by Cathy Sovinsky

Our second night in San Jose del Cabo we went to check out a restaurant that was recommended to us by a friend.  Since I’m the navigator I checked the directions online before we hopped into the rental car.  I could hardly believe my eyes when I read the 7th step in the directions, “Turn left onto a dirt road at the cement plant.”  Seriously!

Since I knew there was no way the driver would be comfortable with that if I sprang it on him real time, I requested that he review the map too before we left.  Frank confirmed what I was seeing, we laughed and drove off to our dining adventure with my mom.  It turns out there were a few more dirt roads and lots of potholes and, fortunately, a lot of signs pointing toward the restaurant and a charming little organic farm and restaurant at the end of it all.  Dinner was outdoors, under the stars, at the edge of the garden with a jazz trio playing and it was delicious.

After dinner we hopped back in the car and headed out of their parking lot following the arrow that read, “Exit.”  Past that sign, at the top of the dirt drive the signage ended.  We didn’t know whether to turn right or left.  It was dark now and everything looked different.  Well, it didn’t look like anything, it was black.  Since we are on dirt streets it’s not like there were a lot of street lights.  There were plenty of signs showing us the way in, but none showing us a way out.  I turned on the map on my phone.  It still had the directions on it from our trip out.  “We should turn right,” I deducted.

We drove a bit more and all three of us realized, dark or not, this was NOT the way we came in.  I was following the map on my phone, but had neglected to remember that I did not use the phone map on the way there.  It was different than the directions on the restaurant’s website, so I had used theirs, not the phones.  Not to worry though, I had the phone map and directions and we could just keep following those.  Onward we went.

We got to the point where the dirt was supposed to turn back into asphalt at the base of this new bridge.  I felt a bit of relief when I saw the bridge.  Being on a dirt road, at night, in a foreign country isn’t the most secure feeling in the world.  All I could think of was the reports of shootings that we read about in the news at home and the people who would tell me how crazy I was for going to Mexico these days because of all the violence.  Pretty much anything bad I’d ever heard about was going through my mind and I added some new things that I just made up compliments of my imagination.

We drove up to the bridge and passed under it looking for what should have been a ramp onto the pavement, according to the map on the phone.  I don’t know if there used to be
a ramp there before the bridge was built or if some day they are planning to put a ramp there, but there was no ramp, just shrubs and dirt and the bridge overhead . . . and cows lying around!   Hmmm, this wasn’t in the brochure.   It sure as heck wasn’t on the map!

We had passed one car since we had left the restaurant.  You could feel the uneasiness in the car, but no one said anything.  I went to plan B on the map.  Although I wasn’t positive it would be accurate, I thought it was worth a try.  The other 2 thought we should go back to the restaurant and start over again, but I had the map and could see that IF it was accurate we could be back to a real road in 2 turns. So we tried my plan B.  We were nearing the spot where the road should turn into pavement again when we passed a field with 4 or 5 pickups in it, with their lights on.  Two of them turned onto the road behind us.  What did they want?  Our rental car had a warning light on since we’d picked it up that there was a tire with low air.  “Oh please don’t get a flat now.”  We have no idea where we’re going.  Why are they following so close?  What if we hit another dead end?  What are they going to do to us?

Then the road took a really sharp right and left around this drainage pipe and we popped up into the main highway going right through the middle of town.

Laughter of relief.  Although no one had said a negative word the entire time you could tell what the general consensus was, and it wasn’t positive and upbeat.  We just knew we were lost and in danger.   And now we were relieved that we back in civilization.

Two days later I drug everyone to the Mercado Organico, the local farmer’s market and guess what?  We drove off the main highway, took a sharp right and then a sharp left around a drainage pipe.  People were walking and jogging on this dirt road.  There were other cars.  In the daylight we could see the foliage and farmland and we pulled into this field, the exact same field we had passed with the pickups in it two nights prior, and we parked for the farmer’s market.  The exact same field that we had imagined the most horrible, evil things happening was in reality, in the daylight, the field that housed arts and crafts and cooked creations and freshly harvested fruits and vegetables.  This time we laughed at how completely wrong we were.

You need to prepare, you need a plan, a map.  You have to know where you are now to get where you want to go.

When things don’t seem to be going as planned and your visions seems dark remember:

  • Don’t listen to the naysayers
  • Control your own inner voice
  • Keep your EQ (emotional intelligence) in check
  • Circumstances change, keep your map updated
  • Things always look better in the daylight

Without a doubt, the worst battles never fought take place in our heads!  Stop it!