Away from Rational Thinking... And into the blue...literally - Day Three

This day was sort of reserved for team building which ended up as an ultimate test of patience. Ready at 9:00 a.m., having to hurry back from Starbucks for the much needed caffeine, we waited until 12:30 for the boat to be ready. Imagine boating at noon and swimming with the fish in their sanctuary when the sun's heat is at its fieriest.

While helmet-diving was ongoing, we had the quickest lunch at Andok's (Porchop at P64).

It being my first to get around the island on a boat, I have no idea if the big waves were to be expected. Sans goggles to avoid seawater getting into my eyes, I stayed in the water for the briefest time and missed swimming with the fish which was the object of the stopover in the middle of nowhere.

Since nobody  expressed any interest on paying an additional P150 to enter the Magic Island, I wasn't able to cross cliff-diving off from my bucket list. Good thing I haven't explored the far end of Puka Beach yet, that last bit of the tour at least was fun.

While the girls grabbed some late lunch, I monopolized the room again. That meant more time in the bath and hogging the TV until sunset.

Rockets ran out of fries so I took Kz to Bite Club where I had beer with my "Burgerella" (P185 sandwich + 75 fries + 50 bevy).

Away from Rational Thinking... And into the blue...literally - Day Two

Like a thief in the night, I crawled in darkness and woke the girls up to catch the sun rise and have Puka Beach to ourselves. Puka Beach delivered despite the rather big waves with its spotless (sans algae) beach and water. It was quite different from how it looked from five years ago, notably the absence of puka shells from which it was named and the presence of souvenir stalls just outside the entrance. The key to enjoyment is, be there first and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the place.

After an hour, it began to rain and we left to join the group at the resort's shoreline which we had to ourselves, exclusively. The funny thing is the fact that I have clearly encroached a private party (read: swimming in underthings) that led to its early conclusion.

No sooner noon arrived and we checked in to our new home, St. Vincent's at Station 2 near La Carmela. The rooms were clean, air-conditioned with television and fridge.

Lunch, like last night's dinner, was a tough decision to make. Rockets was an option but it was too expensive for a burger. Reyes caught our eyes. I had fish while Kz ordered chicken. I wasn't too happy about it that I promised to make things right by having coffee after the meal. So, off we went to Real Coffee (P 120, which is now located at the beach front) for some caffeine and their most-talked-about "kalamansi" muffin (P60).

While everybody explored, I relished my alone time in the room either sleeping or watching NatGeo until it was time for dinner. As planned, we ate together at Villa Oro, not far away from the inn which probably had the cheapest buffet (P250, with bottomless iced tea) in the island. The key is to get there the earliest possible as I was not able to get seconds on the "bakareta". Dessert was a massive failure though (pink gelatin).

For a night cap, we had cheesy pizza with a few buckets at Paraw (my first ever night out) That was after a very long walk to Station 1 following a rather futile search for Astoria and endless photo shoot along the beach. Glen left with the alibi of grabbing a frap instead which left me in the company of Kz, JM, Marc and Peter until well way after midnight.

Away from Rational Thinking... And into the blue...literally - Day One

Four days and three nights may be perceived as long or short for staying away from home. That depends on a lot of things like company foremost, weather and budget of course.

The trip started on a shaky note, basically on one key aspect, which, to my circle was quite amusing. I was noted to be nonchalant where they were so concerned. I was quiet when they were rowdy. They were crowding to have their photos taken while I avoided the same. In short, I was just being myself. Lol!

Getting help from a certified traveler with many connections was a delight. Instead of having to endure long queues and necessary transfers, land trip was comfortable especially when I didn't have to worry about who sits next to me for the long haul. It was, however, a long and silent trip with my seatmate having said nary a word (yet ironically confident about not being shoved-off awake in the middle of r.e.m.) to me the whole time.

This is my fourth trip to Boracay and I had very little expectation this time. My only goal is to get as far away as possible from the things that I am so busy with for the rest of the year. And I got more than I bargained for.

I knew that for the majority first-timers, the popular choice was to stay close to the white beach. My obstinacy, however, made me choose isolation if only for the first night. Therefore, I got the group booked at Zoe Mei, a hilltop resort close to the very exclusive Bluewaters. As expected, we were the only guests and therefore assured of transportation to and from civilization. And that is beside the fact that it is only a 30-minute walk to Puka Beach, which to my memory, would cost P150 to visit from Manoc-Manoc (Now, trikes charge P550. That would get you to the depths of the sea helmet-diving already).

Light was already waning when we arrived at the Cagban port where we waited a good half hour for transportation. It was another half hour before we reached the resort where we spent only a few minutes to get settled and off to Station 2 for dinner and, sight-seeing and supplies. Breaking away from the group, I had pasta for dinner and shopped for cheap slippers.

Bacolod to Boracay

Bacolod to Iloilo (supercat 2 way - 400) 400.00

Muelle Loney to Molo Terminal by Taxi 80.00

( a sacrifice having a toddler in tow)

Besides taking Iloilo-Caticlan via Kalibo, below is an interesting route going to Boracay.

Ceres bus starts to leave the terminal at 4am each day, and every 30 minutes thereafter until 2 pm only.

In Tibiao, just along the highway is the Tibiao Fish Spa which I spied but did not get around to visit. Maybe, next summer when I go there on a more festive mood.

In Culasi, take a dip from a spring fed pool to dispel the summer heat. Fare from the city

limits is Php 7 per head. My grandson did, even if only to stand by the gutter most of the time.