First trip out of Manila - Boracay Island

Our first sortie over a (slightly) prolonged weekend at the beginning of August was to the Island of Boracay. Boracay is one the most well known destinations for tourism in the Philippines. It is a small island off the northern tip of Panay island.

The main strip, as it were, is white beach which occupies two thirds of the south-western side of the island.

We were booked on a flight via Air Phil Express to Caticlan airport which is just across the Water on Panay island. We had specifically paid more to go this airport rather than to Kalibo which is a 2 hour car ride way from the the ferry to Boracay.

As it happened we were informed that due to weather conditions we  were transferred to a flight to the more distant Kalibo. On top of this the flight was delayed from boarding for about an hour, and when we boarded we waited for a long time before our flight was authorized to take off. This prompted us to rename the airline Air Phil Distress.

The flight itself was quite brief And upon landing in Kalibo we were loaded up Into a number of Minivans for the trek to Caticlan and the ferry over to Boracay.

Bangka

We arrived at the port of Caticlan as night was falling and rain , which had begun earlier, was really coming down now. We were huddled in large crow of people waiting to board the frequent Ferries - trimaran outrigger Banka motor boats each seating about 30 people - and being gently herded closer to edge of the roof protecting us in anticipation of what turned out to be a hundred meter dash in the rain in the semi-darkness to the pier itself. The sea was a bit choppy , so going up the steep gangplank with a hand rail only on one side was a bit precarious.

The ferry ride over, in the pitch black night, lasted about twenty minutes, and after a no less precarious dis-embarkation we were on the island. We were shuttled to the midd le of the island on the only main road, and there had to disembark and walk the rest of the way to our hotel as the White beach part of the "town" is all pedestrian. We were assisted in this by Island Express who had taken us in charge already before Bording the Ferry. They , by and large were allowed to keep the "Express" in their name as they were quite efficient.

All in all we arrived at our hotel aroun 8:30 pm, a good four to five hours later than imagined.

§§§§

Out hotel - the "Mango Ray" turned out be just what we wanted. It had only eight rooms and the staff were delightful. The management as it happened was Swiss (surprise). Th hotel was situated on White beach about 15 meters back from the sea as were most of the other hotels on the island. I fyou glance up at the map at the beginining of this post, you can see the white beach covering two thirds of the length of one side of the island. Imagine, if you can that every 10 or 20 metres along the whole length of the beach are back to back hotels or restaurants with the occasional alley into the island, and you will get a feel for the density of of the place.

A perfect place for being comfortable with an intimate atmosphere. You can forget that outside the the door herds of Chinese, Japanese and Korean (and a few Filipino and Western) tourists are walking around along the seaside as crowded as a central underground station at 7am going to work ... but from 9am to 2am ...

The yard, in part covered only, is at once a café, a restaurant, a bar and an art gallery, with nice tropical plants. At the bar, a nice woman ensures that you have the drinks you wish; snakes make sure boring people do not come to bother you; other men and animals enrich your breakfast or dinner. The yard is also the insurance that from your room behind it, you enjoy a peaceful time, without hearing all the various music and "people's fiestas" coming from the many bars and restaurants outside the hotel.
It is a real dream.
 

§§§§

White Beach

We were fairly fortunate, considering the season, to have relatively good weather, with only the occasional discreet shower. It should be said that the White Beach is facing south-west, straight into the Monsoon, and so the waves were incessantly batterong the beach. In the dry season the beach is apparently mirror smooth.

We were able to stand in the water and watch the waves coming in and occasionally unbalancing us. Sophie was particularly fond of standing in the water for hours and defying the waves. I was little more wary as we had been told to be careful and I could feel the powerful undertow as the water pulled back out after breaking on the beach. I would occasionally ask Sophie stay a bit closer to the shore to make me feel a bit more relaxed.

Defying the waves- oil on paper - 40 x 30 cm

We were there for three nights, and we divided our time between the waves, walking around the "town" and finding places for apéro and dinner. Not far from our hotel were a small labyrinth of streets (pedestrian) called The Mall. In Fact filled with restaurants and shops (a surprising number selling flip-flops). I was finally equipped with my own pair of rainproof flip flops. On the Sunday, The day before leaving we treated ourselves to a traditional Filipino Massage.

On the Monday morning, our day of departure, we were collected by the trusty Island Express people, and the return journey went perfectly. We flew from Caticlan, the closest air port, and were even given seats on an earlier flight than our reservation, and were back in our apartment in Makati for midday.