Simon Says: Shelter in Place

Stocking up, hunkering down, and preparing for a hurricane in Puerto Vallarta

Well, this is a first for us. We’ve traveled through plenty of interesting weather, but experiencing a hurricane was definitely not on our retirement bingo card.

We knew Tropical Storm Simon (now Hurricane Simon) was heading in our direction, and we’ve been keeping a close eye on the forecasts. But last night, it became very clear that the locals were taking things seriously. We started to see some business hauling in sandbags and plywood, and our server at dinner told us that businesses had to close by 5pm Saturday. This was our last sunset before the fun begins.

As we headed out for our morning walk today, we noticed that many more businesses were now boarded up. Restaurants, shops, and other storefronts had plywood covering their windows and doors. The usually bustling streets of Puerto Vallarta had a very different feel.

Even the water around the pier, usually full of fishing and tour boats, was empty.

There are still a few big waves along the oceanfront walk, but otherwise the weather is the same so far. The National Weather notifications said that was about to change dramatically.

Over the last couple days we have been stocking up on food and drinking water, along with some other essentials to get us through a few days if we lose power or are unable to leave the condo.

Property management came by today to bring in everything moveable from the balcony. The huge expanse of glass doors is the biggest concern, but they think leaving them cracked a couple inches will be sufficient to relieve the pressure… fingers crossed.

This afternoon the public announcements started over loud speakers throughout town with instructions to shelter in place. Hearing that announcement echoing through the streets was a bit surreal. We’ve experienced plenty of monsoon storms back home in Arizona, but this is a whole different category of weather.

There’s something strange about being in such a beautiful tropical destination, surrounded by palm trees & ocean views while everyone is simultaneously preparing for a potentially dangerous event.

We’ve got food, water, a comfortable place to stay, and each other. And, assuming the power holds out, plenty of entertainment to keep us occupied.

We’re hoping for a minimally eventful few days and, most importantly, that the wonderful people who live and work here come through the storm safely.

The hurricane is slated to hit sometime later tonight (Saturday) or early tomorrow. We are now inside the condo until this passes and we are allowed to leave again. We have one power bank for our phones, so if we lose power and burn through that, we may be out of contact for a bit. But right at this moment, we are going to have happy hour and enjoy the calm before the storm.