Boracay, after the storm

Our dull and dreary first day in Boracay didn't disappoint me at all. I had a blast swimming the beach without worryng about gettin tan (?).. oKay,dark.. Haha.. Besides, we had the beach all by ourselves which you cannot enjoy when you visit Boracay on a summer.

It didn't rain, but baha pa rin in some other parts of Boracay, especially our pathway goin to Tan's Guesthouse. While having breakfast, we contacted our guide, Kuya Nino (0915.872.2855) if we can push through our helmet diving/reefwalking activity, and he answered in affirmative.

My original plan was to do reefwalking in the  morning and paraw sailing to enjoy the sun set. But Kuya Nino bargained us with a cheaper price for reefwalking and island hopping and I gave in, surprisingly. Tsk tsk..

**

Island Hopping Boracay
1000.00/boat

This was a big mistake. Unless you are willing to spend another 200 pesos for the entrance fee to Crystal Cove, and you have your reliable underwater camera, I think you will enjoy this. Haha

We first had snorkeling. We forgot to bring bread for fish feeding, but we had cheese rings and dingdong corn bits. So we tried to share some of it to the fish, and they loved it. We even gave them big bang chocolate bar for their dessert haha, but make sure to squeeze it into tiny pieces so more fish can benefit from it. I bet they're pretty much hungry. All water related activities were cancelled the previous day, so they weren't able to eat. Too bad, wala kaming tinapay, mas nabusog sana sila. Haha.



kitang kita ang ebidensya: dingdong! dingdong!


Snorkeling in Boracay wasn't as grand as the one I had in Pandan Island, in Puerto Princesa. Water is greyish, though there were different kinds and colors of fish. We didn't have any underwater camera, but Jen managed to secure some photo taken while she's on board the boat, while me and Donna were busy trying to feed the colorful sea creatures.

We snorkelled for an hour or so, then we proceeded to our supposed island hopping. But we had no plans spending another cent for the 200-peso-entrance to Crystal Cove.

Crystal Cove is an island few meters away from Boracay island. It offers a idyllic and lovely view of the South China Sea. There are two caves you can explore in the island, that according to our boatman, one cave can be found in the middle of the island that leads to the open sea. I would really love to try it, but I didn't have enough funds. Maybe next time.

Upon skipping Crystal Cove, I thought we were going somewhere pa, yun na pala yun. See? Such a waste. We just snorkelled and made 'ikot' to  the cove, then thats it. We were taken to the shore where we are supposed to register for our helmet diving acitivity.

Helmet diving/Reef walking
300 per person

Unlike the island hopping experience, this one I think need not to be missed. If you're on a tight budget and want to try at least one activity in Boracay, you can pick this one. Usual price ranges from 300-500 pesos, with free photos and cd. Try haggling.

Get up close with the corals and the fish. Fret not, the helmet isn't that heavy under water, besides you have expert men to assist you, 15 feet below sea level. This will last for 20 minutes. Do this exciting activity at least a day before you leave the island, as you won't get your photos right there and then. Ours were delivered to our guesthouse that night, because we're leaving early morning the next day.

Just don't expect much of the quality of your photos. Ours were a little terrible. Out of more than 50 photos, only few were presentable. Haha. My bf was the first one to view the photos as I asked him to transfer it to a usb.

me: kumusta mga pictures?
 bf: ok lang, parang mama mo ang kumuha haha

If there's one thing my mama is terrible at, aside from mathematics, kung saan ako nagmana,  it's her dreadful skill in taking pictures. Laging wala sa frame ang kuha. Haha.

**

After our water activities, we had lunch at Jonah's then head back to our guesthouse, as Donna had to catch her flight in Kalibo. Jen and I decided to shop a little in D*Talipapa, the best place to buy your pasalubong, but it was not the best time for us to be there.

Sa ngalan ng budget, nilusong uli namin ang baha. We saw other tourists doin the same, so mag iinarte pa ba kami.

We ended our night with our last meal in the SMOKE restaurant. We're runnin out of funds, so we settled for some low-end yet value-for-your-money restaurant.