Because we couldn’t go to PV in February for our usual vacation, we decided to make it in December instead. Additionally, we had hoped the kids could go too so we booked a larger 2 bed/3 bath unit as well as our usual 1 bedroom. Shortly after booking we found out that a new grand baby would be coming about Thanksgiving so Scott and Mandy would not be coming. Kaycie and family decided to let us know later, hoping to still make it.
This would be our first big trip other than road trips, since the beginning of the pandemic. We were looking forward to sunshine! A few weeks before, Kaycie’s family decided not to come so we needed to cancel one of the rooms. We opted to keep the bigger unit because we wanted to see what it was like. We had also booked us for the week before, so our plan was for 2 weeks, one in our regular size unit and one in the 2-bedroom unit.We flew down on Saturday 11/27. Right away we noticed there were less people, most likely due to the travel restrictions, requiring masks during our flight and negative covid tests to get back into the US. Our usual resort, Sheraton Bougainvillea’s, required mask wearing in public places and social distancing when possible. Since there were less people it made it easy to keep our distance, even in the pool area.
The weather was beautiful, in 80s with a little breeze. The sun set at about 6:15, an hour earlier than February’s 7:15 pm so the days were shorter. Because it was the holiday season it was fun to see the decorations, trees, and other festivities. The week we were leaving they were putting up a temporary ice-skating rink on the Malecon, as well as a Christmas tree, decorations wrapping around the arches, and Christmas village (several painted chalet-like structures) that were not quite done when we left. We tried several new restaurants this time, including:
Whiskey Kitchen which is on the hill above and south of the church. Excellent food, small dining area but comfortable. They have live music and overall, we really enjoyed it.
Serreno’s Meat House which has been around for a long time. It’s in the Romantic Zone, a few blocks north of Los Arcos. The steaks were very good, with large portions. I had my leftovers packed up when a young boy 7 or so, wanted to sell me some Chicos, and when he saw the box, he motioned that he was hungry. I showed it to him and used hand motions to ask if he wanted it. He nodded so I gave it to him. It broke my heart. There is so much poverty there.
Pancho Villa’s on the Malecon. Nothing special, again it’s been around for a while. Food was OK but the service was less desirable. They attempted to serve the wrong thing to me, but Doug’s order was correct, so they left his and I waited for mine. They were apologetic, but overall, not impressive.
Mi Café which is a few blocks northeast of the large pharmacy in Romantic Zone. Excellent service for breakfast, good food with a Mediterranean flair. Doug wasn’t impressed as they didn’t have traditional things on the menu, but I thought it was very good.
Bravo’s Restaurant - Bar at the Marina on the strip across the main entrance street to the side of Starbucks, where the taxi’s pull in and drop people off. We only went because we spent Thursday night roaming the market area, and it was convenient. We both had burgers that were good but otherwise nothing special.
Mable’s Cocina, which is a small little restaurant on the corner just north of the McDonalds on the Malecon. They have a small menu with not a lot of choices, but we had a good breakfast of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and toast with orange juice. It was all good and fun to sit outside and people watch. 
Additionally, we ate at some of our favorites, Joe Jacks Fishshack, Sr. Frogs, La dolce Vita, Victor’s Place Cafe Tabuca, Margarita Grill, Archie’s Wok, DZ’s at the Marina, Fredy’s Tucan, Oasis Bay, and Nine Ninety 9 at our resort.
I really loved being there at this time of year, maybe even a little better than February. There were less people so no problem getting a place in the shade anytime during the day, it was more festive although one week later would be even better and the weather was breezy and not so hot. For now, we plan to keep our February trips, but someday maybe add a couple weeks in Dec.
