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Week 46- Y3(Jan 20th to Jan 26th) |
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Sunday (Jan 20):
Today we got up early for a day trip to Kalibo on
Panay Island. Kalibo is home of the Ati Atahan
Festival, a big crazy week long festival that is the
Philipinnes' answer to Mardi Gras and Carnival! As
soon as we got off the ferry in Caticlan, we were
accosted by several people offering van trips to
Kalibo, which is about one and a half hours away. We
got a decent deal and away we went! Unfortunately for
me, the van was incredibly overstuffed, and being the
last 2 in, I definitely got the bitch seat. I'm going
to need a massage on the beach tomorrow!
As soon as we hit the outskirts of Kalibo, we hit
crazy crazy traffic, so most of the people got out of
the van and started walking. It was really cool to
see kind of a tidal wave of people walking towards the
city centre from all the neighbouring villages. The
streets were already blocked from traffic, but the
actual parade wouldn't be starting until "after lunch"
(this is the best time estimate anyone could give us,
could mean anywhere from 1pm to 5pm!), so we found a
restaurant, and had (a pretty bad) lunch. Afterwards,
we headed to the town square to claim a good viewing
spot. Then there was a lot of waiting involved, as
the streets got more and more packed with people. And
then finally the parade started! It was filled with
big extravagent costumes, dancing, loud drum and
marimba bands . . . and crowds of people following
after each group! It was really cool, but also really
disorganized, and groups had to frequently stop and
wait while another group crossed the next street.
Groups were coming from every direction. After
several hours of standing out in the heat and light
rain, and being pushed left and right by throngs of
people, I needed a break. We found a coffee shop that
had a second floor deck that was perfect for viewing
the parade without the insanity! Much better.
Apparently the party goes on all night in Kalibo, but
we needed to make sure that we got back to Boracay in
time for the last ferry, so we left at about 5:30pm.
This time, it was actually difficult to get a van
back, as there were a LOT of people waiting! When we
did get it, it was more expensive (when people see
foreigners, all of a sudden prices tend to go up!),
and I got stuck in the bitch seat again!
Back in Boracay, we had a laid back dinner of fish
sinigang, or fish soup made with tamarind broth. Yum.
I was too tired to really want to go out again, and
it was actually pouring rain, so I crashed out pretty
early tonight. I'm wondering what happened to dry
season? It appears that I'm bad luck for the Filipino
weather system, cause we haven't had too many clear
days since I got here!
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Monday:
Today was a typical day in Boracay for me-- get up,
walk along the beach, eat breakfast, swim, tan, repeat
. . . then we were approached by 2 roaming massage
therapists. This is actually really common, and
really cheap compared to getting a massage anywhere
else! Bryant managed to bargain the lady down, and we
got our massages for about $5 each. Our massages were
started on the beach, but (it's my bad luck again!) it
started to rain, so the massage therapists walked back
to our cottage with us, and finished the massages
there. Heaven! She actually managed to get out some
of the knots that have been in my back for about the
past 6 months. Afterwards, I headed over to D'Mall to
do some shopping, but found myself caught in the
pouring rain once again, and ended up hiding out in a
restaurant with a coconut milkshake. The rest of the
night was uneventful-- dinner and drinks at a few
different bars along the beach. I really need some
time away from Bryant now! He's scaring off potential
guys and friends!
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Tuesday:
Today we went on a boat trip. I was a little worried,
because it was pretty cloudy, and a little rainy, but
it actually cleared up as the day went on!
To get to the boat, we walked down the beach to Boat
Station 3 (there are 3 "boat stations" along White
Beach, it's helpful when describing locations to
people). Because it was high tide, we actually to
wade in the water to get on the boat!
Our first stop was for snorkelling. It was my first
time snorkelling, but it's really fun! The waters
were extremely choppy though, and it made it hard to
swim, much less see anything. Also, I heard from
other tourists that the coral is actually quite dead
in that spot, and there are much better places to
snorkel around the island (Boracay is surrounded by
coral reef). Unfortunately, because of the wind, it
wasn't safe to go to the other spots to snorkel today.
Our next stop was Crystal Cove Island, a privately
owned island that has some nice walking trails. Then
we had a buffet lunch on another tiny island. During
lunch, we met Allison and Nick, a Canadian couple who
live in Gyeongju, Korea! I was excited to finally be
meeting other people.
After lunch, we were taken in the boat to Puka Beach
for some swimming. It was really fun for swimming--
really shallow, and then a fast drop off, plus some
waves to make it more interesting. Our final stop on
the boat trip was for more snorkelling. The water was
a lot calmer here, but the coral was mostly dead, and
there wasn't much to see other than a blue starfish
(which Allison actually dove down and picked up to
show the non-snorkellers on the boat!). At the end of
the trip, we made plans to meet Allison and Nick for
happy hour, and went back to the hut for a nap.
For happy hour we walked down close to Boat Station 3
to meet Allison and Nick at Kurt and Megs, a very
cheap German place on the beach. Here you can get
beers for 50 cents and cocktails for a dollar during
happy hour! Certainly can't beat the prices down at
this end of the beach . . . a little later we all went
to dinner in this cute place called the Treehouse, as
it's basically a giant tree house! Good food, and a
lot cheaper than the restaurants closer to Boat
Station 1. After dinner, Nick and Allison took us to
Red Pirates, which is this great bar that has a very
small indoors, but is mostly set up on the beach, with
comfy bed-like seats, and chilled out decorations, and
lanterns. It has an amazing ambiance. Turns out that
tonight was a full moon, so Red Pirates was having a
big party with live performances! The first group was
a drum ensemble known locally as the BomBom Boys-- it
was pretty awesome, and it only got more awesome when
they were joined by a fire twirler! Afterwards, we
were treated to singing and acoustic guitar playing.
Red Pirates is exactly what I had envisioned when I
imagined my beach paradise, and I'm loving the
laidback style here-- none of the rich snotty
characters down at this end of the beach! When we had
consumed as much as we possibly could have, we all had
a midnight snack on the beach, and Allison and Nick
headed up to their hotel room. Bryant and I kept on
going for one more drink at a popular bar called
Summer Place-- it was crazy busy, and there were
actually people dancing on the tables! I guess it's a
party every night on the island . . . later I had the
impetuous idea to go swimming, and since it was a warm
clear night there was nothing stopping me! Night
swimming is pretty awesome when the water is calm and
all you can see are blankets of stars above you . . .
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Wednesday:
IT'S FINALLY SUNNY!!!!! Today is absolutely beautiful
with pristine blue skies, not a cloud in sight! After
a breakfast of mango and pineapple pancakes (how will
I ever adjust to fruit that isn't fresh again?) and
after booking my flight to Cebu for the end of the
week, I couldn't resist the lure of the beach. I've
never seen such crystal clear waters before. It was
extremely hot outside, so the water was a perfect
temperature . . . finally I have a tan! My legs are
no longer the whitest legs on the beach . . . Just
before sunset, we met up with Allison and Nick for a
sailing trip. We perched on the sidenets two on each
side, and glided through the water as we observed the
most perfect sunset I've ever seen. The sun was like
a ball of fire as it slowly descended into the ocean.
I love Boracay! I never ever want to leave! For
dinner, all 4 of us went to a great Spanish restaurant
called Ole, where we had baked mussels and amazing
seafood paella. The serving sizes were so huge
though, that I left with a giant stomach ache and
leftovers for the next day! So worth the pain . . .
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Thursday (Jan. 24):
Another beautiful hot sunny day! This morning, while
Nick and Bryant were doing an introductory dive and
Allison was chilling, I decided to hike out to the
Mount Luho Viewdeck, the highest point on Boracay
Island. It was a surprisingly easy hike, but a lot of
people were looking at me pretty strangely for walking
instead of taking a tricycle or motorbike! On the
way, I made a stopover at Bulabog Beach to check out
all the kite surfers. The wind was great today, so
the sky was filled with colourful kites! It was
pretty awesome. When I got to Mt. Luho, I climbed up
the rickety tower (which looks like it's going to
collapse any second) and was rewarded with beautiful
panoramic views of the entire island. I could see
everything, including surrounding islands. Even
better-- I was the only person up there! I guess most
tourists don't bother to leave White Beach to check
out the rest of the island, but I like to explore, and
I wouldn't think about going somewhere and only seeing
a tiny lit bit of the place. Plus, it was a great way
to spend a quiet morning alone. On the way back, I
stopped off at a little restaurant along one of the
interior lakes for a mango shake and some breakfast,
then I enjoyed the rest of the morning souvenir
shopping for my friends and family. Afternoon was
same as usual-- swimming and sunning at our favourite
spot, Nigi Nigi. Later on, while Bryant was napping,
I decided to walk all the way to the end of the beach.
At the end, I found some little remote resorts, and
some beautiful rocks, plus a little secluded beach
that's hidden from sight by some very large rocks. It
pays to explore! On my way back, I ran into Nick and
Allison taking advantage of happy hour at Kurt and
Meg's, so I sat down to join them for sunset. A
little bit later, all four of us met up for dinner at
the Blue Mango restaurant, which was absolutely
delicious! I had grilled blue marlin fish with this
amazing mango glaze, plus mashed potatoes (mmm, mashed
potatoes, how I missed you!)
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Friday:
Today, Bryant and Nick went diving again (Nick's
totally got the diving bug!), and this time Allison
and I came along in the boat, and got to snorkel for
free! Can't beat that price! There were lot's of
cool fish and some beautiful living coral, so it was
really nice this time. The water was a little choppy,
but manageable. We even managed to follow around the
divers a little bit! While Nick has caught the diving
bug, I've definitely caught the snorkelling bug! I
love it!
In the afternoon, I was feeling kind of sick (ha.
Maybe it was all the saltwater I inhaled today!), so I
laid low and rested up in the hut. I knew I'd need
the energy for tonight . . . we all met up later at
Red Pirates for a special buffet dinner that they only
do on Fridays. The buffet was lovely-- fresh fish,
delicious chop suey, rice, all eaten on banana leaf
plates. Only problem was they underestimated how many
people would be coming and didn't prepare enough food
. . . they remedied this by buying a couple of pizzas
later on. We chilled out on our "regular" spot, and
enjoyed the acoustic guitar music for several hours.
It's pretty cool that I've not only met some good
friends, but they're friends that I can easily keep in
touch with once I'm back in Korea!
Later on, Bryant and I continued on after Allison and
Nick headed off to bed. But I wanted to go to our
regular spot, Juice, where we knew all the bartenders,
and Bryant wanted to go somewhere else, so we split
up. (Finally!) And that was the best idea ever--
within minutes, I had met tons of people, plus once I
was alone, the bartenders, especially Fred and Bryan
peppered me with funny conversation and free drinks.
(There are bonuses to being a single girl, ie flirting
with the bartender= free drinks!) And then I met
Carlo . . . Carlo is a very attractive 20-something
year old Manila native who now lives in Boracay and is
working at one of the big fancy hotels out by Boat
Station 1. We hit it off right away, and since Fred
and Bryan knew him and there were lots of other
friends around, I decided to join him and his friends
at Hey Jude, another popular bar along the beach (Fred
and Bryan were to join us after they closed the bar).
We had a few drinks there, and when Hey Jude closed, a
bunch of us sat on the beach and hung out til about
5:30am! We were going to try to make it til sunrise,
but the sleepiness was creeping in . . . Carlo walked
me home, and we made plans to meet the next day |
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Saturday:
So Carlo and I had plans to meet at Nigi Nigi at 2pm,
but little did I know that certain business items with
Bryant would take all morning! We had to make discs
of the pictures on our cameras, and it ended up taking
forever, and I was a little late getting to the beach.
When I got there, Carlo was nowhere to be found, and
it was really hot, so I decided to go swimming for a
little bit while I was waiting. Not the best idea--
after 10 minutes, I saw him on the beach looking for
me, but I was too far out to catch him! Damn! So I
missed Carlo. I should add that last night, he and
his friends were trying to convince me to extend my
tourist visa, and stay another week-- they even
offered to put me up at the fancy hotel free of
charge! I hesitated at first, because it seemed kind
of impractical; but after a night of sleep, I was
actually seriously thinking about it! But since we
didn't cross paths this afternoon, not gonna happen.
Later that afternoon, I walked all the way out to the
opposite end of the beach, where the sand is sugar
fine and the big hotels have taken up residence. It
is so so beautiful on this island that I never want to
leave!
Back at the hut, I was slightly irritated to find
Bryant still sleeping away the day, and because it
took so long to get him going, we almost missed Nick
and Allison on our last day! We had another delicious
dinner at Blue Mango, and then we headed over to Juice
for a few goodbye drinks with Fred and Bryan. I was
hoping Carlo would be around, but no such luck, so I
headed back to the hut to pack. My plan had been to
pack and then head back out to hang out for a few more
drinks, but Bryant left me stranded without the key,
and didn't come back til 6am, so if I had gone out I
would have ended up being locked out! I was somewhat
irritated, because I knew that it was my last chance
to come across Carlo. I'm thankful for the generosity
of Bryant's family, and it's been helpful to travel
with a Filipino at times, but in a lot of ways, he's
just gotten in my way here. A good travelling team we
do NOT make.
And sadly, my last night in Boracay was spent feeling
trapped inside our room.
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