Our love story has been a story full of adventures, challenges, and surprises. We met in Zion National Park where we worked together in 2019. We both left our jobs and moved back home (Melanie to California, Victor to Ecuador), but we were able to find each other on social media and become virtual friends. During the pandemic Victor decided to accompany Melanie and her friend on a two-month trip through Peru and Ecuador. We surfed giant sand dunes, white water rafted, climbed Machu Picchu, flew over the Nazca lines, swam in thermal pools, zip lined, and more. We ate alpaca, guinea pig, cow heart, and somehow managed to never get ill. We spent many of our nights on uncomfortable buses talking before succumbing to sleep. By the time Melanie had to leave Victor in Ecuador, we both knew we couldn’t say goodbye for good. We started a long-distance relationship and frequently visited each other in our respective countries. However, we did sometimes experience hurdles, like when Victor was trapped in a hurricane in Miami, or when Melanie was deported from Ecuador from overstaying and was banned from returning for a year. Consequently, we started meeting each other in other destinations. During our long-distance relationship, we explored the Mexican Yucatán peninsula, Galápagos Islands, Guatemala, and Colombia. We swam with whale sharks, paid off Mexican police, almost died in a cave, scaled a volcano, and experienced so many different foods and cultures. Victor proposed to Melanie in her Pennsylvanian home in May 2023. We legally married in Guayaquil, Ecuador on August 16, 2023, while Melanie was suffering from a water-borne virus. Immediately afterwards, we started Victor’s green card process. In the summer of 2024, we found out that Melanie was pregnant while we were together in Galapagos. Our baby girl was born on March 28, 2025, and Victor received his permanent residency one month later. We are thrilled to finally be physically together and embarking on our next adventure of starting a family. We plan to continue traveling often (with a little extra baggage now), and we are finally able to always go home together. We are so excited to celebrate our marriage with our family and friends in the United States with a second ceremony and accompanying reception!