Boracay (the end)

A day of avid snorkeling without proper amounts of sunscreen resulted in excruciating pain.  We canceled our tour out on the sea the next day to allow Kyle some "get out of the sun" time.  After three days on the main beach we moved to another hotel on the other side of the island, the quieter side.  Basically, I had a hard time figuring out which hotel to stay at so in the end, mostly out of indecision, we choose two. The second was called Ligganay which means "bell" in Philippino. So named this for the shape of the rock near the beach where the hotel rests.  This hotel, was also run by an ex-pat, a German this time rather than an American.  Overall the grounds and general look of this hotel was more stunning, but our room was not memorable, and badly needed a woman's designer touch.  Looking at the white walls, the peculiar paintings, the shell chandelier, the mis-matching sheets, I could just imagine the whiskey drinking, infrequent shirt addorning, smelly German man, our gracious and very kind host, frustratingly and absent-mindedly choosing each decoration. The sheets, which are visible in the photo below, looked like they came straight through a time machine from the 80s, but to top it off, they didn't even match. It was a sad sight, but we didn't spend a whole lot of time in our room.  The pool, on the otherhand was an amazing infinity pool looking out onto the ocean seemingly almost as if they were connected . And we were surrounded by jungle, with a tiny private beach which was lovely and bordered by rocks and caves.

People often ask how I like the Philippines, to which I respond emphatically, "I LOVED it," but in all fairness it wasn't really the Philippines.  Boracay, the only island/city we stepped foot on except for Manila, is not really the Philippines. I mean, technically it is in the Philippines, but its run by ex-pats.  Its a cultural experience for the natives more so than for foreigners.  We plan to go back to see more of the "real" Philippines when we travel.

Because we canceled our tour, we spent the day relaxing, taking pictures, walking along the beach and enjoying each others company.  We walked down to Friday's Rock, a famous landmark on the island, bought margaritas before noon, had to show them how to make a proper margarita because it seemed that no one on the island knew how to make any sort of cocktail of any sort decently, and we even ate at a semi-decent Mexican restaurant.  

For the evening, I dressed in my newly purchased dress, and took more pictures of the stunning sunset.  Sunsets, no matter how many times you see them, never get old.  I could watch the sunset, watercoloring the horizon with God's special paint pallet every night of my life, and never find it dull.  But the sunsets on Boracay were nothing short of miraculous.

For our last dinner we went for an all rib night which was good, but not fantastic.  We met some other random ex-pats.    We were sad to leave, but we will be back.  It was a lovely vacation, and a fantastic way to celebrate our anniversary.

Boracay (part 2)

Our second scuba trip, I wasn't able to actually go under.  The night before, I ate something that disagreed with me all night.  The nerves from my "shaky" first scuba trip wasn't helpful either, but I wok up nauseous.  Actually, I didn't wake up nauseous, I had nightmares throughout the night of throwing up in my breathing machine.  I doubt that would have happened, but non-the-less, it was enough to keep me above board for that go around.  I felt well enough to go on the boat trip however that day to take pictures of Kyle going in.  The island was called "Crocodile island" not because of the crocodiles snapping away, but because the shape of the island resembled the chomping sharp-toothed animal.

Kyle is ready to go in.

the boat from inside

You may have already seen the video of our dive, but if you haven't, you can watch it here.  While on the boat, I used my time to take pictures of the island, the boat, and the little boy shyly peaking at the white-faced stranger attempting and failing to take his picture.  When Kyle surfaced, and told me of how he had been taken deeper than he probably should have been, and that the current was EXTREMELY strong, I was over-joyed that I had sat this one out.

I might not have gotten a picture of the little boys face but I did get his feet!

I really this one.

adorable father son pic

our instructor

the island

the only picture we took of our delicious food that evening.

we took some night pics of us on the beach

In love!

the ambience around us was serene

The moon peaking out from behind the palm trees

We spent the rest of the day napping, shopping, and relaxing.  There was also an attempt at kayaking, but I failed and so returned to the beach and relaxing.

The Best of Boracay!

Van and I agreed that there just aren't enough recommendations about taking a trip to Boracay geared towards low budget travelers/youngins such as ourselves so here it is! The definitive guide to Boracay on the cheap!

ACCOMMODATIONS;
1. We highly recommend the Blue Mango Inn to those who are looking for a very reasonable place to stay that offers clean, very comfortable accommodation on the quite end of the beach. This isn't the cheapest place to stay, nor is it the nicest but it seems to us to be that perfect medium in between. The owner Vaughn is a riot! We had such a good time knockin a few back with him on the beach and the man knows the meaning of customer service. We felt way too pampered for the price we paid. The food we had there was excellent too so it makes it on the top of our restaurant list as well.
2.The other place we stayed was Linganay Resort on the other side of the island. That place is BEAutiful and very reasonably priced as well for what it is. The only thing we had to complain about was how far it was from the action. Waiting 45 minutes for our shuttle driver and trying to find a phone to call him on was a bit of a hassle. For the budget traveler, I would suggest sticking to the White Beach side of the island.

DINNER:
Most people planning trips to Boracay are looking for the best beach buffet they can find. I say, good luck with that cause none of the ones we saw looked all that great. We heard that Fridays has the best one, hands down but they only do it on certain nights and it's a bit pricey, 45$ per when we were there. We did do one on White Beach that we very much enjoyed at Le Soleil. The buffet was inside which has the drawback of not being on the beach but the plus of being a clean and fresher buffet than most you will find. The food was quite good.

;) If you MUST do one on the beach, pay the extra $ and head to Fridays.

1. Choosing the number 1 budget food place is a bit tough. Food on White Beach just isn't that cheap when it comes to dinner. There are plenty of Lunch specials but what we really struggled with was choosing what to do for dinner each night. SO, of our dinner spots, my personal choice for best value was Don Vitos. This was one of only a few Italian spots on the island and it was very VERY yummy. We chose to eat outside on the beach and we are very glad we did. The atmosphere was lovely with the beach crashing to one side and the people walking by on the other side and an excellent band playing a very beachy mix of 90's rock songs, and original music. We highly recommend the Pecan Crusted Swordfish and the House Lasagna. If that stuff wasn't home made, it was a damn good pre-made!

2. My second favorite dinner meal was at True Food. This cozy little Indian restaurant stuck out amongst all the other restaurants and to be honest, I thought it was a bit out of place on the beach but we gave it a go based of some good recommendations and we were so glad we did! The Northern Indian sampler was AMAZING! I do have to say though, that the dishes are very heavy and one sampler could have fed 3 people easy and I can stuff it away. This was very traditional and as far as I could tell, very authentic Indian. Well worth the little extra to get the lamb.

3. My last dinner recommendation is the priciest one but it's a MUST do in Boracay. Take a trip to the fish market in D'Talipapa and get yo'self some lobsta! It's not the cheapest lobster I've seen in the world but it is CHEAP FOR LOBSTER!!! 1200pesos per Kilo when we went was the going price and the restaurant right across from the market had a fantastically cheap cooking service was some delicious side dishes as well. All in all, a 40$ Lobster dinner for the two of us! A MUST DO IN BORACAY!!!

CHEAP EATS:
For lunches and breakfasts we tried to budget so we could splurge on dinners. Staying at the Blue Mango made this super easy as the breakfast was big, delicious and INCLUDED!!! We ate lunch there quite a few times too and were never disappointed. My other suggestions for lunches are Nigi Nigi's Best Burgers on the Beach. They weren't high quality burgers but they were cheap and tasty and just what we were looking for. Also, down at the far end of the beach by Friday's Rock there's a Mexican place called Jony's. Their Shrimp Fajitas with Guacamole were fantastic and that's coming from us Texans! Avacados aren't easy to come buy on the island so we were amazed they had Guac to begin with and while my dad and I can make better, it was pretty damn good!

DRINKS:
Last but not least, where to get the best drink deals. To be honest, we were a bit disappointed with the drink selection on the island. You can find cheap beer and rum and cokes all over the place. Just pick a spot you think is pretty. As for cocktails, call us snobs if you like but we both feel that you should be able to get a killer Margarita and a killer Pina Colada and a decent Mojito on any beach anywhere in the world. No place we went to had any of these. The ONLY good Pina Colada we got was at True Food, the Indian restaurant! It was very creamy and delicious but still wasn't a "killer." A few other good drinks; Jony's happyhour Margs were about as good as they came on the island. A little hint, a splash of Amaretto in any Marg will make it taste better. The cheapest cocktail we got that was drinkable was the Sunset Watcher at German Bar. It's sweet, it's potent, it's cheap. Hard to beat. Must be drunk whilst watching the sunset however.

That's it for now, this post is long enough!
Next edition will be; Places to shop, daytrips to take, and Dive shops.