Uneasy Rider

We thought we had it all figured out. With two first-class frequent flyer seats reserved in the bulkhead of the plane for Jack and me, Kanga could fly with us as a certified Emotional Support Dog, which is actually what he’s been for us, especially during the pandemic. On the internet, I found BajiGo, a tour company in San Miguel de Allende, and reserved a car to pick us up at the airport in Mexico City on July 14 and take us to SMA. Easy, I thought. Done.

But suddenly the airline announced they were no longer accepting support animals. So here we were, back at the beginning, trying to find a way to get the three of us to Mexico. The only option was to drive. It’s 2500 miles from Rockville to the Laredo texas border, and then another ten hours to San Miguel. The internet promised the toll road from Laredo was safe and easy to navigate these days, but the internet doesn’t know Jack or me. We don’t speak Spanish or follow driving directions easily. The thought of driving ten hours through Mexico to our destination would not make me feel like “Whee, aren’t we’re having a good time now?” Besides, I didn’t want to own a car in Mexico.

No, we need to rent a car, ditch it in Laredo and get someone to pick us up and drive us the rest of the way. Someone who knows the roads and speaks Spanish. Jack found a good deal on a car rental from Rockville to Laredo. But we still had no idea how to get from the border to SMA. Thank God I mentioned our plans to our friend Jennifer Mykytyn. who put me in touch with her recent tour-guide, Natasha, who lives part-time in San Miguel. “No problem with the drive,” lovely Natasha said reassuringly. “My friend Rafa from San Miguel owns a transportation company. He’ll pick you up at the border and drive you the rest of the way. He does that for me, my two kids and our Alaskan Malamute all the time!”

Now all we had to do was get in touch with our new potential savior, Raffa and see what he had to say.