Boracay 2008 (Day 2)

We woke up early for our wonderful breakfast of tapa and tocino courtesy of Club Ten. It was a good way to start our second day. Our second day was what I would call our adventure day in Boracay. For Php1300, we went on a boat ride going to Crystal Cove. A nice, small island with a nice view of the open sea and two underwater caves. On our way there, Karen got scared because of the waves. I even told her that the boat ride was a little similar to what I experienced the last time I went to Corregidor. The difference was, the waves in Boracay were less rough compared to Corregidor. :) I was not able to get inside the first cave because the way down was a little narrow considering my size and my camera gear. According to Karen, the first cave was a little scary because it was dark and the waves were really splashing hard that they were not allowed to swim even with a life saver on. We walked around the island to get to the second cave. Inside the second cave, there was an even smaller one that you would have to crouch to get inside but we were not that adventurous so we just stayed near the mouth of the cave.Ü



A couple shots of the view above Cave 1


View from the stairwell going down to Cave 1 (The closest I could get Ü)



On our way to Cave 2 (Prepare for a long walk under the sun)


Cave 2 (Click on the picture to see the note on the entrance to the smaller cave)


On our way back to the boat
We then headed to the snorkelling site and it was like a small port when we got there. I guess the other tourists also thought that it was a good time to go snorkelling. :)


Karen having fun swimming with the fishes


Ice cream sold in the middle of the sea for Php40
We got back just in time for lunch and we ate at Big Mamas Pinoy Hot Pot and Grill. Unfortunately for Karen, they were serving grilled food only during dinner. After lunch and a short break, we then went on a buggy ride heading to Mount Luho for a view of Boracay from above. We were supposed to ride an ATV but Karen was not up to driving so we settled for a buggy. We were supposed to go a butterfly farm as well but we opted to stay longer in Mount Luho and forego the butterfly farm. I was hoping to get some sunset shots there but since it was still early, the sun was still too high for sunset shots.


Sunset at Mount Luho


The other side of Boracay




Some of our photos


Love this quote


Nice little bugger, I mean, buggies :) (Cost: Php2300)
How else would we cap our day but with a dinner at Jonah's with the fruit shake! We knew we made the right choice to have dinner as soon as we tasted the pasta and the pizza. :)



Yummy Pizza from Jonah's
I was not going home without getting a henna tattoo. I think I got bit by the henna bug way too much, though. :)


On our third day, we did not do much since we would be leaving Boracay by noon. We just spent the day with another Jonah's fruit shake. Karen went swimming for a few minutes while I had my henna tattoo retouched.Ü

We had a wonderful time in Boracay. It really is different when you are out on a trip and enjoying the beautiful scenery. My only regret was that Boracay has become too commercialized. The stores/stands found near the beach is quite alright. They do provide some sort of accessibility when it comes to the needs of the tourists. What I do not like are the people who keep on appraching you selling stuff like sunglasses or souvenir wood carvings. These people made me feel like I was walking around in Greenhills where a guy just walks towards me asking me if I would like to buy some DVDs. It is a little difficult to enjoy the beach atmosphere when these "entrepreneur" keep on interrupting your relaxing beach moments. :(

If you are after going out and having fun at night on a beach setting, then Boracay is one of the places you are looking for. However, if you would like to have a relaxing time on the beach, you might be better off going to some other beach/island/province.

Boracay 2008 (Day 1)

Aaahhh.... Cool sea breeze, powder-like white sand beach, (not so) clear waters...My expectations of Boracay were met, including the high priced activities and number of tourists.Ü (I was a bit disappointed with the algae, though.)

We left Manila at around 8:20AM via Cebu Pacific Airlines and got to Kalibo Airport after 45 minutes. I guess I was so excited that I did not notice the time. We were lucky to have been able to get a room at The Club Ten because their price was so affordable (Php3,700 for 3D/2N) and it already includes transfer to and from the Kalibo Airport. Not bad for those who are on a tight budget and do not mind walking a few feet along a side street to get to the beach. The only trouble we had along the way was the bus ride going to the Caticlan port from the airport. The air conditioning inside the bus was not able to compensate for the heat that day. We got to Club Ten around 12 noon and had very little time for rest. Karen and I were already hungry and after we were done figuring out how we were going to unpack and spend the rest of the day, we went to D'Mall for our lunch. We ate at Mang Inasal because we were so hungry that we no longer tried to look for other places to eat. Besides, we were both getting cranky because of hunger and the heat.Ü

To cool our heads a bit, we went over to Jonah's where I got to taste their famous fruit shakes! I ordered banana mocha shake and Karen had vanilla milkshake.


It was so good that I almost finished the glass before I remember to take a photo of it!Ü


Karen enjoying her vanilla milkshake
Afterwards, we continued went for a leisurely wlak along Station 1 of Boracay and since it was also sunset, I was also scouting for a good place to take sunset photos. It was hard to find a spot with the least number of people because there were already a lot of tourists in Boracay that weekend. Luckily, as the sun went down the crowd was also getting smaller and I was able to setup near the grotto. It was also in front of Nigi Nigi Too where Jerome, Sol and Velvet stayed.



Some sky shots


Karen as Mari Mar Ü




Boracay Sunset


With Jerome, Velvet, and Sol


Grotto
After one bottle of beer with Jerome, Velvet and Sol, we had to call it a night because Karen has not had any sleep since she came from her shift.

That's it for today. I'll continue this tomorrow.Ü

LAKBAYAN Grade Updated

My Lakbayan grade is C-!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

I am now a C- Traveler! Woohoo! :)

"I.T." Bonding at Bataan and Corregidor

Another road trip right after the Panagbenga was something my co-team leads planned spontaneously. Before I went to Baguio, my "I.T." (I.T. - Iwas Trabaho) friends wanted to go out while they still had the same days off. It was only I who had a different schedule but I didn't want to pass up the chance to go to Bataan and Corregidor because I haven't been to Bataan and the last time I went to Corregidor was MANY years ago on one of our high school field trips. Luckily, my application for leave was approved. :)

We first went to Mount Samat where the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) can be seen. It was cloudy when we got there so I was not able to get good shots of the cross but we still managed to have some fun while we were there.



The towering cross atop Mount Samat and some scultures found at its base.
We went up the cross and had a glimpse of what the view was at that altitude.




Moment factor


F."I.T. Five (Fabulous "I.T." Five)
The following day, we woke up early and prepared for our trip to Corregidor via a banca (small fisherman's boat). I had to borrow Master Aaron's dry bag so I can ride the banca at ease knowing that my camera is safe from getting wet.Ü

Here are some the photos I took in Corregidor.


Cannon-ICE-d


Master Doods taking a photo of our top super model, Shen-Shen


F."I.T." Trio - TL Ice, TL Jun-Jun and TL Joems





Malinta Tunnel


Thanks to our "I.T." head Doods "Rick" Nario and his parents for allowing us to stay at their home in Mariveles, Bataan. Doods' parents were so accommodating during our stay that Senyora Ice was already begging to be adopted!Ü Tita Zeny cooked us hearty meals with her famous adobo! Yummy! It was also there that I discovered a very delicious dessert made by Tita Zeny. Sliced banana with caramle syrup! It was just a simple dish of sliced banana covered with caramel. The caramel had the right consistency that it did not make the banana slices crunchy to the bite. TL Jun-Jun fell in love with the dessert so much that he did not even share it with us when we took some home with us. Thank you guys! I had such a blast! Until the next time!