That's My Story

THIS ONE’S ON YOU!

DO-IT-YOURSELF VACATION SCREW-UPS!

Originally Published the Week of April 23, 2023 in Western Outdoor Publications

Everyone looks forward to vacations.  It gets us through all the other idiotic days of the year, right?

My wife and I have been in the fishing biz now for almost 30 years.  I’ve been in the industry over 40.  We’ve hosted thousands of visitors over years to come fishing with us in La Paz.

 I was just thinking of some of the knuckle-headed things people do to themselves to jack their vacations.

Admittedly some stuff happens.  S#*t happens to all of us no matter how careful we all are.  Personally guilty of that one.

But, then there are the things we’ve seen smart people do to clown their own vacations that could have been avoided.

When someone approaches me with an issue in Mexico, of course, we try our best to help.  Most people will try to help.  It’s natural.  We’re im the people business.

But, there are other times when I think to myself:

“Your negligence is NOT my emergency.”

Like not having your documents squared away.  It doesn’t happen often, but a few times a year, I get a panic-call from someone at the airport or at home who has:

1. Forgotten their passport
2. Lost their passport (and only decided to look the night before their trip)
3. Arrives at the airport with an expired passport
4. Never had a passport and figured their driver’s license is fine
5. Lost or forgotten the passports of their kids or family member

Happens more often than you think.

Medications are another one.  I send out a checklist to all our clients.  I advise everyone to never send your meds with check-in luggage in case your luggage gets lost.

Many years ago, that happened to one guy.  His luggage didn’t arrive for 3 days. 

We thought he was looking kinda peaked each day. I mean, he was turning yellow!  Turns out his colostomy bags were in his luggage!

C’mon man!

Another guy “forgot” his heart medications.  He asked me to help him get a local prescription which we helped him get.  It wasn’t easy.

Then, he found out the prescription was $600 dollars!!!  And he wanted me to loan him the 600 bucks.  I don’t’ have 600 dollars to loan.   He had to go home early.  Sorry it happened, but not my problem.

That reminds me of something else.

Everyone does their best to budget for their vacation.   But did you really bring enough? 

What about unforeseen things like:

• Tips and resort fees
• Taxis and shuttles
• Unexpected cancelations of flights or other weather issues
• Big bar and food bills
• Extra activities
• Too many “almost free” souvenirs

Many places in Mexico do NOT take credit cards.  Many of us do NOT accept American Express either because of the fees.

 No one will accept a personal check.  Many places cannot accept cashier cheques either.

And here’s a real big one…many businesses do not and cannot accept big bills.  That’s because the Mexican banks won’t accept them. 

So, now you’re also stuck trying to break 100 dollar bills.  Good luck. 

Unless you have an account, the banks can’t help.  Hotels aren’t banks either or have limited cash on hand.  So, you’re out-of-luck and stressing. 

So you buy a t-shirt you’ll never wear just to break that bill and now you have $80 in Mexican pesos.

And here’s the biggest one we see that can be a real vacation-buster.  It’s completely avoidable.

That involves simply overdoing it.

Moderation in all things.  That includes sunshine. 

As much as it feels good to roast in that warm Mexican sun on the beach or pool, take some pre-cautions.  On more than one occasion, we’ve seen folks so charbroiled it’s painful to us just to watch.  Let alone the victim! 

Painful and potentially dangerous. 

The same can be said for hydration.  That’s not drinking enough water as well as drinking too much alcohol.

These two are probably the most common.  People hit the alcohol and forget the water…for their whole trip.

Especially that first day. 

My gosh…folks pile off the plane and hit the beach or pool and it’s full-speed ahead!  We hear the yahoo-ing and whooping. 

At first, we smile.  Glad they’re having a good time.

After awhile, we start getting worried.

For us, I gotta get these folks up early to go fishing or some other activity!  I’ve had to escort people to their hotel rooms or we’ve sometimes carried folks!

So, often, they’re not able to answer the bell the next day. 

Or in some cases, they are so intoxicated they get sick.  And they stay sick for a good part of their vacations.  They can’t answer the bell for several days!

Bad for them.  Bad for us. Bad for everyone they are with.

Know your limits.  Take it easy.

You might be ruining your vacation as well as the folks you’re travelling with.  And with a little thought, it’s all very avoidable.

That’s my story!

Jonathan