Elena Manighetti and Ryan Osborne quit their jobs in 2017, bought a boat, and decided to travel the world. As a result, it was only until recently that they were totally oblivious about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has shaken the world.
Per BBC News, this was all because they said goodbye to their families and friends with one cardinal rule: do not contact us with any bad news.
The couple, who had previously lived in Manchester, England, were making their way across the Atlantic Ocean to the Canary Islands to the Caribbean last month, completely oblivious to the fact that the deadly coronavirus was rapidly spreading around the world.
Dr. Anthony Fauci warns the coronavirus will "get worse before it gets better":Then, in mid-March, after 25 days at sea, the couple discovered the extent of the problem when they docked on a small island. This happened before they docked when a phone signal told them that the island's borders closed because of a global pandemic.
In an interview with the BBC, Elena said: "In February we'd heard there was a virus in China, but with the limited information we had we figured by the time we got to the Caribbean in 25 days it would all be over.
"When we arrived we realized it wasn't over, and the whole world had been infected," added Ryan.
Elena, whose family are from Lombardy, Italy's worst-hit region, said: "We told our shore contacts we didn't want to hear any bad news, which was a difficult job as it was pretty bad news."
"We first attempted to land in one of the French territories in the Caribbean but when we arrived we found all the borders were closed and the islands were closing down," Ryan said.
"Even at that point, we assumed it was a preventative measure due to the high season. We thought the islands didn't want to run the risk of a few tourists infecting the locals."
The couple decided to reroute to Grenada, and while at sea, they eventually found a spot where their 4G signal became strong enough to discover the extent of what was happening.
Elena said: "A friend of ours was already in Saint Vincent, which is where we were aiming to head. We managed to get in contact with her 10 hours before we were due to dock.
"She told us we were going to be refused entry as I'm an Italian citizen, even though I hadn't been to Italy in months."
Thankfully, the couple had been tracking their movements via GPS. It proved not only their travel history but that they had been in isolation for 25 days at sea.
As a result, they were finally able to step back onto dry land. But the couple struggled when they discovered how badly their families had been affected by the virus.
"My hometown is in the Italian region of Lombardy which has been one of the worst affected in the world," Elena said. "Ryan and I hadn't realized how it had affected our families until we docked and I managed to call my dad.
"It was a hard conversation. He told me to not panic but our town had been one of the worst affected areas globally. He sent me a New York Times profile on our hometown, which made it all feel suddenly real. I was shocked.
"It's a very macabre picture at home, there are no more coffins, no more cemetery space or room in the crematorium. My family is thankfully safe at home and have been in lockdown for over six weeks, but people we've known for years have died."
For now, the couple is safely sheltering in Bequia, Saint Vincent, but are worried about how long they can realistically stay in the area.
"We don't want to leave Saint Vincent for now as nowhere is open," says Elena. "We're sitting tight for the time being with the aim of getting out before hurricane season starts at the beginning of June."
The couple hopes to continue exploring the Caribbean by traveling north, however, for the time being, their plans look uncertain.
She added: "We're sandwiched between the hurricane season and the virus."
