packing has never been my strong point. i tend to stash everything within reach and ignore the fact that i look like an unfashionable pack rat. and this trip was no different. i was going to boracay for the first time, and of course, i didn't want to run out of things to wear, not to mention sunblock. i think i brought 3 bottles of it. talk about overkill. and as usual, cram does not pay. i started packing around 11pm and finished (at least i thought i was) past 2 am. this would be perfectly alright, except for the fact that i was supposed to wake up at 430, because we were supposed to be at the airport at 530. wonderful.
miraculously, i didn't snooze away when my phone went off at about 430. it was like my excitement was fueling all this energy, and i didnt even have coffee! amazing. so i haul my ass off to meet my friends, and we left for the airport. we got there around 530ish maybe...and we hurriedly talk to the check-in people. to our dismay, our flight was moved up to 530am from 630, and obviously, we weren't informed by our travel agent TRAVEL FACTOR (we are sooo not using them again), or by cebu pac. you can just imagine the mood shift and the flaring tempers that clashed at that point. i shudder just recalling it. but it was evident that there was nothing to be done except be rebooked. Not the rise in decibels, nor the brows that were meeting in the middle...nothing could fix this. so we were rebooked on the 12nn flight and hoped to be on earlier flights if there were available seats. as expected, there were none. so we waited for 6 f-ing hours in the airport. it's a good thing terminal 3 was new and clean and cold as hell. no telling how much bitching there could have been if it were otherwise.
fast forward to boracay...
upon arriving at our hotel, my bed beckoned me to make up for the 6-hour wait in the airport, the plane ride, and the boat trip...but alas, the day was a-wasting, so we went off to manana, a mexican place in station 1. the food was alright, but later in the trip, we discovered bolero, another mexican restaurant. it's in station 3, quite a walk, but well worth it. the beef and cheese nachos were fan-freaking-tastic. i mean it rivals chilis, man! must-try! anyhow, we also checked out jonah's shakes. i had, well, at least tasted, avocado/vanilla. i got sooo distracted with playing frisbee that i forgot about it. let me just say that boracay sand is perfect for frisbee. and late afternoon is ideal for it. sigh. just thinking about it makes me wanna play again.
that night, we went to club paraw to hang out , maybe have one to two drinks. i got a little hammered, and of course my friends would never let me live it down. cause i rarely get buzzed, let alone get seriously hammered. this, let's just say was...sufficiently buzzed. anyhow, after drinking and some dancing (normal among us), we were about to leave when the boys started carrying (in my case, maybe dragging...i cant imagine them being able to carry me) the girls and dropping us into the water. of course, we weren't in our swim wear. so you can just imagine how bad it was.
the next day, i tried almost everything there is to do in the water...banana boat with the girls and flying fish too. banana boating was benign, but flying fish...i can only describe the feeling as if you had a difficult intubation. your knees wobble, your hands feel as if they can't grip anything forever, and your whole body kinda trembles from the adrenaline. i am just thankful that there weren't any sharks there, cause they would have had a pretty big snack that afternoon. big snack, but still pretty :D harhar. after struggling with my right footing, i finally let go and swooshed into the sea. there was no panic, just embarrassment that i couldnt keep my ass on that raft. but i was on it again, and we finished the course as originally planned. and believe me, i held on for dear life. one of my friends kept making jokes, but noone was laughing. everyone was scared. we all concentrated on staying on that damn raft if it's the last thing we'd ever do.
on the second night, i think everyone was pretty tired, so we were a little subdued.
the next day, we went on the atv tour, going to the highest point in all of boracay and had photo ops. after that, the others got ready to leave. only a handful were extending, so we said goodbye to the others.
i met up with a friend who worked in boracay, and she invited us to tour shangrila the next day. it was, to say the least, amazing, to see all of shangrila boracay. it was so beautiful, and i am glad we got to see the luxury, comfort, and glamour of the place. she even treated us to a buffet dinner which we took advantage of, for sure. the added bonus was the cute chef who offered me...get this...lamb chops! how could i resist the combination?! and here's the clincher: the chef knew how to speak! his voice was low, and his diction...perfect! the only problem was, he couldn't get my chops medium well, so i had to go back and tell him to cook them some more. he also had to deliver them to our table, which my girl friends appreciated immensely. hahaha. after that, we went back to our hotel and slept in peace.
the next day, we just hung out at the beach and enjoyed our last day in the island. soaking up the sun, shopping for stuff, and finally, eating our last dinner in bolero, where we discovered yet another amazing restaurant. we also went to pat's to chill for a lil bit more and enjoy the acoustic music they offered.
the next day, we woke up early and the sunrise was the perfect way to cap the experience. beautiful and unique. then we schlepped our luggage to the airport and said our goodbye.
boracay is a place you can go to to do everything you want. contemplate the meaning of life while you're relaxing on a beach chair with your toes just touching the water and your lips sipping a cold glass of fruit shake, or party hard and dance your heart out with only shorts, flip-flops, and a tank top donned. make your heart race a little with water sports or slow it down with the pace of island life. whatever your objectives, whoever you're with, it is one helluva place to visit. the sand is enough reason to go back, but while you're there, why not flee from your usual life just a little bit, and immerse in the boracay existence? :)
cheers.
