Itinerary Interrupted: When Travel Plans Go Awry

A solo sojourn to Puerto Rico and a mother-daughter Spring Break getaway to Mexico City were textbook examples of how even well-prepared travel can veer off course. 

Both Jessica Cohen and the Freedsons faced life-threatening situations that tested their resilience and determination to continue embracing adventure. For Jessica Lee Freedson, who had navigated the world with 20-year-old Amara’s food allergies, Mexico City seemed like a safe bet. The last thing they imagined was that they would be standing in front of their Airbnb, fighting for Amara’s life.

And for Jessica Cohen, a civil engineer with an independent streak, a GPS error in a rental car left her lost without water in the jungle during a supposed 20-minute jaunt. 

Amara Freedson takes in the axolotl exhibit at the Chapultepec Zoo.

From Cultural Adventure to Anaphylactic Emergency

Jessica Lee Freedson, who had traveled to Mexico City several times for work, was eager to see more with daughter Amara, who had never been.

“I wasn't really too nervous about it because I've traveled the world, with and without my family, and I've never had any major issues,” said Amara, whose worst allergic reaction occurred on a student trip to Thailand and Laos, and she was able to manage it with Benadryl. Amara packed an EpiPen and allergy cards for good measure, and both she and her mom knew the Spanish names of the problematic foods: tree nuts, eggs, fish, and shellfish.

The first couple of days were enchanting. The mother-daughter pair stayed in the trendy Condesa neighborhood, known for its colonial architecture, leafy parks, bohemian vibe, and block after block of high cuisine. 

Amara and her mom explored the sculpture-filled Paseo de la Reforma and Chapultepec Park, a vast forest in the heart of the city, home to museums, walking trails and the city zoo, a must-see for animal-science-major Amara. A highlight was the axolotl exhibit; Amara has studied the endangered amphibian and has raised several as pets.

Dinner was at a restaurant recommended by a Houston friend. The English-speaking staff were professional and attentive, and promised to explain Amara’s allergies to the chef.

Jessica ordered a plate of duck enchiladas painted with black mole sauce and white crema, fitting for a magazine cover; Amara had a simple risotto and palm salad. The food was delicious. But before long, Amara knew something was wrong. 

“We were still at the restaurant when she said, ‘I think we need to leave. I feel like I'm having a reaction,’” Jessica recalled. 

That was when the nightmare began. Jessica called an Uber immediately and they headed back to their apartment. Amara was having difficulty breathing. Jessica called 911, which responded with a police car with three police officers. “They didn't have any first aid training. They didn't know about anaphylaxis. And we were begging for an ambulance,” recalled Amara. Adding to the ordeal, none of the officers spoke English. Amara and Jessica speak basic Spanish, but not enough to manage a medical emergency. They did the best they could using Google Translate. One police officer stayed with them while the other two went off in the police car to look for an ambulance. 

Traffic was gridlocked in their neighborhood. After about 15 minutes, they finally decided to use Amara’s only EpiPen – something she’d never had to do. About 40 minutes after their first 911 call, a medic arrived on motorcycle, checked her vitals and told her hospitalization was unnecessary. 

EpiPens are not sold in pharmacies in Mexico City, so they couldn’t get a replacement and had to cancel the anticipated trip to Teotihuacan, an ancient Mesoamerican city known for its pyramids. But they cautiously enjoyed their remaining time. 

They toured the famous Casa Azul, home of the iconic artist Frida Kahlo, in the atmospheric borough of Coyoacán. There was a festive canal cruise on a traditional, decorated trajinera, or gondola, in the neighborhood of Xochimilco, where one can experience a tiny vestige of pre-Hispanic Mexico City. And there was more of the city’s unforgettable gastronomy – but to take no chances, in the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton. 

Jessica said she would go back to Mexico City in a heartbeat, but better prepared; Amara said she is not so sure, but she’s still set on seeing the world. Both wanted to put out a strong PSA: Wherever you go, don’t count on 911, and know where the hospital is and how to get there. Also, always carry multiple backups of your medication, and remember that wherever you are, people make mistakes.

Jessica Cohen stops for a selfie at the exquisite beach of Mar Chiquita in Puerto Rico.

Stranded in the Jungle

Jessica Cohen’s kids were going to New York for Spring Break, and she decided to spend that week taking a trip on her own. She found cheap tickets to Puerto Rico, which she said she knew virtually nothing about, aside from the devastating hurricane a couple of years ago. She joined a Facebook group called “Girls Love Travel,” and connected with enthusiastic travelers singing the island’s praises. 

She wanted to immerse herself in the real Puerto Rico, the one the locals experience, rather than hewing to the beaten trail. Rather than making lots of plans, she decided to play it by ear. She would rent a car and drive clockwise around the island, exploring and making decisions about what she would do as she went. She invested in a cooler at the beginning of the trip and saved money by filling it with ice and buying food for the road at local grocery stores.

“I was trying to make this trip really organic,” she explained. “I wanted to let the story unfold in front of me.”

Jessica Cohen ditched the guide and did a rainforest hike on her own.

She arrived in the capital of San Juan on a Friday and began her trip with a visit to the Jewish Chabad Center for a special weekly service for displaced people and travelers. On Saturday, she volunteered at an animal shelter that she discovered on a Google Meetup group, and on Sunday she joined other volunteers on a dog walk along the beach. On Monday, she began her trip around the island. 

Forty miles in a day would be a good goal, she reasoned, but she soon discovered that 40 miles in Puerto Rico is nothing like 40 miles in Houston; hills and valleys, sharp curves and eventually, torrential rains, were a wakeup call that she was far from home.

Things really took a turn when she decided to cut across the island, stopping in at a coffee plantation she’d heard about along the way. Jessica put the location on her GPS, and it told her the destination was just 20 minutes from the main road. 

She was identifying birds and enjoying the scenery when she noticed the road was getting narrower. “Oh well, this plantation has to be deep in the rainforest,” she thought. But not long after that thought, she hit the bottom of a deep ravine and found herself stuck in red mud.

“I felt like such an idiot,” she said. She stepped out of her car and into the mud, and when she pulled her foot out, there was no shoe. She grabbed her flip flops, a bottle of water, and her phone and hiked an hour up the mountain to the closest house.

“The woman didn’t speak English, and she was not having any of it,” said Jessica. “I get it – a crazy red-faced American, mud everywhere – she would not help me.”

Her phone battery was about to run out, and there was zero signal. She knew if she stood next to a light pole she’d have a better signal, and she remembered the name of the town she had last driven through: Lares. She found a Lares towing service 45 minutes away and miraculously, she got through to a driver, Edwin, who spoke perfect English. She sent him her location on Apple Maps.

The "daily dashboard flower" became a part of Jessica Cohen's routine. In this case, an orchid tree and coral vine.

“No problem, we’ll come tow you out,” he said. But two hours later, with the heat rising and her water almost gone, he still hadn’t found her. 

“Those two hours, to be honest I'm not a religious person, but I started praying,” she recalled. “I thought, ‘I'm going to die on this mountain.’”

But her prayers were answered; after Jessica resent her location using Google Maps, Edwin finally appeared. He couldn’t get the tow truck down the mountain, but with a long tow cable he was able to pull the mud-caked car to safety. 

Jessica’s time on the island included ups and downs, but, she said, everything bad led to something good.

There was the time when she signed up for a “Rainforest Experience” tour on the Airbnb platform, but arrived to find it was just a guy at his house who seemed to have just woken up – and she was the only tourist. She quickly backtracked, canceled the tour and signed up instead for a snorkeling expedition to Culebra Island, where she swam amongst huge corals, sea turtles, and colorful fish. The expedition ended on Flamenco Beach, home to a fleet of abandoned US Army tanks from World War II, now covered in colorful graffiti. 

The popular surfer destination of Rincón was another stop, but she found so much traffic it felt like Southern California, and she found her supposedly seaside Airbnb on a ridge far above the beach. Once again, she canceled and found another place in the city of Ponce – where she spent the night and sought the advice of locals, instead of relying on Trip Advisor or Viator. 

Locals told her about La Parguera, a charming fishing village with snorkeling tours in a glass-bottomed boat where she saw octopus, sea urchins and more corals. That night was unforgettable as she swam in the bioluminescent bay, where the water is filled with plankton that light up when they sense movement.

“It’s all dark but you’ve got the light of the moon, and you look like Tinkerbell as you’re moving your hands,” Jessica said. “You’ve got this glowy, glittery fluorescent cloud behind your hand, and as you’re swimming, you’re leaving a trail of fluorescent bubbles.”

Through the ups and down, some lessons stand out: listen to your instincts; she’d had a feeling right before she hit the bottom of the ravine but disregarded it. Don’t count on GPS alone; talk to locals, study the map and the terrain before going into the backcountry. And most importantly, keep your wits about you. Remembering the name of the nearest town enabled Jessica to find Edwin, who may well have saved her life.

Tips for Travelers

Jessica Cohen on Puerto Rico

Worth the splurge: Cocktails on any rooftop in Old San Juan. Highly recommended: Bar Catedral Rooftop 

Don’t miss: Culebra Island (take a tour, also Flamenco Island and Tamarindo Beach)

Favorite restaurants: Any roadside shack along “la Ruta del Lechón” (or the Pork Highway) Roasted pork, pork belly, rice, lentils and plantain.

Currency exchange: US dollars 

Don’t bring: Fancy shoes. Good walking shoes, beach sandals, flip flops and water shoes are the best footwear.

Don’t forget: SPF 50 sunscreen and a waterproof pouch for your phone to snap underwater pics.

Local favorite: Playa Mar Chiquita. This little-known lagoon is a circular beach with a natural breakwater and inlet to the ocean. Frequented mainly by locals, it has safe swimming (no riptides) and lots of local food trucks. It’s family-friendly and super gorgeous. 

Safety tip: Be aware of your surroundings at all times.

Not really worth the trouble: Barrachina Restaurant, the birthplace of the Piña Colada. The lines and crowds are crazy!

Unexpected hit: Exploring the rainforest on my own – trails through canopied forests, studying the plants and animals on my own timeline, discovering hidden waterfalls, all without having to be herded around on an organized tour.

Jessica Lee Freedson on Mexico City

Worth the splurge: Cocktails at the Fifty Mils bar at the Four Seasons Hotel Mexico City – Fairy Tale Classics like the Little Red Riding Hood

Don’t miss: The zoo is first class and free. Also, the Museo Frida Kahlo – buy tickets at least a month in advance or go through a tour company. We couldn’t get tickets so booked a tour through Viator that included tickets. We had a wonderful day and saw many things we wouldn’t have known to look for – including the murals of National Autonomous University of Mexico and the boat tour at Xochimilco.

Favorite restaurants: La Casa de Toño in Plaza Juárez, Cuauhtémoc – tasty, cheap and all locals

Currency exchange: We used a debit card to withdraw money and a credit card. Make sure your bank knows in advance that you’re traveling abroad.

Don’t bring: Fine jewelry

Do bring: Backups for medications

What to avoid: Many hotels and Airbnb apartments do not have air conditioning or only have it in one room. Read the descriptions carefully. It gets hot.

Local favorite: Wandering the Coyoacán neighborhood and Chapultepec Park

Safety tip: Have a medical emergency plan – know which hospital you would want to go to and how you would get there. Do not assume you can get an ambulance (there simply are not enough in Mexico City for the population) or that anyone will speak English (including 911 operators and police).

Unexpected expense: Just got our credit card bill and realized a restaurant had charged us $135 for lunch. I plan to dispute, but I might not have been thorough in reviewing the bill and converting it to dollars. 

Unexpected hit: We had lunch on the 38th Floor of the Ritz Carlton and the views were spectacular. Also, we went to the concierge, and he helped us try to find EpiPens without asking if we stayed in the hotel.