The Uber dropped us off in the colorful city of Guanajuato, Mexico
from San Miguel de Allende
An all day tour was scheduled the next day
So we decided to take it easy the first evening
Watch a movie
After the movie, the floodgates opened
A tropical storm, turned hurricane
Was barreling toward our home & 3 stores
in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta is protected
She's in one of the largest bays in Mexico, Banderas Bay
And surrounded by the Sierra Madre Mountains
There would have to be a perfect storm
To arrive directly into the bay and reach Puerto Vallarta (PV)
Hurricane Lidia was doing exactly that
She was aimed directly at the city center of PV
Being away from home during this hurricane
Felt strange
Helpless
Where to find the strength, courage, patience
Don't panic
Maybe Hurricane Lidia will move by the morning
The latest projection was that she would brush the tip of the southern mountains
And head straight toward the middle of Puerto Vallarta
I started searching all news about Lidia
Tracked the weather maps
And couldn't sleep
Each hour I'd check
And each hour Lidia was still on track for Puerto Vallarta
I spoke to Lidia
Thanked her for her strength, magnitude
Her nature
And asked if she could please move
So that she wouldn't come straight for PV
I read a book
Wrote in a journal
Meditated
And put on sleepy meditation music
And still I didn't sleep
I also told myself it's okay if I can't sleep
We had an all day tour the next day
If I didn't feel well because of not sleeping, I wouldn't go
If I felt well enough, I'd go
I'd take it easy with myself
Be kind to myself
Lidia would not hit land until the afternoon or evening the next day
I fell asleep for two blissful hours
And felt good enough to go on the tour in the morning
Lidia was still headed for Puerto Vallarta
She was a small tropical storm, then a Hurricane Category 1
She was becoming stronger to a Category 4
So the plans were in place early that morning
Our gourmet ice cream business in Puerto Vallarta has three stores
One of them is on the Malecon, oceanside
We okayed the emergency procedures to start right away
To prepare that store for the worst
And close the other two stores
Staff needed to be safe, at home
They prepared the stores and were home before noon
Well before Lidia would kiss land, in 4-7 hours
My thoughts often drifted to my dog Nama
How I wasn't there for her
It was out of my control, so I kept thinking how she's fine, will be fine
She was having a blast at doggie camp
Running on a mountaintop area with other dogs
But in the evening, they were put into kennels
And there was no building
Hurricane winds could rip down trees and land on these kennels
Kennels could fly away
So I contacted a friend to pick her up
But she had already traveled to a different state
I contacted the owner of the dog camp to bring Nama down from the mountain
And keep her in his home
All was in place
I did what I could
Now, I had to go on the tour
Enjoy the tour of Guanajuato
Watch the news
And wait
And hope for the best
Maybe Lidia heard my request, maybe she'd move
This is colorful Guanajuato
Around one in the afternoon
Blessed Lidia moved a little further south
She was no longer headed directly for PV
My heart felt full, I was incredibly grateful
Whether she listened to me or not
I don't know, but she did move
Though we weren't out of the woods yet
There could still be incredible damage
Lidia hit land with 140mph winds
Her impact on Puerto Vallarta was around 7pm
Her winds were unusual
Usually hurricanes arrived from the front
Lidia's winds arrived from the back of the city
Traveled north and circled south again to envelope the city
I'd heard from friends that it was the scariest thing they've experienced
The force of the wind took the power out of the town immediately
Big banging sounds were heard everywhere
As huge trees uprooted, electrical poles fell, solar panels, rooftops & windows flew
It lasted two hours
Until the silence
The darkness
Some had no power
No water
No internet
For several days
Most had power the next day
Many big trees blocked roads, the highway
In several places in the city and south of the city
Our family in the U.S. didn't know this was happening
It wasn't in the news there
Our Malecon store had power the whole night
The other two stores did not
There was damage
A few people died or were injured
Condolences to their family
Puerto Vallarta overall was incredibly fortunate
She survived, persisted
Feeling grateful
At our home, the patio awnings fell down, that's it
And we didn't have power for around 8 hours
5 Crucial Actions I Made
1. Prepared the stores and our dog, knowing there was nothing to do for our condo
2. Let go of the outcome
3. Asked for what I wanted (asked Lidia to move further away from PV)
4. Knew/felt that the universe had my back
5. Was KIND to myself - it was okay if I wasn't in Puerto Vallarta & couldn't sleep most of the night, it was okay if I didn't go on the tour the next day because of lack of sleep, calmed myself with meditation, reading, writing, music, and checked the news if I felt like it.
The action above that I was most proud of...
#5 I was kind to myself
This is not something I always did in the past
My mind would tell me that I 'have' to do this
Or I 'have' to do that
No - I need to be kind to myself and do the best I can
Felt empowering
Larleen's advice and what she did when Hurricane Lidia was headed her way...
What are your tips when you're in a situation like this?
Would love to hear, CLICK HERE
Journey to the Unique Magical *Sacred You*
xo Kathleen Naomi