The first indication for Blake Hayes that something was wrong in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where he has been on vacation, came from the dozen missed calls from his husband on Sunday morning.
His husband, Tim Hislop, had walked to a nearby gym while Hayes slept in, but on the way back noticed stores abruptly closing. A truck with armed police officers drove past, making an announcement in Spanish that seemed to alarm people, said Hayes, the host of the Coast 93.1 morning show.
The Mexican army had just killed the country’s most powerful cartel leader while attempting to capture him in Jalisco. The wave of violence following his death prompted local officials to warn hotels to keep guests inside, including in Puerto Vallarta, a popular destination for American tourists.
On Sunday, burned cars blocked roads and cartel members set fire to supermarkets, stores and banks in 20 states across Mexico, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. government issued a shelter-in-place advisory for its citizens in a number of locations in Mexico.
Multiple airlines issued travel advisories or halted flights. Spokespeople for Sen. Angus King and Rep. Chellie Pingree said Monday they had not heard from any stranded Mainers seeking help to get home.
On Monday, during a phone interview from Puerto Vallarta, Hayes said that while Hislop was trying to get back to the hotel Sunday, a woman pulled him into the safety of a condo building. He dialed Hayes over and over, then sent text messages. After a half-hour, Hislop decided to run back to the hotel, Hayes said.
They headed to the hotel’s rooftop pool area, where Hayes said they watched with other tourists as smoke filled the sky. As it was unfolding, they had a hard time finding accurate information about what was happening, he said.
With orders to shelter in place and local transportation suspended, Hayes and Hislop have stayed inside of the hotel and hope to fly home to Maine on Thursday.
“It’s not business as usual, but we’re self-contained and don’t have to worry about going out to get food,” he said. “There are people who have had many scarier moments.”
Hayes, who has been vacationing in the area for two years, said he has heard heartwarming stories about locals in Puerto Vallarta offering to get food and drinking water to other residents and tourists who didn’t have anything to eat.
On Monday, Hayes said they were no longer seeing fires from the hotel and the streets were unusually quiet.
“I hope this ends up being a small blip in the story of this place,” he said, “because there are so many wonderful, kind people who live here.”
