beyondthesnowdotblog

Yes, really: verify, double‑check, and triple‑check your reservations. Why? So you can avoid the kind of mess I’m in right now—one of those completely preventable, shake-your-head-at-yourself situations.

I booked my Airbnb in Mérida from September 22 to 30, and my Airbnb in Chelem from October 1 to November 16. Nice and tidy, right?

It all looks good on paper… until you really take a long hard look. I even had plans for tomorrow morning all mapped out.

First, the idea was to pack my backpack tonight and have it ready by the door for my grand departure. Then I’d take a little outing to the Parque Zoológico del Centenario, which is conveniently close to where I’m staying.

I was actually planning to visit today, September 29, but after lunch I came home and had a siesta during the worst of the heat. When I woke up around 4, all ready to head to the zoo, it started raining so hard that I was stuck inside.

So I rummaged around and ate my old leftovers—ham and cheese on some panucho bread—and downed it with water like a sensible 64‑year‑old traveler who refuses to waste food.

The revised plan was to go tomorrow morning. I’m leaving my Airbnb tomorrow, but checkout isn’t until 11, so I figured I had plenty of time for a nice walk, a quick visit to the zoo, and then back in time to check out. Then it would be off to Costco for food, and on to Chelem near the beach until November.

Tonight I got a message from Airbnb reminding me about my checkout tomorrow. Perfect. Everything seemed under control. (Yes, kids, I do read my emails.)

The schedule in my head was simple: wake up, go to the zoo, come back, pick up the backpack, check out, call an Uber, get to Costco, buy meat for one month, and then off to the beach in Chelem. Check‑in day nicely handled.

Then a second message arrived, this time from my Airbnb host in Chelem, about my check‑in on Thursday. In my mind I’m going, “Hold on, Thursday? But tomorrow is Wednesday.” Cue a brief moment of panic and sheer terror: “OMG, please don’t tell me that’s right.”

I opened Airbnb to look at my reservation and, sure enough, I had booked Chelem for an October 1 arrival.

So I successfully booked myself out of one Airbnb on September 30 and into the next one on the *following* day instead of the same day. It made perfect sense at the time. A little less so now.

I emailed my current host to ask if I could stay an extra night, but the place is already booked.

I emailed my next host to ask if I could arrive one day early, but she usually takes a few hours to answer. I also checked the reschedule option on the apartment, and it shows as booked.

So now, I wait and see what happens—proof that even retired Canadians in Mexico still have cliffhangers in their lives.

Homeless in Mexico for a night? Possibly. But don’t worry, it’s warm, I’m fine, and if nothing else, it’ll make a good story for our next call.