The Trip Back Home: Northsiders cruise to South America becomes an adventure trying to find a place to dock

In February, Mike and Denise Upton set sail for a much anticipated trip. In fact, the trip was one they had been looking forward to since 2015, as it was their third attempt to visit South America since then. 

In the fall of 2019, the couple booked a cruise to take them from Buenos Aires, Argentina, around the tip of South America and end in Lima, Peru. 

Once they disembarked in Lima, they planned to spend an additional week exploring before flying back to their home at Lake Caroline. 

But, we all know what they say about the “best-laid plans.”

“We were just wanting an escape from cold weather in the winter,” Denise said. They typically go to their beach condo each January to do just that.

“We did that, then we came back and embarked upon this trip beginning in Buenos Aires, Argentina,” Denise said. 

They boarded the ship on February 24 for a 20-day cruise. 

“In Lima, we were going to get off the ship and go to Machu Picchu and spend an additional week before we came home on March 22,” she said. “There was no coronavirus being reported in South America when we got on the cruise ship. It was just getting into Washington state, so we didn’t think much about it affecting us. It did not, health wise.”

However, as they began to go up the Pacific coastline around Chile, the news reports began pouring in with coverage on the virus. This was approximately 10 days into the trip. 

“The crew, as always, was taking great measures to wipe down the ship and use hand sanitizer,” she said. “They were really taking care of that, like most cruise ships do.”

Luckily, there were no cases of coronavirus on board. However, when the ship was nearing its destination in Lima, passengers were notified that they were not allowing the cruise ship to dock.

 The plan was then to turn around and dock in San Antonio, Chile, which was two days of travel time away. 

“About a day and a half into that, they canceled our docking there,” she said. “We didn’t even get close. Didn’t even see land.”

This time, the crew let passengers know that they would instead be traveling up the Panama Canal and docking in Miami. 

“When they announced that, the whole restaurant we were in began to cheer,” she said. “We thought if we could just get into the United States, we could drive home.”

After getting off the ship in Miami, Denise said they went straight to their rental car and made it home to Jackson in approximately 13 hours. 

If they had made it to Lima and spent the additional week as planned, they would have returned on March 22. So, in the end, the travel delays only added one additional day to their trip. 

“They never skipped a beat,” Mike said of the crew. “They did everything you’re supposed to do in that situation.”

The Uptons were lucky, as reports continue to come in about cruise ships being unable to dock as coronavirus runs rampant on board. 

While on board, Mike said there was a sense of camaraderie among passengers as they went through the experience together. 

Since returning home, the Uptons have had Zoom happy hours with couples they became friends with during their time on the ship. 

“The ship’s collective attitude made it fun,” Mike said. “We just all kind of said, ‘Well, here we go.’”

When they finally made it home after the 13-hour drive from Miami, they found care packages filled with toilet paper, Lysol wipes and a fridge full of food necessities left by members of their travel group made up of Northside friends. 

Mike is also a beekeeper, so upon arriving home, he checked in on his hive. 

“They pretty much do their own thing,” he said. While on the cruise ship, when he got a little homesick he checked in on their home via the security cameras to see their azaleas in full bloom. 

The former owners of Upton Tire Pros, which Mike started in 1989, the couple began traveling more extensively since selling the business. They are both now retired, after approximately 25 years with the successful tire company. Denise was a court reporter. 

They have already been on eight or so cruises together over the years, in addition to making several trips overseas for travel. The experience has not dulled their interest in cruising, as they already have two more cruises in mind. Once it is safe to do so of course.