing… And also know the social struggle we have from Ushuaia, Argentina, to the Monumento 206 in Tijuana, Mexico. However, when you see the world from place to place, you learn that most of the rights that people have… Exists because people collectively united for a major change. I talk more about it in a more political post that will be here.
The message is: Be socially aware – Respect the locals and their situation.
(Around July 2022 – At this particular moment in time, Ecuatorians at the end reached what they looked for, signing a peace agreement that included a reduction in fuel prices and a review of economic policies. After that, the strikes finally ended when we were still in the country.)
Best Travel Moments – Flowing with friends in Bosnia & Herzegovina ©A Lifetime Quest
What if the best can happens when travel plans go wrong? When one door closes, another opens...
So, coming back to the story. What was supposed to be one night in Cuenca turned into days. Then into a week.
Luckily, we found ourselves in this small, cozy hostel, Cafecito Cuenca, surrounded by a nice vibe-setting of a group who were in the exact same situation. Travelers from different places all unexpectedly paused in the same city. Around 12 to 14 of us, across 2 waves of check-in – check out, sharing this strange, uncertain moment. And somehow… it became something else.
View from Cafecito Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Cuenca started to unfold in ways we never expected. Without a schedule to follow, without any sort of rush, we wandered through streets we hadn’t planned to see. Found cafés, bars, corners, and conversations that weren’t part of any possible itinerary. Days became slower, but fuller. Less about “what’s next” and more about “what’s here.”
Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
We discovered so much, in random alleys, enjoyed a lot some really interesting spots, and some more quirky places, it was just an incredible set of events one after the other… And most importantly, some people we ended up meeting there are nowadays still part of our lives…
The ones we met during those days… didn’t stay as “people we met while traveling.” They became part of this crazy group of people we have in our hearts, those that you can cross paths with, somewhere in the world, that could be in 2 months or in 2 years…
Some Nights in Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Museo de lo Prohibido, Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Cafecito Cuenca – Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Lorena’s birthday happened there, in Cuenca.
And what was meant to be just another stop on a route… turned into one of the most memorable celebrations we’ve ever had. It stretched across days. Experiences, Food, Beers, Zhumir, long nights out, random plans, shared meals, spontaneous moments that just kept building on each other. A cake that our top host, Tony from Cafecito Cuenca, surprised us with.
Without a plan to follow, we found beauty everywhere, in local markets full of life and color, in historic buildings around, in quiet alleys that somehow led to coffee, drinks, hats, or street plantain spots. Mornings felt calm and open, while nights carried a completely different energy, moving between the cozy terrace and cheap drinks, or local clubs, craft beer spots, and long conversations that stretched without urgency. Even something as unexpected as a spa day — a plan that came through our (then) new friend Aisling — turned into one of those moments you don’t usually associate with travel, but that ended up becoming part of what makes a place and this birthday unforgettable.
(Until this day, this is one of our favorite birthdays ever… Yes, I also feel it was my birthday haha!)
This post is more of a story, a reflection to be more open to the unexpectedness of your own quest…
However, if you are curious about our stops, our Ecuadorian journey, and more, we have this Improvised Guide of what we did:
[Ecuador Guide to be Here]
Piedra de Agua Fuente Termal & Spa – Cuenca, Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Even if it looks as if I could be trying to romanticize a failed plan, my point is…
Some of the best times, core memories of our lives came when:
We weren’t supposed to be there at all, when we weren’t supposed to meet those people.
When we weren’t supposed to create those memories.
And yet, because everything went wrong… all of that became possible.
Because sometimes, when the structure disappears, it’s like something more real takes its place organically.
Something you couldn’t have planned, even if you tried. Something that’s just impossible to plan!
I go more deep about it in: The Paradox of the Unplanned: Why the Best Travel Moments Aren’t Planned
So what happens next? Distant lands & Unthought dreams...
Not like we haven’t thought about this dream… But how mesmerizing, how big, and important it was for both of us, plus the amount of money we thought we needed to properly visit the Galapagos Islands, it was a big deal for us, so when planning to go to Ecuador we made up our minds. Like: “Ok, not this time! But we promise we will SOMEDAY!”
We started to evaluate different things we could do, but going by land to Peru was impossible due to the strikes themselves. We considered Bolivia, but the prices skyrocketed at that particular time, and yes, there were moments when basically everyone in the hostel was on their laptops or phones checking over possibilities of where to go next. Some friends of our new friends talked about the Galapagos Islands, and it’s probably that thread that aligned and pulled us in… We started looking for more “tropicalish” kind of clothes, started figuring out how to make our way there.
In a crazy turn of events, we took everything we had as backup money, and took the leap to the Galapagos Islands with a pack of our new friends from Finland & Ireland that we met on Cafecito Cuenca.
Learning Note:
A frequently asked question throughout this story is: What about your plans or reservations? Did you have any? Could you cancel them? Sad short answer: No. Until the day we got to Ecuador, roads were open, and the free cancellation was no longer possible. So we couldn’t actually cancel, and the reservations got charged.
(Lesson: From this moment, most of our reservations (8 or 9 out of 10) are “pay when you arrive” reservations).
We finally made our way from Cuenca to Guayaquil, and from there we headed to…
The Galapagos Islands
Laguna de las Ninfas, Santa Cruz, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
There are no words to describe how wild this place feels; it’s, without exaggeration, like a parallel universe within our world.
It is easy to comprehend why Charles Darwin located his expedition here, spending 3 years around, out of the 5 years expedition through South America, allowing him unprecedented time to collect thousands of specimens and make detailed observations of local wildlife, plants, and anthropology, the isolation itself of the Galápagos volcanic islands provided a “living laboratory” where Darwin observed unique species that were distinctly adapted to individual islands. The isolation of the Galápagos volcanic islands provided a “living laboratory” where Darwin observed unique species that were distinctly adapted to individual islands.
Ultimately, this location offered the perfect combination of geological diversity, unique island ecosystems, and varied coastal habitats necessary to spark his theory of evolution by natural selection.
Charles Darwin Research Station, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Sleeping Sea Lion around Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
After being somewhere we had discarded from the beginning – but bucket-listed since our childhood, we found ourselves waking up here! and literally stepping into the Galápagos Islands. What followed didn’t feel like part of the same trip anymore, but like a new chapter born out of everything that had gone wrong. Over the course of that week, we moved between three, maybe four islands, with Santa Cruz becoming our base, the kind of place where things naturally revolve, where you sign up for a tour one day and find yourself out in the ocean the next, surrounded by wildlife you’ve only ever seen in documentaries.
Sea Turtle, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Lore and some Blue-footed boobies behind Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Fish Bank, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Stingray, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Marine Iguanas, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Islet, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
It’s one of those experiences that’s hard to place into words without sounding like you’re exaggerating it. But it genuinely felt like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing — the kind you don’t fully process until much later. And just like in Cuenca, it wasn’t only about the place. Somewhere along the way, we reunited with our International friends, who then introduced us to others, and before we realized it, this improvised detour had quietly built another layer of connection in our lives. People who, over time, became part of ongoing stories that stretched far beyond Ecuador — into other Distant Lands. Threads that only exist because everything unfolded the way it did.
The Crew – Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Marine Iguanas, Musala – Bulgaria ©A Lifetime Quest
Dublin – Ireland ©A Lifetime Quest
Koningsdag around Utrecht & Amsterdam – The Netherlands ©A Lifetime Quest
Distant Lands Moments years after ©A Lifetime Quest
It makes you think about how many paths sit behind a single decision. One step, one unexpected turn, one “yes” to something that wasn’t in the plan. That’s where a lot of the magic lives — in the parts you couldn’t have predicted, but somehow end up shaping everything that comes after…
If you’re curious about how this whole experience unfolded — yes, even in its improvised form — we’ve put together a more detailed breakdown of our time in Ecuador and the Galápagos [here]. And if the Galápagos itself has been on your mind, there’s another piece where we go much deeper into that experience [here]. What can we say… we just enjoy documenting life as it happens.
Sea Lions Juveniles, Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
End of Protests and back to the Mainland, Quito
When the protests finally ended, we flew back into mainland Ecuador, arriving in Quito. We said “see you later,” closing what had been an unpredictable and amazing chapter, one that we both feel is still a “to be continued.” It didn’t feel like an ending, just a pause. After the hugs, we stepped into the city and found ourselves witnessing the exact moment when security forces were removing the metal barricades around the historic center. We were there as they opened the way, becoming part of the first people walking back through. Naturally, we followed that path into Quito’s Historic Center, where colonial charm meets Andean life, surrounded by vibrant markets, cafés, and the presence of altitude in every direction.
Centro Histórico, Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Mitad del Mundo, Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Café en el Teleférico, Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
We spent those days just moving with the city. Coffee stops, trying local flavors like taxo, locro, and chocolate, walking without much structure, letting the place guide us instead of the other way around. We joined a walking tour, ended up at Bandido Brewing trying craft beers, and kept finding small moments that made the days feel full without needing a plan.
Basílica del Voto Nacional, Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
The cathedral stood out immediately, one of those places that doesn’t need exaggeration to impress you, just stepping inside was enough. Days later, we made it to Mitad del Mundo, where everything felt lighter, with music, traditional dances, and a kind of energy that felt almost celebratory after everything the country had just gone through. The teleférico gave us a wider perspective, Quito stretching beneath us, surrounded by mountains, reminding you how intense and beautiful this geography really is.
4000 M.A.S.L in Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
Somewhere in between all of this, something clicked for me. Months before, during a trip to Guatemala, I remember feeling stuck in my corporate life, questioning everything and thinking I needed answers. (You can check my earlier thoughts, doubts, and questions about my life making sense back then here.) What I learnt and got back then was only more questions, but the right questions, though, the kind that stay with you without resolving, with a glimpse of clarity and direction. And here in Ecuador, in a trip where everything had gone wrong, those same questions found their answers without me even actively searching for them. It wasn’t a big moment, just a quiet realization that sometimes things only make sense when you stop trying to control how they should happen.
Mirador de los Volcanes – Quito – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
It felt like a full circle, one that would have been impossible to plan. I needed everything to collapse to barely but strongly start understanding what I had been questioning… What I had been wondering for years. Was my life what I wanted it to be? Should we just give up and bend against the system’s 50-year-long expected loop where days are similar, and memories are less? Am I wrong for saying that I’ll choose another way? Is it even possible to see the world and make a living while doing it? Am I wrong for thinking out of the box of what I wish? Should we just give up on our dreams because other people just left theirs in order to fit? Why do some workaholics assume they’re the smartest in the room? Can we change our lives? Compromise or persevere?…
In the same way, I would rather have more “boxes of experience yet to try” than “done ticked boxes”.
I prefer a life where I have the most possible amount of curiosity, hence creating the possibility of more questions… than answers.
Yet I have it here… And it was to move on…
Improvised Adventures in the Galapagos Islands – Ecuador ©A Lifetime Quest
It made me realize how important it is to stay curious and also to stay adaptable, to make decisions even when you don’t see the full picture, and to understand that some possibilities will only exist if you dare to take a step, “taking the leap”. That, as humans, we can’t stay waiting behind doors that hold endless possibilities. Paths while traveling showed me that while the idea of visiting places is great, the real value is in connecting with people, stories, and ideas. Sometimes you don’t need a perfect plan to experience something meaningful, because what makes a moment special is often the people you share it with and the unexpected alignment that brings all of you there…
I went back to Panama with that clarity sitting quietly in me. I already knew I wasn’t able to go back to working in an office, and I felt completely disconnected from the idea of being geographically limited. Something had shifted, and there was no real way to go back to how things were before. I didn’t have everything figured out, but for the first time, I didn’t feel like I needed to…
I felt how sometimes being sure of what you don’t want in life is also a big amount of progress… It’s a good start.
Thanks for reading,
If any part of this made you pause, reflect, or feel that quiet itch to move, to explore, to question your own path —
Take it as a small signal. Not pressure. Not a command. Just a nudge.
Your quest doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. It doesn’t have to be loud, extreme, or perfectly planned.
It just has to feel true to you.
And if this motivated you even a little, maybe that’s enough to take the next step — whatever that means for you.
Peace
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