That promise came true earlier than expected. Well, going back to Boracay was not my priority. I was dying to visit Coron, El Nido or Camiguin first. But who am I to decline this one heck of an opportunity? It was an all-expense paid trip to Boracay for just the weekend - you guessed that right! Our foreigner friends wanted to go to Boracay and they will spend some cash just for us to take them there. Apparently, Boracay is the most famous beach to visit in the Philippines according to them. In fact, Mark Sailing (Noah Puckerman of Glee) once visited its shores. Whoa! So there, although I was really insisting on going to El Nido, the trip was set to be Boracay. D and I set all the other necessities - airfare, resorts, watersports, etc.
So for the kwento, a week earlier we booked our ticket in the CebuPacific booth in Megamall. But we were given AirPhil tickets for a cheaper price (weird huh?). I didn't know that tickets are that expensive - imagine 30,000php for RT Mnl-Caticlan of 4pax only? Promo tickets usually costs only 1500php RT. My golly! Next we booked Two Seasons Resorts. It was recommended by my friend Shiela. The last time we were there we stayed at Boracay Holiday Resort, which was very good. But we had a hard time going to and forth D'Mall where everything else is happening. And it was also not beachfront, so have to walk at least 3minutes to the beach and another 5minutes to D'Mall. So I said I wanted to stay somewhere near Astoria. It is by the way, strategically located just an arm-length away to where all the restaurants are but a good distance also if you want a little break from all the party noises at night. But their prices didn't come cheap, so we chose another resort in Station 1 for 1,000php less. Of course, if budget is not a problem you would want to stay in Station 1- where the sands are finer, the beach is cleaner and Willy's Rock stood gloriously. So taking Sheila's advise, D booked Two Seasons.
GETTING TO BORACAY
Early Saturday morning, we were greeted by the rains and winds of Hanging Habagat. I decided not to bring my DSLR, will just use my phone instead. We met our friends at the airport and boarded AirPhil's small aircraft with really big propellers. The flight was noisier and really unstable. Somehow, I regret choosing Caticlan airport instead of Kalibo Airport which was where we landed on our first trip.
But as we check the airport, I suddenly admired its simplicity. I felt a huge admiration for Shamcey Supsup, our very own Ms.Universe 2011 3rd runner up. Shamcey, before joining the pageant, was a practicing Architect. She was said to be the one who designed Boracay Airport aka Caticlan Airport. It's beauty was magnified by the scorching sun. No rains here! yey!
On our first visit, we were brought from Kalibo Airport to Caticlan Jetty Port, which was a 3+ hours of land travel. Van was worth 300php something per person.
I figured out that you can get to Boracay using two airports.
1. Manila to Caticlan Airport - 45minutes plane ride. Then you will endure just a 5-minute ride a tricycle going to either Caticlan Jetty Port or Tabon Port. Then there will be another 15-minute boatride going to the Island of Boracay.
2. Manila to Kalibo Airport - 45minutes plane ride. Then you will ride a van going to Caticlan Jetty Port. This is a very long 3-hr land travel. From there you will take a boat going to Boracay Island.
The Caticlan Airport is obviously better, specially if you are travelling with kids. Only downside - airfares here are usually higher, the planes are smaller which makes them more unstable and the flights here are often redirected to Kalibo once the weather goes bad. There is a difference also in Terminal Fees - Caticlan is only 20php while Kalibo is at 40php.
As I mentioned, whichever route you choose, you are still bound to stop at Caticlan so you can get a boat to take you to Boracay Island. Another two choices -
1. Via Caticlan Jetty Port - this is the usual course specially if you are going from Kalibo. But for safety purposes, some tricycle will take you to another port during the Habagat seasons. Fees in Caticlan Jetty Port are more expensive - 100php/head Terminal Fee and 75php/head. You can choose to ride some normal boats for 25php or aircon boats like Montenegro for 30php.
2. Via Tabon Port - Habagat means more wind, so the sea is bound to get rough. More often than not, they use this port during bad weather. Fees here are cheaper - 25php/head Terminal Fee and 75php/head Environmental Fee. They do not have aircon boats here as the docks are smaller. So you will pay 25php for the normal boats.
This time around, we landed on Caticlan Airport with no hassle. We bought tickets for the tricycle ride going to the port. It costed 80php for maximum of 3pax only. They do not allow 4 persons in one tricycle. It took us only about 5 minutes to reach Tabon Port. In exchange, they gave us 2 free Boracay Island Map. That port was better because the fees were cheaper but I found the boats too small and risky. I wanted to ride another Montenegro boat with aircon and TV, but there were no choices! hah! For another 10minutes, we reached the small Tampisaan Port. This is another two options. There are again two ports from the Boracay side:
1. Cagban Port - this is the usual port. Again more organized but the fees going out of Boracay are more expensive - 100php/head Terminal Fee, no Environmental fees collected if you are going out of Boracay already. From Caticlan, if you rode a boat from Caticlan Jetty Port, this will usually take you to Cagban Port. And vice versa.
2. Tampisaan Port - now this is the usual partner of Tabon Port. This is said to be the backup route or the Habagat route. The waves here are much steadier even on rainy seasons. Fees going out of Boracay here are also cheaper - 25php/head Terminal Fee, also no Environmental fee.
One more ride to the resort - a tricycle going to Two Seasons for 125php.
BORACAY AT IT'S FINEST
We arrived at the backdoor of Two Seasons at around 10 in the morning. We were given a very refreshing welcome drink served with a warm smile. We left our bags at the front desk because someone is still at our rooms so we cannot check-in yet. So with only our phones and wallets, we walked by the beach towards the Willy's Rock. Our friends were really amazed by the sand. We waited for our turn to climb the famous rock of Boracay. It was my first time also! We didn't reach this before! haha
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| Willy's Rock |
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| Five! |
CALAMANSI MUFFINS
After lunch, since we have nothing else to do and we still have lots of time to waste before our 2pm check-in, we searched for Real Coffee and Tea Cafe. Sheila brought home some Calamansi muffins here, which I very much like. One box of six muffins costed 285php - 45php per muffin plus 15php for the box. This time, I liked the food very much that I forgot to take pictures first. haha! Instead I took picture of this things on their table while waiting for my muffins:
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| true that! |
We walked back to the resort by around past 1pm, we were ushered to our room. The room was small but it was so homey. The beds were so soft. D loved it so much that he wanted something like that for our future home. The restroom was also complete with all the necessities and other unusual items like sewing kit, shaving kit, shower cap and some unique slippers. We ended up taking home some!
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| 1 - D's still working! 2 - our yummy welcome drink 3 - the cute slippers |
After fixing our things and a little rest, we headed back to the beach in our ready-to-wet clothes. The first thing we did was to dip in the clear water! We walked through the shores to find someone to help us do our watersports. Kuya John took us to Bulabog beach where all the watersports take place during Habagat seasons. Since we have limited time, we decided to try only Helmet Diving that afternoon. We haven't done that before, so I was so excited. We got a good deal for it - only 250php per head, complete with CD of the pictures and video. Imagine that 25 kilos helmet over your shoulders? It's only 2 kilos under the water. They made us wear shoes and then instructed us on how to communicate under water and how to overcome the pressure underwater. My experience was really exceptional. The first time me and my diver tried it, we failed. As in literally, he pushed me back over the water because I was not sinking. I wasn't holding on to my helmet - that's why! He also told me that once the helmet is on my shoulders I have to let go of the stairs. The second time I was completely sinking (with the help of kuya guide). But I forgot to breathe because of the excitement. As I was feeling the pressure, the guide motioned that I release the pressure. So I slipped my hands inside the helmet, closed my mouth, covered my nose then blew on my nose. Yey that made my breathing better! Down there, I met the others then the guide gave us some round objects which turned out to be fish food. All of them suddenly went to us! Who says it is not good to do helmet diving in the afternoon because the fish will not be as hungry as they were in the morning?! You are all wrong! There were bunch of fish out there. Only I was disappointed that they were mostly gray in color, not so pleasing to the eyes. I saw some blue ones, but they just camouflaged with the blue waters. There were just one or two with nemo-like colors. I wish there were plenty of them. Also, the corals seemed to be dead. Or were they just colorless? aww
BORACAY SUNSET
We went back to the White Beach to swim in the ocean again while waiting for the sunset. We decided to try Paraw Sailing during sunset. It costed us 800php/boat for 45-minute boatride. True enough, sunset in Boracay is better if you can get closer to it. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pictures of us while in the paraw. To give you an idea, a paraw is a sailboat that moves by maneuvering its sails according to the wind. You will just have to control the sails depending on where you want to go. You will be seated on the net which is placed on the katig of the boat. A little bit scary for some, but cool for us! We reached the farthest side in record time. The wind was blowing hard which pushed the paraw faster. The big waves were additional excitement! Our timing was perfect. By the time we finished, the sun has already set, making the sky orange.
NIGHTLIFE
We headed back to the resort to wash our salty bodies. After that, we watched a wedding on the beach. They had someone to do firedance. After feasting our eyes to the romance, we walked by the beach again to find something to eat. We settled on some Grill House (forgot the name) along Station 1 and ordered a lot of grill seafoods and veggies. Our friends were definitely not fan of any meat (aww). For the first time, since we arrived in Boracay, I enjoyed the food. Everything tasted good, specially my Avocado Shake and D's Mango Shake.
SUMPTUOUS BREAKFAST
We got up at half past 6 in the morning and went down instantly at the free buffet. It was heaven! I finally got hold of some pancakes. I was craving for that for days! And my all time favorite scrambled egg with tomatoes, ham, bacon and cheese.
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| Can breakfast get any better than this? |
I almost wanted to skip this one because of the scene my friend did the previous day. She refused to go down during Helmet Diving, so we wasted money. She was also afraid of the water. Did I tell you that she didn't swim in the beach? She just dip her feet up until her knees. The boys tried to force her deeper but she resisted like a baby! Yay! So since I know that the Island Hopping activity will be full of snorkeling, I was strongly discouraged. But they insisted, so off we go to Bulabog Beach again! And true to my words, she never tried snorkeling. We only managed to get her to dip her feet again. haha. Anyway, D and I enjoyed snorkeling in Crocodile Island. There was a Snorkeling Fee of 20php per head, collected by manong in a boat. As usual there were a lot of fish under, more colorful this time. But the corals were again colorless. I wonder where the hell did we do our snorkeling 2 years ago. I was more beautiful that time. Our route was different also, we didn't pass by the Shangrila Boracay or Pacquiao's Resort. Instead, we tranferred to Ilig-iligan Beach - for yet another snorkeling? Damn! We just told the boatmen that we will skip that one and take us to the beach instead. We just played around the beach this time while observing the islands. We went to one store to drink a whopping 100php buko after we got tired of swimming. We were instantly surrounded by locals selling pearls.
After we reached the shore, we inquired how much were the Jetski ride - a whopping 3000php for 15-minute ride. Whoa! We inquired on Parasailing instead. Our friends wanted to try flying. I have tried which I found boring but we have to accompany them so we put ourselves in the boat again. Unfortunately, the cue was so long that we have to cancel because we have a plane to catch and we still haven't packed our bags!
An hour past noon, we already checked-out of the resort although we were a bit too early for our 5:10pm flight. They can only hold us for until 1pm because someone is bound to use our room. Anyway, we just brought our bags as we grabbed some lunch in Station 2. While waiting for 3pm (which is our cue to go to the airport), D and I had our wrist tattoed with henna. And then we sat by the beach while watching some Kite-boarders do their stuff.
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| Marked! |
We reached Manila past 6 in the evening, rode a taxi to Glorietta and ate dinner at some Chinese Restaurant. After some chit-chats, we said our farewells. That was the end of our quick Bora weeekend. :)
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