Boracay

One of the many little surprises in my life was to see a widescreen still picture of the sparkling white beach of Boracay inside a movie house – of all places - in the City of Sheffield, United Kingdom in July 1994. It was definitely a travel tour ads UK-based with this come-on line (If memory does not betray me): “Visit and enter paradise: Boracay, the Philippines.”

My lady companion, another British fellow from the Philippines, failed to hold her amazement and blurted quite loudly “Wow, that’s our country!” All heads within hearing distance turned to us and nodded approvingly.

On our way back to our respective flat we hardly gave notice to the performance of Hugh Grant on “Four Weddings and a Funeral” but talked endlessly on beautiful Boracay. “One day,” she sighed dreamingly, “I will bring my entire family to Boracay.” Because she grew up in Manila and most likely had seldom gone to the coastal areas, the wish was understandable.

Although the ads of the darling beauty somehow lifted my spirit with pride and joy the idea of exploring it someday never occurred to me. My birthplace in Hinunangan, Southern Leyte has two nearby small islands with equally wonderful beach resources. And although the sand is a little course and is not white, the beach of my adopted hometown in Naawan, Misamis Oriental has clear and unpolluted waters and is just a 5 minute walk from our cottage. Boracay did not register long in my consciousness.

Some years later when I would find myself in the pre-departure area of Manila Domestic Airport, the going and coming of planes to and from Caticlan-Boracay at short intervals, swallowing and disgorging a multitude of Caucasians and almond-eyed Asians intrigued me. I learned that special flights are even organized in peak seasons to fly more foreign and local tourists to the enchanting island. The coliform scare in the late 90s did not scare at all. The island began to fascinate me.

The opportunity to have a real glimpse of Boracay came some three weeks ago when Bing and I visited Nanay Padang (my dear 82-year-old mother-in-law) in Bugasong, Antique. Nanay Padang was seriously sick, was even in coma, last January but miraculously survived the ordeal and was so hale and sound on our arrival on May 31. So we decided to leave her two days after and were in Caticlan, the jump off point to Boracay, after a 2-hr bus ride from Bugasong.

The weather was mean and it was no longer the peak season for tourists, yet we have to wait for two hours for the 10 minute fast craft ride to Boracay. The Caticlan ferry terminal was swamped with mostly young Korean tourists in unbelievable number. When our turn to ride the sea craft with some of them came, the weather went wild and the waves turned monstrous and tossed and punished our vessel with stomach-wrenching blows. The Koreans panicked and demanded for plastic bags to avoid the embarrassment of puking. But the trip was very short and we were soon in Boracay port at no time at all.

Bing and I were “peso” tourists. A cousin guide had earlier reserved us an accommodation at Faith Village Resort Hotel at P350/person/day. The room is air-conditioned with a comfort room/bathroom and additional wash designed to accommodate 8 tenants. We paid P1400, equivalent for 4 occupants, and the room became an exclusive use for us for the duration of our stay.

Our accommodation, located in Station 3, Barangay Manok-manok, is only a 3-min walk to the White Beach, the very heart of Boracay tourism. The Faith Village Conference Center is organized by a Christian group that offers religious retreats, seminars, conventions and conferences to different publics. Its dormitory facilities, with family rooms, with air-conditioner and fan amenities, accommodate a total of 270 persons. Its Function Hall sits 300 participants. It has a restaurant on buffet service.

Our partial explore of Boracay showed us the two faces of the island. The 3 km or so stretch of White Beach, from Station 3 in Barangay Manok-manok to Station 1 in Barangay Balabag, is the tourist hub of the island where all of tourism related businesses are found – hotels and resorts of different stars, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, pubs, banks, money changer shops, tour travel offices and many other amenities and services. A beachfront pathway separates the beachfront establishments from the shore. Cheaper accommodations are found in Station 3. The nightlife funs that last to the wee hours are generally in Station 2. Station 1 offers the high end and classier hotels, is less crowded and a comfortable distance away from the noise of Boracay nightlife.

Some 5 km away from Station 3 is Barangay Yapak. Two high end impressively big hotels, Alta Vista De Boracay Hotel and Shangri-La s Boracay Resort and Spa are nestled on its rocky but lush forest far from the hoi polloi and the maddening crowd of the island. The wonderful thing about Yapak is that its equally white beach borders immediately with a rocky forest and is free or is sheltered from establishments. It has remained unspoiled, almost spotless, and is wrapped with an ambience of a deserted paradise. When we strolled and bathed at the place from 7 – 10 in the morning in the second day of our stay we could only count with our fingers the people who went there. The place is so serene and meditative. If you are a bookworm, you may spread a towel under some coco trees and read to your heart’s content. If you are an adventurous soul you may try crawling inside some mysterious caves beneath the coralline rocks.

Boracay is not really that expensive as touted. You have a lot of options to enjoy the place within your budget. Near our accommodation was a little restaurant that served home cooked dishes – plenty of vegetables and fish at very affordable prices. You can have your fill at P60. At the main street of the island there are litson manok stalls that offer other dishes aside from their litson at prices common in urban centers.

We only stayed in the island for some 24 hours but had seen enough to convince us to return there by the last week of December and explore the place further with the entire family.