Day 1:
hello again Boracay! this was my 4th time to go to Boracay. 2 out of the earlier 3 trips though were work-related ergo not really blogworthy except for the fact that we were housed in some of the best hotels in the island.
we left with the Japan contingency who were Cebu-bound naman
Jeff and I were with Ate Julie and her friend, Val who was going to Bora for the first time
with 2 hours to waste, we had breakfast at Dimsum N' Dumplings muna.
it was this time I realized I left out a lot of travel essentials. hmm I really need to have a better system when packing..
there sure were a lot of passengers bound for their respective holiday trips. note to self that it may be better to stay home for the next holiday. I was just used to being either at home or a relatives' house or in Pampanga
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| all aboard! |
took awhile for us to take off considering the runway traffic that time. we were at least an hour delayed.
in fairness, PAL standards na ang airphil. they serve snacks na.
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| choice of drink, crackers and a pack of peanuts (not shown) |
much of the little time we had in the plane though was spent on snoozing. so hardly any photos of us inside the plane
we arrived in Kalibo a little past 1 pm. we were actually expecting a private van to take us to Caticlan. what resorts do pala is to arrange for our transfers via Southwest Tours so we shared a bus with other tourists in other resorts. pretty nifty.
actually ok naman sana yung arrangement. though their service could be better.
for one, we were asked to board a bus that was about to leave only to be asked to transfer buses again wherein we had to wait for at least an hour more because we had to wait for other passengers. buti na lang kahit papano we were at the front most seats.
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| best seats in the house! |
we also had to stop numerous times. like the time the airport coordinator was tracking down a passenger who was in our bus. the driver had to stop to take the call. we also had to stop for gas which the driver could have done beforehand.
super hina rin dumiskarte nung driver. kaya what was supposedly just an hour and a half trip became 2 hours at least
the worst thing was we hit a dog who was trying to cross the road! mukhang patay yung aso but he just sped away like it was nothing!
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| worst driver |
finally reached Caticlan and a representative from Boracay Tropics ushered us to the port.
in fairness they now have this terminal
this was the first time I passed by this portion of the port. I remember the last time kasi parang we went directly to the pier na
normally too we would take Boracay Tropics' boat. pero understand waves are quite rough at that time of the day, so we also had to take a bigger common boat
finally Boracay!
in fairness our service car looks better now. haha. but we wouldn't really mind if they picked us up in the old service which looked like Taft's orange cabs
finally home for the next 4 days...
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| #boracaytropics we meet again @jepjob @juleebee1 taken from my instagram account @jobnacpil |
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| cheers! welcome drink: mango-cucumber slush @jepjob @juleebee1 | #wishyouwerehere @addicted2purple taken from my instagram account @jobnacpil |
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| serenity taken from my instagam account @jobnacpil |
I actually hoped that the water will clear up the following morning :)
the rest of the night was spent around D'Mall
we had dinner at Andok's. (yes. we went all the way to Boracay to have Andok's hehe)
and Jeff was in quite a competitive mood and played some hoops
unfortunately he barely met half of the high score. haha.
Day 2:
we got early and immediately headed for the beach
unfortunately the algae remains
we took a stroll na lang along the beach
and got intrigued by all the holes in the sand
yun pala the locals were digging up worms they call 'sasing' which they plan on cooking later on
even the kids knew how to 'hunt' for these
by 7 am we headed back to the hotel for breakfast and stayed by the pool muna while waiting for our guides
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| good morning! @jepjob taken from my instagram account @jobnacpil |
this was something I did not consider doing in Boracay, it being more known for water sports/activities.
kaya I was quite surprised that we were dropped off at an amusement park within Boracay!
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| Happy Dreamland |
the rides open late in the afternoon pa but the park itself was already open to the public.
we were then led to the viewdeck for the briefing
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| "okay, class..." |
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| ATV/buggy route + waiver |
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| game! |
but before starting...
I've actually had a minor motorcycle mishap years back and after that I've always been a little traumatized in having to drive one myself. while 4 wheels naman ang ATV somehow I associate it with a motorcycle. but this was a new experience so I knew I couldn't just pass off this opportunity
finally gearing up!
and some ATV operation basics
and now we're ready!
it was a bit of a challenge operating it at the start and you had to keep in mind the reminders about what not to do, but once you get a hang of it, you'd want to just keep going hehe
we were supposed to take 2 stops, but we decided to skip the aviary and go directly to the viewing deck
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| buggy transformer |
I just realized wala ata kaming trip ni Jeff that did not involve us having to take a looong flight of stairs haha
and now a view of the island from up high
time to head back down!
trying out the buggy!
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| the ATV gang |
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| pogi! |
we asked to be dropped off to D'mall so we can check out the shops. also had more shots taken of the ocean which unfortunately still has not cleared up
we ordered food-to-go from Army Navy--quite a heavy meryenda at 10:30 am!
in fairness I liked the burger a lot. have only tried their quesadillas before. a good option whenever I'm hit with a burger craving. haha..
we spent the rest of the afternoon indoors. at least up until about 2 pm.
before meeting with the guides for our afternoon adventure, we had late lunch at Backyard BBQ
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| trying out Val's Oakleys |
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| role reversal |
parasailing here we come! only the girls signed up though. haha. Jeff was insisting someone had to stay to take photos.. (haha, I've heard that excuse so many times na ah)
we boarded a speed boat with about 5 other tourists. but they dropped the 4 of us off muna at this docking site. it didn't seem like the rest of them were going parasailing anyway
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| point of no return? haha |
and just when we started thinking we might have really been adandoned here, our speedboat arrives!
now time to gear up!
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| smiling outside but really feeling totally tense |
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| wait, life vest ni Jeff please. haha |
our parachute!
eto talaga ang point of no return! I realized no backing out na! hehe. they strapped us into position and asked us to sit down with legs extended
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| heto na!! |
haha super irrational talaga. but this has got to be one of the best outdoor activities I've done so far and which I would do over and over again!
the ride was actually only supposed to be for about 20 mins lang talaga. but I think the crew were amused at how thrilled we were so they extended us for about 10 mins more! hehe
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| water dip! |
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| back to the speedboat |
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| back to the beach |
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| why knot? |
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| waiting for the sunset |
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| slime about to attack! |
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| by the beach |
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| nice view |
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| Jeff is one with the slime |
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| life's a beach |
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| inabot na ng dilim |
just before dinner, we checked out Pricelite - may outlet store pala near Tropics!
even saw Marc Nelson there. Jeff got a North face cap and I got two Cotton On shirts. not bad!
Val treated us to a buffet dinner by the beach
then we ended the day with 'dessert' -- milk tea at Sharetea
Day 3:
new day - new island friend!
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| Mr. Krabs - my herbit crab friend |
I was actually just looking for shells along the shore, when I accidentally picked this one up which still had a live crab in it!
I saw a plastic cup by the beach too so I decided to bring him along
we had an arranged island hopping tour today, so I thought of taking him along too and leave him in one of the islands
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| breakfast before the tour |
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| ready to go! |
first stop was supposedly the Crystal Cove kaso the waves were particularly high that time, so we turned around and headed towards Station 1 muna.
we stopped to snorkel muna. (unfortunately not a single photo, because someone left the dica-pac. boo!)
water was quite rough though. so it wasn't too easy swimming around
next stop was Puka Beach!
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| view from the shore |
while waiting for our orders...
while taking a break from swimming, I chanced upon an sand crab! woohoo! Mr. Krabs has a friend! kaso when I was replacing the water in the cup, I accidentally dropped Mr. Krabs and could no longer track him down. boo..
buti na lang the sand crab buried himself in the sand inside the cup, kaya hindi siya nadamay.
hehe. I actually turned greedy that time, I really intended to leave Mr. Krabs in another beach, but when I got the sand crab, I wanted to bring both of them back.
ayan tuloy, down to one crab. hehe.
finally lunch is served!
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| enjoying pork sinigang, chili crab and shrimps! |
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| stomachs - in! |
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| good food, great beach |
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| back to the boat |
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| back at the Tropics with our new crab friend |
Jeff and I decided to go back out na just before sunset. and had meryenda at.. haha. Sharetea ulit. this time we also tried the crispy chicken. which turned out to be quite salty/peppery and oily..
stroll and stories by the beach
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| pink-colored sunset |
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| attempting to write our names on the sand but kept getting washed away |
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| Station 1 |
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| their menu even had a story on Valhalla origins |
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| Buffalo wings |
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| blackened chicken alfredo pasta |
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| fish and chips |
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| we'll be sure to eat here again when we come back! |
before calling it at night, we hung out at the pool area, since wifi was better there. hehe
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| view of the moon by the pool |
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| hey Mister! |
going to the beach early in the morning has become a habit for us. though since this was our last day, we really had to go and let go of our sand crab. hehe
in fairness, he survived the night inside that cup.
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| saying bye to our sand crab |
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| lost in the sand na |
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| one last shot by the beach |
we came back empty handed though as most dry good shops were still closed
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| final look at the Tropics |
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| leaving is always the hardest part |
definitely looking forward to coming back! (maybe in 2 years though hehe) and hopefully with the whole family naman :)
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