Lessons on Solo Travel
Mexico during hurricane season.. A learning lesson from a first time (long) solo trip.
After months planning my first long solo trip, with the intent to showcase traveling solo doesn’t have to be scary, a hurricane decides to hit Puerto Vallarta head on for the first time in years.
Historically the states of Nayarit and Jalisco are a bit more sheltered during the autumn season from the massive storms and hurricanes that can (and will) hit Mexico. I planned my trip for October, knowing there was a risk of bad weather, but after visiting Cancun in a previous September, I felt quite confident there wouldn’t be any major issues.
The week leading up to my flight, I watched the hurricane tracker every hour of every day, as the hurricane began to form from a tropical depression to a full fledge category 4 hurricane (209-251 km/per hour winds). Destination: Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, San Pancho and.. my dream destination Yelapa.
After a one day flight delay in Vancouver, and roofs torn off, stormy streets, a few main roads destroyed in Meixico.. I am on my way to Puerto Vallarta and luckily, the two states managed to survive the storm (for the most part). Watching the hurricane unfold on social media was an unreal experience. In real time, people in San Pancho were sharing the winds rising, in Sayulita there were videos of the calm before the storm, in Puerto Vallarta people were drinking beers by candlelight as the storm waged overhead, all the while sharing it on TikTok.
My first day was unexpected, arriving one day after the hurricane, after all the social media footage, seeing blue skies, calm sea.. It is unreal how quickly everything goes back to normal after such a huge storm.
My trip started in San Pancho (about an hour drive from Puerto Vallarta Airport). The main road in town showed some mild flooding, people hadn’t put the beach chairs back out yet, and the town was very quiet in the aftermath.
The first thing I learned about long term solo travel was.. Expect plans to change. Every solo trip I have done prior was 2-5 days. This trip was planned for one month to travel through the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, starting in San Pancho, ending in Yelapa.. Living a slow travel way of life, thoroughly enjoying the communities I would pass through.
One month turned into a one week trip, as each day of my adventure, a new issue arose. My accommodations falling through (and others booked up or far outside my budget), roads blocked due to rockslides, towns not welcoming any tourists due to the heavy rainfall causing damage a few days prior (understandable). My general positive outlook started to sway, I felt alone as each issue arose, and I felt like I was just constantly coming up with solutions, that would prove to be unhelpful.
After about 5 beautiful days in San Pancho, I decided to spend some time in Sayulita, while I pondered my next move. Do I go to Cancun, back to the islands I know and love out there? Do I go to a different part of the world? Limited budget means limited options. I had no desire to spend a month in Puerto Vallarta city itself (the area had proven to be far more expensive, compared to my previous experiences visiting Mexico).
A 15 minute drive later, and I was in the surfing beach town I had heard so much about from friends. I stayed at My Sisters House Hostel, a women’s only hostel, in the middle of town.
In an odd way, I had been avoiding Sayulita. I heard of over tourism, people getting sick from swimming due to unsanitary runoff, lots of partying (not my style) and generally being a bit unsafe..
I am happy to say, in the early October sun, I felt totally the opposite.
I realize I should have stared my trip here, before heading into my solo travels. Found some connection with other women and solo travellers. Explored and got comfortable in my own skin, while in a country a bit different from my own. I thought I knew Mexico and was comfortable, but I forgot that being somewhere truly alone for the first time, tests you mentally. Especially at the start of the trip, when you start at the deep end, instead of starting slowly, in the shallows.
After a few days at the hostel, I felt my trip had come to an end. This beautiful place needed rest after such a major storm, and O needed time to calm myself, after many days of being on edge, constantly coming up with new plans, with each one being dashed as another issue arose.
Embarrassed and ashamed, I booked my flight home for the next day. I had planned everything so perfectly to feel comfortable and safe over the month long trip, yet to give up on it just over a week later. But as soon as I hit that button to book my flight.. Relief washed over me. I was going home, to reset myself. This wasn’t a failure, just a lesson to be learned.
As someone who has traveled extensively, it feels odd to “fail” at traveling. But isn’t the point of traveling, to experience the unexpected and just… Let go?
