By Ben Wood
With no good reason to celebrate it, the anniversary of the Covid lockdown is upon us. We are all tired of it – tired of the routine; tired of the sameness; tired of our own cooking; tired of the snail-like pace of the vaccine roll-out; tired of politics; tired of winter; and tired of being tired. Many of us would have taken a break by now, heading to the sunny climes of Puerto Vallarta, where we would reunite with friends and make new ones. Unfulfilled plans mean frustration and sadness.
The reports from friends who have decided to go to Mexico anyway — damn the torpedoes! – are uncomfortable. Verbal, written, and photographic descriptions of crowded bars and beaches, with little-to-no social distancing and masking, underscore what we intuitively know: now is not the time to let down our guard. We are on the proverbial one-yard line.
But can we have our cake and eat it too? Can we go to PV, or similar places, have fun and create memories, without the dark cloud of doubt that those memories may well be our last? The answer is “yes” and I am here to offer you one way to do it. There are undoubtedly many ways, but here’s one.
Being safe in PV during the pandemic, when Mexico reports horrific statistics that all but scream “stay home!,” can be done but not without compromise. It’s all about basing your decisions on what is low risk and what is high risk. If you’re able to replace high-risk activities with low-risk (but still fun) ones, you’ll be able to have your PV vacation and take that much-deserved break from that “tiredness“ you feel. Here’s how to do it.
1. Accept the fact that you cannot join the “in denial“ crowds of people packing the bars and beaches, hoping that their youth protects them against the virus’s deadlier effects (it doesn’t).
2. Limit your activities to being around people you know and trust to be safe. This means composing your travel group carefully and employing the three Ts: Trust, Test, and Territory.
3. You must be prepared to say no to that fourth “T,” temptation (“ok, let’s go down to the bar tonight. We’ll just stand away from the crowd.”). You’ll need to trust your group not to yield to temptation. You should set up a protocol to test, if feasible. And you should establish a territory for your group that will enable you to enjoy much (not all) of the delights of PV, without escalating your risk.
If all this sounds like a burdensome fun-killer, it’s not. A lot of this advice entails decisions you make in advance of even pulling your passport out of the drawer. Once you’ve established a protocol that (a) makes sense and (b) has your group’s buy-in, the rest is pretty easy. One important proviso: you’ll need some creativity to replace those time-tested PV activities that are now off your “must do” list: breakfast at your favorite (but enclosed) breakfast place where you re-live the previous night’s activities; dinner at that lovely (but enclosed) restaurant on Basilio Badillo; and that siren song of cocktails at a host of (crowded) bars and cantinas.
Your most important decision is territory. I recommend selecting an accommodation that allows isolation without compromising much. Forget big hotels or “all-inclusives,” where social distancing is virtually impossible due to proximity to others, including many who make dubious choices. Stay away from places near the popular beaches. The temptations multiply, the noise is bad anyway, and the bedrooms are fewer (remember, you are bringing your own party). I suggest a place like Hacienda de los Santos, where I usually stay in PV. This magnificent villa has seven bedrooms (priced at 5, 6 or 7, depending on your needs), its own regular staff (your interactions with potential infection are dramatically lowered, compared with a hotel whose staff shifts constantly), and incomparable views. Most days, you’ll swap the beach and the trinket salesmen for panoramic vistas of the Bay of Banderas. A chef prepares meals and snacks far superior to almost any restaurant in PV (think Tintoque or ICU) and Ricardo, the houseman, offers you your margarita, daiquiri or cerveza at a price well below what you’ll pay at the beach (the staff shops for you).
From my experience, most people don’t even want to leave the house and its beckoning pool and hot tub. But if you do, you’ll have to make smart choices. A whale-watching boat ride is one of PV‘s greatest pleasures (actually, you can often spot the whales from Hacienda de los Santos’s terrace). Investigate carefully the boat you hire and how many crew and your potential interaction with them. A visit to PV‘s Botanical Garden is a must. Many party-minded PV visitors have never seen this gem. Now‘s your chance. Same with zip-lining. Lounging at the beach can be safely done; most resorts now safely space beach chairs from each other. There are many activities that produce fond memories of Puerto Vallarta and of Mexico. Look at this season as an opportunity to create new experiences, instead of merely replicating what you’ve done in the past.
Stay safe. Have fun. Get vaccinated. Wear your mask (you can buy fun ones in PV!)