Havin’ a Ball in Bora!

I'm in Boracay now!

I set my alarm clock to ring at 5:00 AM so I could make it to Pasay by 6:30AM. Well, it rang. But I was dreaming and I instinctively turned it off (I was dreaming in that my alarm clock was ringing and I switched it off there, too) and went right back to sleep. The short of it is, I was late! I picked up my sister Lizette along España (corner of P. Campo; she was inside McDonald's) at 7:00AM! Got to Pasay at around 7:50. Got to the airport by 8:00 (thereabouts).

As expected, my dad was pissed off with me for being late. But somehow I think it was also best for us 'cause we didn't have to fall in line to check in at the airport. There was no more line. We got there anyway with still plenty of waiting time to spare. Boarding time was at 8:55 AM.

The plane was scheduled to leave at 9:25 AM. I don't know if it left on time since I don't wear my watch anymore and I had to turn my cellphones off. 

 It was an uneventful trip. The most exciting part of which was getting to sit by the window and taking pictures of landscapes and cloud formations. I missed out on Taal Volcano by about two minutes since I left my seat to go to the lavatory. I was able to take pictures of Boracay island though.

(Boracay island from up above the world so high) 

As the plane descended from the clouds the weather turned from sunny to gloomy. When we got off the plan at Kalibo, it suddenly rained hard that we had to seek cover or get an umbrella from the flight attendant.

I ventured to walk the "forbidden path." There were two men there who were telling me to walk through the "pathway" and I was thinking, "Heck, I'm getting wet. Who cares which pathway I walk on!" Actually, it was weird what they told me to do because the area I was walking on was a pathway. Hehe. 

 (The "forbidden" path)

It took awhile for our baggages to get unloaded off the plane and taken to the baggage claim area.  

 Someone met us outside the airport and brought us to a waiting Nissan Urvan.

As we left the airport, we were told that the trip takes another 1.5 hours from Kalibo to Caticlan where we are to ride a boat to Boracay island.

 In the van, Tito Armand was seated up front, beside the driver. At very last row sat Dad, Yayi, and Michelle. I sat at the row behind the driver and Tito Armand with a balikbayan couple. After traveling for a while, I started talking with them. They're on vacation here from Fresno, California. Their two teenagers (boy and girl) were with them. They told me they'll be staying at the Red Coconut. The woman's name is Tess. I didn't ask for their last names. 

 We parted ways at Caticlan; they got off at a different place and got on a different boat

The boat ride from Caticlan to Boracay was quite short. Ten minutes at most, I think. Just enough time for me to take a few pictures.

We rode two tricycles from the pier to the street near the beach area.

Then we had to walk several hundreds of meter still to get to La Carmela de Boracay Resort Hotel–a walk that my 68 year old dad and 83 year old uncle didn't find enjoyable at all.

After checking in, we headed for our rooms and settled down a bit.

It was around 2:30 PM by then and we still had to eat lunch. We went out to 'd Talipapa and had lunch at Pocabora Cafe.

Not only did they take forever to cook our meals, they also didn't give any senior citizen discounts to my dad and uncle! Bad practice, if you ask me! I kept the receipt and I intend to take the matter up with the proper authorities. What they did is in no way whatsoever fine with me. 

While our lunch was being cooked and prepared (approximately one hour), Yayi, Michelle, and I went off to check out the different stores at the Talipapa. It's a good place to buy "pasalubongs" at.

It's also where I bought my "conservative" two-piece swim wear. I didn't have time to find one in Manila. I just brought along my old one-piece swimsuit and my long-sleeved, half-body wet suit but, they both don't seem to fit in at Bora.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel. Rested a little bit. Then my roommates (Yayi and Michelle) and I went swimming at the beach right in front of our hotel. By then it was around 5:00 PM and the water was a bit cool.  We did have fun swimming around looking at fishes swimming by our feet.

We had a buffet dinner right at La Carmela that night. There was a curly-haired guy singing songs while playing with his guitar. He played rather well. I liked the songs he sang. I sent him a list of about four songs–my special requests. He didn't seem to know any of them because he never sang any during our two-nights stay at the place. He sang almost the same songs the next night as well.

After dinner, Tito Armand and my dad headed back to their hotel room to watch TV and rest. I guess the trip tired them out.

Michelle, Yayi, and I first went to the internet cafe beside the La Carmela resto. We checked our e-mails, Friendster, Myspace, and other accounts. Chatted with friends on Yahoo Messenger. I transferred the pictures from my digital camera to my flash drive. We stayed for about an hour. They charge P50 per hour.

I'm heading out with Michelle and Yayi after my hour is up here. We're just going to walk around the beach and check out whatever they've got going on here at night. It's too early to retire, especially not after I just two plates full of food plus dessert and drinks.