Boracay...Days 2 & 3

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What to do, where to go & what to eat!

Boracay night life
I was reading the Cebu Pacific in-flight magazine the other day. In it, it described a much favoured Filipino past time - singing!! Throughout the shopping malls of Cebu, you will see groups of people in Sony centres (even in the Watson’s Chemist) singing to some song on some sort of Karaoke machine (Mind you they were mostly very feminine ‘boys’ with painted fingernails & handkerchiefs in their hands, giggling with their ‘girlfriends‘.)

So it came as no surprise to see the same thing in Boracay (I meant the singing, not the feminie boys - but they too were in plentiful supply). Everywhere you walked - there were bars & restaurants with different ‘cover bands’ singing anything from Tina Turner to the Chilli Peppers. My favourite was the ‘Bonjovi’ cover band (or I called them that because that is what they played the most) at the M02 Wave Bar.

The lead singer was really getting into it, with the Bonjovi style head banging and screaming (an art form my older sister perfected in the early 90’s). The bar was split into two, with a selection of bean bags & candlelight on the beach front and the main terraced bar, separated by a pathway of sand. ‘Jon’ (aka Filipino head banger) would race between both bars, singing at the same time, whilst climbing on top of tables & concrete dividers, with his electric guitarist in tow. Sadly my camera could not do this performance justice…but he was so good, I went back every night to watch the performance (and have the cocktails of course!)

We arrived in Boracay during low season - so there weren’t as many people as you would normally expect to see during the December/January months. In saying that - I actually preferred it that way. We didn’t have to jostle for a table in the restaurants in the ‘D’mall area‘; there were always plenty of seats in the bars & a lot less touts roaming the streets. I’m sure it would be very different during high season - but I was able to get a mix of busyness and solitude without too much hassle.

The picture on the right is of one of the many sandcastles that dot White beach at night. As you walk along the beach at night, you see them all lit up with candles, mixing the darkness you can only find on an island with the soft amber glow of the candles. Puzzlingly as walked along inspecting the various sandcastle creations - it quickly became clear that each builder made the exact same sandcastle as the other. The only difference between each of them was the sand swirl carvings they used to hold the candles.

Adventure Thrills on the beach
As a change from sitting on the beach and swimming, Carlo, Lesty & I decided to try a ‘fly fish’ ride. Basically - it is like one of those banana boat contraption things, only this time, it’s shaped more like a giant squid (without the tentacles). Each of us got to sit astride a rubber tube (The guy made me sit in the middle “To balance the ride” or so he said. I think what he really mean to say was “To keep the heaviest one in the middle” ….sigh!!!).

We were strapped up with our life vests and held on to the attached rope handle for dear life as the speed boat made its way towards deeper water. We were given assurances that the intention of this ride was to try and get the fly fish up in the air so we were quite keen to see which one of us would either (a) be able to hang on to the rope as it got air bound or (b) be thrown off ride and dumped in the water.

We managed to get fast enough to be vertical a few times (but no lift off I’m afraid…..weight restrictions perhaps??) before Carlo’s feet got caught in the swirl and he fell off the ride - unceremoniously kicking me in the process as he rolled over backwards and into the water. Our 15 minute adventure ride didn’t last long - and we soon found ourselves heading back to land. Thankfully Lesty & I managed to hang on for the duration of the ride, albeit a bit white knuckled and bleary eyed with all the salt water spraying into our eyes as we tried to hang on.

The Pearl Man
Boracay is filled with pearl traders from the Muslim regions of the Philippines (where most of the pearl farms are located). They usually sit on the beach front waiting to show tourists their selection of fresh & south sea pearls. The picture on the left is our ‘Pearl Man’ showing us his assortment of pearls. For 100 pesos ($3) I couldn’t help but purchase a pair of white freshwater pearl studs to add to my measly collection of jewellery.

We sat on the beach chatting with him for almost 10 minutes. He was casually trying to convince us to purchase a strand or two of ‘south sea’ pearls and we were casually trying to refuse. Call me a skeptic but I was somewhat dubious that a strand of black south sea pearls would only cost 10,000 pesos ($265)…but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

Where did all the coconuts go?
Whenever I go back to the Philippines - the first two things I order are (1) Mango Shake & (2) Buko shake aka young coconut shake. I practically subsist on the stuff during my entire time. So you can imagine my absolute horror on arrival at finding no buko shakes, no buko ice-cream, no buko bread…Nothing!!. I mean these things grow on trees everywhere on the island. I could walk past any palm tree and see a whole bundle of them growing, just waiting to be turned into an ice-cream stick (from the man ringing his bell, yelling “ice-cream - 10 peso lang”, as he walks along the beach).

I spent 3 days combing the island café houses & ice-cream shops for anything ’buko’ and got nada! On my last night on the island I finally saw a sign outside a restaurant offering buko shakes for the exorbitant asking price of 100 pesos ($3). What? When they only cost 30 pesos on every given day…….I bought a mango shake instead….it was the principle of the thing!

Julie’s Bakeshop
This is another company plug - but this really is my favourite bakery in the whole world. I love Filipino bread. In Cebu the streets are lined with bread & bakeshops. The bread is sweet, sticky and stuffed with a whole bunch of different things (bean paste, coconut, cheese, meats…..I could go on). Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked ’Ensaymada’ in the morning………

So it was no surprise to find Julie’s Bakeshop on the island and I made sure to pass by everyday after I found it to stock up on my Ensaymada (sweet bread sprinkled with sugar & grated cheese), Spanish bread (soft squishy bread with something in it) and pan de sal (plain soft squishy bread)…..10 rolls of each would be perfect - Thank you! (To my dearest sister - I ate one of each especially for you…Yummmm!)

All the seafood you could eat
It should come as no surprise but being an island - Seafood does come in plentiful supply out here….

Travelling with my dad does have its advantages (my financier, body guard & personal tour guide) - He knew where to go to find the best seafood - The local market! Every day he would leave us at the beach (to work on my newly acquired lobster red complexion) to go to the market and pick out the choicest & freshest (aka sometimes still alive) seafood for our lunch. The hotel we stayed at offered cooking services (for a fee) and would cook our seafood for us while we sat on the beach waiting…30 minutes later we would trudge back to the dining area, dripping & covered in sand to eat our lunch of bbq seafood & clam soup (the menu did change daily). Could it get any better than that? I don’t think so. The pictures below are of the market & of me eating…..(I couldn’t resist!!)

PS: To my beloved Matthew. The best nephew anyone could ask for! As promised I have hidden Wally in some of the photos for you to find. Good Luck! I love you!

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Photos

Watching the sunset
This is a view from White Beach during low tide.

Sandcastles on the beach
At night dozens of these sandcastle displays are created on White Beach. They are all predominantly similar except for the pattern surrounding the castle. The patterns near this castle is my favourite.

Riding the tricycle
Here I am with my brother & sister. We had walked the entire length of White Beach looking at the sandcastles. At times like this a tricycle is a welcome alternative from anymore walking.

Flyfish Ride
Ready set go!
Matthew honey...Try to find wally!

The pearl man
You can purchase an assortment of fresh and south pearls from vendors walking along the beach. But as always...buyer beware!!

Fresh fruit on the beach
There are always vendors offering fresh fruit for sale on the beach. Here I am with my selection of jackfruit, mangoes & santol. Mmmm!!!
Matthew...Where's wally?

My lunch is waiting
Fresh seafood from the market all waiting to be eaten.

The seafood market
Kuya 'brother' Rey showing us his fresh catch

Comments

[lesty]

boracay trip
manang!! i had so much fun reading your blog! keep em coming... hahaha

[Chantal]

I see Wally!
..... or is that the Sharp Focus duck?! And thanks by the way for the duck and note you left me on my desk - so lovely :-). Lotsa luv Chantal