Boracay, Philippines

Michael and I just returned from our trip to Boracay, Philippines. Boracay is one of the 7,000+ islands of the Philippines approximately 200 miles south of Manila. Our journey began with a 3 hour bus ride from Utsunomiya to Narita Airport, from Narita to Manila the plane ride took about 4.5 hours, from Manila to Caticlan another plane ride that lasted a little less than an hour, and finally a boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay. After 13 hours of travelling with layovers we reached one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen. We arrived in Boracay just in time to catch the sunset! After taking some pictures we walked up and down White Beach and found ourselves a small place on the beach to have dinner. In Boracay, many of the restaurants will set up tables and chairs on the beach after sunset to begin the “nightlife”. Pretty tired from all the travelling, we called it a night early so that we could be well rested for the next day.
Our hotel was awesome and included a free breakfast buffet. A mix between Filipino cuisine and American flavors, we were quite content. I especially enjoyed the pancakes. Our first day on Boracay, we decided to have a beach day. We relaxed on White Beach (west side of the island) for most of the morning. Apparently we both relaxed a little too much because Michael and I both were a little sunburned after day 1 or maybe that’s just an indication that I don’t get enough sun. In the afternoon, we ventured over to Bulabog Beach located on the opposite side of the island. Bulabog Beach is quite the opposite of White Beach. Although the climate is the same, the waves were much stronger and not really swimmable. On Bulabog Beach, we got to see many kite boarders and windsurfers. Kite boarding looks very cool, but also very difficult. We walked up Bulabog Beach as far north as we could and then hopped back over to the west side of the island. We were close to station 1, so we went to check out Willy’s Rock. Willy’s Rock is a curiously shaped volcanic formation, Willy's Rock is so closely identified with Boracay that you find it featured in practically every postcard and travel brochure on the island. The only rock formation along the entire four-kilometer length of White Beach, Willy's Rock stands out like a dark dot on the immaculately white shoreline, becoming an island at high tide. A shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary stands atop the rock. It was definitely unique. We headed back to White Beach to relax a little more and then watched another beautiful sunset before heading to dinner. The nightlife in Boracay is really calm. The island promotes fruit shakes more than alcohol and instead of clubs there is usually live entertainment on the beach from various restaurants.
Saturday was probably the most exciting day for us. In the morning, Michael and I went parasailing. Yes, Parasailing!!! It was AMAZING. We were up in the air for about 15 minutes and we could see all of Boracay and some of the other nearby islands. At first I was a little nervous, but when you are in air it feels nothing short of spectacular. The people on the boat were awesome and helped us take many pictures. In the afternoon, we went scuba diving for the first time. We were given a quick introduction on how to breathe, clear your mask if water gets in it, and equalizing. We practiced in water about 1 meter deep to get use to breathing and carrying the equipment, then off into the waters we went. Michael and I each had an instructor guiding us which was awesome. I had a little trouble with the equalization at first and kind of panicked, which is probably the worst thing to do, so I had to relax a little and then try to dive again. Finally my instructor would help me equalize and we were diving! We saw beautiful coral and fish. It was the first time ever seeing a blue starfish. Diving was definitely fun once you get the hang of it. I was quite exhausted afterwards.
For the final day, we did a little shopping and splashed some more in the water. In Boracay, the seashell jewelry is really popular along with the sarongs. We even picked up our first oil painting. There are some talented people on the island. For lunch, Michael and I went to an area called D’Talipapa that had a fresh market that sold various types of seafood. Michael picked up 2 lobsters and I had 2 crabs, we then take it across the road to a cooking service that will cook it up 7 or 8 different ways. Michael opted for the deep fried pepper sauce for his lobsters and I chose a garlic butter sauce for my crabs. It was delicious!
Boracay was an awesome trip.