I know we’ve sanctimoniously posted about how to find things to do in the rain, but there are just some rain storms you don’t play around with:
That’s right, a hurricane. In Mexico City for a few days before heading to Cancun for a friend’s wedding, we opened our email early Sunday morning to a warning message from Danny’s Dad- Hurricane Rina had been born. As we trolled various weather sites on the Internet we soon realized he wasn’t kidding, this was gearing up to be a direct hit, to exactly where we were heading.
So we did what any traveler would do- we waited. We worried, played the odds, thought of various scenarios, but completely avoided making a decision. We waited until the last possible moment and then it was time. Tuesday morning, just two hours before our scheduled departure to Cancun, we bit the bullet and bought a ticket home. Although it would have made for great pictures, we weren’t willing to stand on a balcony overlooking the ocean watching a the eye of a hurricane approach.
We felt defeated, deflated and above all frustrated on that flight home. We were supposed to spend the week snorkeling, diving and exploring cenotes. We were supposed to be at our friend’s wedding on Saturday, toes in the sand, frozen cocktail in hand.
And so by early Wednesday morning we were back at work and that defeated feeling- so much more intense than the day before. As the hours ticked by it was clear Rina was becoming less and less of a storm. With each update she was downgraded, until Thursday night when she hit Cancun as a low grade tropical storm and then, with a whimper instead of a bang, it was over.
Don’t worry, the story does have a good ending. That whimper petered out even more so by Friday evening we were back on a plane to Cancun to attend the wedding!
What would you have done? Have you ever changed your plans for severe weather?
Photo Credit: NOAA, Flickr User mac_ivan
Chris says
Being in the middle of a hurricane is on my bucket list. I want to do it in a fortified house or something though, fully prepared/not on a whim.
Erik says
Hurrican Irene washed away roads I needed to use back in September, so I changed plans from an East Coast trip to one in California. It was more expensive, but I was soooo glad I did.
Good decision, I’m sure hard though. You will be rewarded with good karma hopefully.
Mom Tobias says
Right decision-great post!
Cathy Sweeney says
Those decisions are so tough, aren’t they? We made a decision once to head right into a major snowstorm that turned into a whiteout in the open spaces of northern Wisconsin. Sure, we made it OK, but we were lucky, I think. I don’t think I’d take the chance again. You made the right one and from your teaser, it sounds like everything works out OK. I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the story!