I was in Sayulita Mexico last October for what I guess is becoming an annual yoga retreat tradition for me. I went the year before for the first time and I don't think we had even left before I signed up for the following year. I not only volunteered to go to a tropical climate, I volunteered to go during hurricane season, a decision that truly surprised so many people who know me well.
Why???
Well, let's start with the fact that I hate humidity...seriously.
I don't use the word hate often but it really sucks the life out of me and induces migraines.
I don't care how "dewy" my skin may look and feel as opposed to the dry and arid look we deal with living in Colorado, I lived my entire life until I was 52 in places with relatively high humidity so moving to Colorado in 2016 meant the lack of humidity was a big bonus for me.
So even after sweating profusely all day, every day in 2022 and feeling like a wet rag unless I was in my nicely air-conditioned room, I still signed up for 2023. There was no hesitation whatsoever...
...which means I really was able to look past my personal issues to which I admit there are many... #IAMWHOIAM
...and which means I love my yoga instructor and the yoga tribe he has created that much to embrace the extreme moisture in exchange for the extreme experience that we have during our week together.
When I was preparing for last year's trip I did glance at the weather and did notice a few tropical storms in the Eastern Pacific and knew to expect some rain. We didn't have a drop the previous year but the week after we left there was, indeed, a hurricane that hit nearby so, again, the possibility was always very real that we could experience a full-blown storm.
And yet did I think about bringing things in the event we lost power, water, cell service, and the internet?
Other than a disposable poncho, not really.
That said, I know better than to travel without certain things regardless of the weather forecast.
You never know when anything or everything will shut down, especially in a country like Mexico which has a pretty fragile infrastructure in many places.
And then it happened...word of a CAT 4 hurricane making a beeline for the entire Pacific Coast of Mexico. Sayulita was expected to take a direct hit and none of us were all that prepared. Our fearless yoga instructor did his best to remain fearless in the eye of the impending storm, but he felt a deep sense of responsibility for our safety and was doing everything he could to keep us safe.
Was it smart to be down at the beach as the outer bands were approaching?
Definitely not.
I know better than to be exposed like that.
But at the same time I also wanted to be with everyone else and try to maintain a little "normalcy" I suppose for as long as possible.
Still not smart but I think on some level we knew we'd be ok if debris wasn't yet flying all over the place and the winds were not lifting any of us off the ground. Trust me, that has happened to me but while living in NY and a rare hurricane (at that time...you know before climate change made it a more common occurrence in recent years) came up the Atlantic Coast and slammed into Long Island and Manhattan.
Meanwhile, how prepared was I really for this particular event? Well, I did have on hand just as part of my normal travel "accessories"...
...protein bars in case I decided to skip breakfast at the hotel or needed some nourishment during the day rather than taking the time to get lunch somewhere in town
...electrolytes because I never go anywhere without them since I tend to get dehydrated very easily
...a few Tootsie Pops which I had for an expo exhibitor booth the week before Mexico so definitely not my normal I.C.E. kind of supplies. But as it turns out I was so glad that I did have them as the one thing that I would say gave me comfort throughout the 28 hours we didn't have power. It's a family thing I've mentioned many times through the years...my mother and grandmother always had Tootsie Rolls and sometimes Tootsie Pops so, as I said, very comforting.
...4 external batteries to charge my phone because I take sooooooooooo many photos and videos throughout the day plus need to be able to respond to any messages regarding It's Just Stuff while away. I may have physically removed myself from working with clients all week but it doesn't mean that I am ever completely removed from the responsibility of running a business while on vacation.
...baby wipes which I always travel with no matter what because they come in handy in a multitude of ways but especially when you have no water and you can use them to try to get some of the dirt and sweat and sunscreen off of you.
Things I now know I need to bring no matter what moving forward???...
...a flashlight or headlamp
...a battery-operated mini fan
...AA, AAA batteries for the previous items listed
...a few books because even though I have trouble holding a book these days due to having neuropathy, it still would have been worth it to attempt to read especially if I did want to hang out at the beach. I don't normally do that but when the power is out and I can't do any work I truly planned to do while there it is the only go-to passive beach activity for me. Just sitting on the beach isn't an option for me and my brain. If my body isn't going to be active, my brain must be because not everyone wants to hang out with me under a beach umbrella talking for several hours. Likewise, it would have been good to have had a book to read late at night when I had nothing else to do once everyone else went to bed and, again, my body and brain were still buzzing and desperately needed a way to dial everything down before falling asleep.
...longer lasting external cell phone batteries because I was lucky enough to have cell service by the morning after the storm had passed through Sayulita but didn't want to use up the precious hours of battery life that I knew I would have with the external chargers I did bring that might have gotten me through another 24 hours.
...more nutritional snacks because eating a bag of potato chips before the storm even started was not one of my prouder moments. Stress eating is a very real thing in these situations and I would have preferred to have had fresh fruit and vegetables but in Mexico, it is a question of whether you should eat those items if you are concerned about getting Montezuma's Revenge from anything washed with potentially unfiltered water.
...my Rocketbook!!! It's a happy median between a pad of paper and a digital note-taking device. I actually bought one around the holidays last year for myself and a few of my team members and swear it is the best way I have ever found for any type of manual writing but still want the advantage of transcribing it to a digital format.
...decks of cards and any other small games that can be played when there truly is nothing else to do
...and last but not least, I have been looking into an external Wi-Fi booster as well as a power bank for my laptop if I am going to continue to try to do work when traveling. Because the IJS phone number is Internet based I wasn't able to send out or receive any calls or messages for 3 days. That's an eternity when you are a business owner with no ability to "pass the baton" so to speak onto someone else while away. Then again, I can't expect the internet to work during or immediately after a storm so I am prepping one of my team leads to handle calls, emails and leads from Google, Thumbtack or any other source we are currently using.
I lived in Florida for over 20 years so I really do know how to be prepared for any type of tropical storm but it is a very different experience being on vacation and in a foreign country staying in a hotel during any kind of major event whether weather-related or not that will affect your health and well being. I was at the mercy of the hotel to provide us with buckets to fill with pool water so we could flush the toilets as well as be fed whatever food might be available. Luckily they did have plenty of bottled/filtered water and a gas stove, but what if they didn't???
Our group did stock up on whatever provisions we found in Sayulita and, yes, alcohol was on the top of the vast majority's list but I will tell you that as much fun as it may sound to drink your way through a storm, it really isn't the smartest choice. If you have to go into any kind of adult responsible action mode it will not be easy if you are 8 shots of tequila into the night. And walking on very slippery tile across the hotel to get to your room in the dark is definitely an accident waiting to happen so I did abstain from any of that. Besides, me plus alcohol plus a significant change in the barometric pressure equals the making of a migraine, and I was, once again, trying to avoid it at all costs.
A few other recommendations?
Make sure someone has your itinerary and is available to help you from afar if possible with any emergency assistance.
Have enough cash to get you through your entire trip. I know we have all gotten used to Apple and Google Pay but those apps will be useless when there is no power or cell service.
Know what the evacuation protocol is for the local area where you are staying. We were lucky enough that we didn't have to evacuate and the hotel where we stayed more than likely would have helped us get out of Dodge but that may not always be a safe assumption.
Always get trip insurance if you are traveling out of the country. It just makes it so much easier to recoup any loss you may incur especially if your hotel is damaged or you have to evacuate.
And last but not least, remember, if the power is out, you can't use a keycard so leave the deadbolt exposed to prevent the door from shutting. You really don't want to have to beg anyone to sleep in their room.
Surviving Unanticipated Weather Events While Traveling Be happy, be safe and remember, be kind always,
Beth
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