The Third Worst
by Jenn Lopez
So with the first week of travel hell behind us, and our place cleaned and little-to-no bugs, we were living the good life again. With Edgar having to start work that Tuesday, the last bit of “fun time” was coming to a close.
We had a beautiful experience of learning about the life cycle of butterflies and then releasing them on their first flight. What a great way to end the crazy week from hell. We spent that evening at a pool with restaurants nearby and didn’t even have to cook.
I was about two margaritas in when I got a message from our Airbnb host. She was asking us to take the patio furniture in the house as there was a storm coming. Not thinking too much of it, I showed Edgar the message and he did a quick google search. Hurricane Lidia was supposed to hit north of us, and come in as a tropical storm. We lived on the east coast of Canada and had our share of hurricanes. We weren’t too concerned since it was being downgraded.
The next day, I went to the grocery store. I had never experienced a storm in another country, so I didn’t know what to expect. I thought maybe the power would be out for a while, so I picked up a flashlight, lots of water, and enough food to keep us going just in case.
Well, in case you missed it, Hurricane Lidia came to Puerto Vallarta and made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane. It was at the time, the third strongest/worst Hurricane to hit the area. Yup. Good Times.
I had never in my life seen palm trees bend like that. Thankfully we were safe since the building was made of concrete, but since nothing was sealed in the house, the holes in the door and windows made really awful whistling sounds. It lasted hours and the power went out within the first half hour. The worst that happened was one of the rooms flooded a little, so ya know, we fared really well.
The next day the power was back, which I was shocked by, but the internet and cell service was down. With several attempts and through sheer luck, we got ourselves an Uber and made it to the nearest Starbucks with computers and phones in hand.
The place was packed with people who didn’t have power or internet. We found a place to sit at one of the harvest style tables and started to work. We got our coffees and some breakfast and started chatting with our neighbors. Some had no power and were just there to charge things up, others had to work. As the stories went around about the state of things, we realized that we weren’t the only ones traveling and living through something scary in a foreign country. One woman joked there should be a t-shirt for your first natural disaster in a foreign country. I would appreciate one and I’d wear it proudly.
Needless to say, we had a rough start to our trip. We couldn’t believe so much had happened. When we were looking at all the “bad” things that happened, we also took an opportunity to look at some of the amazing things that happened too. Throughout the bad, there were awesome, inspiring, lucky, and just downright good things that were sprinkled throughout.
We could have focused solely on the bad, and we did for a bit. But then you get over the shock and hurt of it, and move on to the good things. We wanted to show our daughter that no matter what life hands you, you find a way. You try your best to work with what you got until you can’t, and then you take the next step in your journey.
We’re more fortunate than most, and we are aware of that. We worked hard to get to where we are and have made some decisions most people would never make.
I’ve recently told my daughter to pay attention to the people and things around her. We were born with the privilege of being Canadian. We aren’t meant to feel guilty about our privilege because we had no choice in the matter and guilt doesn’t lead anywhere good. But we do need to recognize our privilege and to treat everyone we come across with kindness and respect. Just because people are different or live differently than we do doesn’t mean it's better or worse than what we know. It’s just that, different. Everyone is doing the very best they can with whatever it is they have.
Just the idea that we are on this trip blows my mind. We were financially able to move to an Airbnb instead of continuing to fight with the ants. We were able to buy Edgar medicine he needed for his arm, and to go on some of the beautiful adventures we have gone on. With all the bad, we never take for granted the good. Never. We may need a day to whine and feel bad about it, but then we haul ourselves up and get going with whatever lesson life has in store for us next. It’s one of the main reasons we decided to do this trip. To show her about life and not just tell her about it.
As a family, we love the movie “Walter Mitty”. The first time we watched it, I was honestly ready to turn it off…. guy was just so caught up in his dream world. But then he starts to live and it becomes such a good movie about life. I tell people, watch it, and even though you may be tempted, don’t shut it off…. wait until he gets on the plane. If you don’t like it after that, ok, it’s not for you. But for us, we love that movie, and it has one of our favorite quotes…
“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of Life.” ~ James Thurber