One February, we found ourselves in Quito on Valentine’s Day – a stopover on our way to cruise the Galapagos Islands. We exchanged cards and chocolate but made no other plans. In order to acclimatize ourselves to the high altitude, we slowly wandered the streets, but spent most of the day sipping coffee and playing backgammon at a local café.

Once dinnertime rolled around, we searched for a restaurant. (The impressive twostory Burger King was surprisingly too up-scale for our attire.) Eventually, we stumbled upon a cozy family-run bistro and took a chance. We both enjoyed our individual meals and left happy, but it did not last. Something did not sit well and “escalated” quickly for one of us.

Nothing tests your love like having to share a smal...

Please subscribe to keep reading.