I look forward to my yearly vacation every year. Aruba, the beautiful “One Happy Island,” is where I shut my brain off, relax, and pretend the rest of the world does not exist. What I did not expect was for parts of the Caribbean to experience widespread travel disruptions, leaving thousands of travelers stuck in paradise because of political and legal developments tied to Venezuela.
On Jan. 3, I woke up to news coming out of Venezuela, which is roughly 70 miles from my bed in Aruba. Reports of sudden airspace disruptions and heightened security concerns started popping up. For a brief moment, panic set in. I was on an island. Flights were canceled. Then I remembered where I was, looked outside, and decided to worry later.
Somewhere between my fifth Aruba Ariba and a serious internal debate over whether the lizards would once again make their way into the house, Caribbean airspace essentially hit pause.
Airports across parts of the region shut down as governments responded to the situation involving Venezuelan officials and international criminal charges being handled in the United States. Global geopolitics was not something I had planned on dealing with this week.
The result was thousands of travelers stranded in Aruba and throughout the Caribbean. Many passengers with canceled flights were told they would need to rebook a week or more out, depending on availability and how quickly things returned to normal.
My cousins, thankfully, flew back to Boston the night before everything unfolded. That timing could not have been better because their 2-year-old would have eventually eaten the table if required to stay another week.
It is hard to convincingly complain when you are surrounded by turquoise water and palm trees swaying in the breeze, almost mocking you for even trying.
The Aruba airport reopened Jan. 4, bringing with it some of the longest and most chaotic lines I have ever seen. Meanwhile, I am still here until Jan. 11, riding it out, enjoying the island, and pretending this was all part of the plan.
There is a certain irony in trying to get away from the United States for a bit, only to find yourself unable to leave a tropical island because of the U.S. I left the country to unplug, and somehow still ended up stuck because of it.
But, not a bad place to be stuck.
