A Wanderer's Journey: February 2012

Boracay - A Beach Haven

9:00 PM kAtYa Pro

The much awaited day has come, its our trip to Boracay.

I am not fond of beaches cause I'm into mountains and forests but I really wanted to see why people are so crazy about Boracay.

Boracay is one of the major tourist destination in the Philippines because of its white sand beaches.

We woke up at 2:00 AM since we knew that the first trip is 3:00 AM.

We finally left our pension house but made a reservation for the following day. They do not accept leaving food items so we just brought along the 'pasalubongs' we bought.

There weren't any jeepneys available at that time so we decided to take a taxi going to Tagbak Terminal. The receptionist in the pension house told us that there is another way to go to Boracay and the first trip leaves at 4:00 AM. She said most of the travelers that stay in the pension house goes to that terminal. She even said that it would just take about 3 hours for the trip.

Bassed on my research, the only terminal offering a trip to Boracay is the Tagbak terminal. When we took a taxi, the driver told us that there is a van for hire trip going to Boracay. It is also found in the Tagbak terminal.

When we got there, the van for hire was already leaving. The good thing is we were able to still catch up and ride on it. The fare is P350.00.

The trip took about 4 hours. There were lots of stop overs since there are people who would ride on it.

When we got to the Caticlan - Jetty Port Terminal, we directly purchased a ticket for a fast craft.

There are 2 ways that you can get to Boracay from the Caticlan-Jetty Port terminal. One is through a Roro(Roll on Roll Off) ship and the other one is through a fastcraft.

The Roro is the cheapest way to get to Boracay but it takes the longest time. The fastcraft is a much faster option since it would just take about 15 minutes.

We do not have to only purchase a fast craft ticket but also environmental fee and terminal fee. The fast craft ticket costs P30.00, the environmental fee costs P 75.00 and the terminal fee costs P50.00.

We then got into the fast craft and even if its not full, they would still leave.

Finally, I have stepped foot in Boracay.

We then took a tricycle going to D'Mall. The fare costs P20.00.

From the port going to D'Mall, one would pass Station 1 where well known hotels are found.

D'Mall is a shopping center in Boracay and is located in Station 2. It is also very near the beach.

There are a lot of restaurants in the mall.

There are also different shops selling souvenirs and clothes.

We then looked for the guest house that we were planning to stay. We did not make any reservations. When we have finally found the guest house, they said that its already full. We stayed on the guest house near it which is the Crown Beach Hotel. The room that we got for 1 night is P 1,500. I was not able to take a picture of the room.

If you would like to make a reservation you can contact Aida Gregorio who is the Operations Manager. Her cellphone number is 09474867223/09185788037.
You can also email them on thecrownbeach.hotel@yahoo.com

The way to the different guest house in Station 2

We then roam around Station 2 since it's still very early in the morning. We were looking for a place to have our breakfast.

While roaming around, we purchased this hats for P130.00. It's something one needs to wear while walking around in Boracay to protect you from the sun.

Kuya Gerald who was our tour guide in Guimaras mentioned that he knew someone in Boracay that might be able to assist us in having a tour in Boracay. He suggested a tricycle driver and we contacted that person for our tour. The tour would cost P 300.00 per hour. We actually misunderstood since we thought it's P100.00 per hour.

While going to the Puka Beach, we have passed by a place where they offer Buggies and ATV(All Terrain Vehicle) Rental. This is also one of the things that tourists could do while in Boracay. The price range would be P 300/hour to P1000/hour.

They say that you need to have a drivers license to drive one because this is just like a motorcycle. As always, the law is not enforced strictly.

The Puka Beach is one of the beaches found in the Northern tip of Boracay. It is called Puka because it is where the puka shell is found and used on jewelry.

It has white sand and very azure waters.

I could now conclude why people are so crazy about Boracay and I'm learning to love the beach already.

We passed by the Bat Cave but it costs P 2500 per person when having a tour so we decided not to proceed with it.

Another thing that you could do in Boracay is the Zorb. One would get in the ball and roll over a hill. The Zorb Park is where you can do the zorb which is on the way to the Bat Cave. There are 2 rides that you can do on the Zorb Park. One is the Harness Ride where you would be strapped and would roll over while the other ride is the Hydro wherein there would be water inside the ball.

The price range would be P300 - 580 per person.

The next place that we went to is the Mt. Luho View Point. This is the place where you can get an over looking view of Boracay. It's breath taking and a relaxing view.

The entrance fee is P 50.00.

The next stop is the Dini Weed Beach in Boracay. The tricycle driver whom I forgot the name, told us that this is the place where Manny Pacquiao's house is located. There are different hotels in the Dini Weed beach like Nami and Spider House.

We also gone into another place where there are rock formations and I think its called Boracay Rock, I'm not quite sure.

Since we spent 3 hours for the tour, it cost us P 450.00 per person.

We then roamed around Boracay and found the tourist map.

While roaming around, we have seen different resorts that one could stay when you are there.

There is also a massage area when you would like to get your body squeezed and relax near the beach.

There are a lot of Paraw sailboats and bangka or canoe in Boracay.

There are also surf boards.

When in Boracay, one shouldn't forget to taste the different fruit shakes. One of the famous fruit shakes in Boracay is Jonah's Fruitshake.

One of the drinks that is famous in Jonah's is the Choco Peanut Shake which costs P110.00. It is very delicious especially in a very hot day.

We then went back to our hotel to rest for a few hours.
Around 5:30 PM, we then went out again to get a glimpse of the sunset in Boracay.

On my own point of view, its the best sunset that I have seen.

This is one of the things that I would like to see in Boracay, the sand formation. We roamed around to find the best sand formation however this is the best one I've found. One should give donations to the one who made this.

I was also expecting to see a fire dance but there were none. We just roamed around the place and have seen a lot of restaurants having dinner buffet with price ranging from P 200 - P 400.00

There are also a lot of fresh fishes and sea foods.

On our last day in Boracay, we woke up early to see the sunrise.

We then headed to Willy's Rock Formation in Station 1. At the top of the rock is the shrine of the Virgin Mary.

After enjoying our morning swim, we had our breakfast.

I then looked for someone who offers Helmet Diving for 1 person at a cheaper price. Miss Caryl has already tried helmet diving when she came to Boracay and she doesn't want to do it again.

It is called Helmet Diving or Reef walking because you are going to walk on a reef using a helmet and that helmet has a long hose which is for the oxygen.

When I finally found a man who offers Helmet Diving for P 500.00, I grabbed the offer.

I payed and then signed on their list of passengers and the specific activity that I am doing. They offer also para sailing.

We took a bangka or canoe going to the area where we would be doing the helmet diving.
Below are helmets that one would use on a helmet diving experience. It weighs 25 kgs above water and it gets lighter when you descend into the ground.

It's a good thing because there was a couple who's also from Cebu that would go through the experience with me.

First thing that one would do is to wear diving shoes. The diving shoes is needed so that we wouldn't be able to step in to anything sharp at the bottom.

We were given a briefing session on what would happen and what needs to be done.

I was told that once you go down the stairs and the helmet is worn, there would be too much pressure so have to do a certain process to let that pressure out like the sneezing process or to swallow.

There are also hand signals that would be done underwater since we wouldn't be hearing each other.

The couple was the first one to go down and when it was my turn, I was very excited. I climbed down the ladder and the helmet was placed. The pressure in my ears are very distracting. I had tried swallowing several times but it didn't work so I have done the other process which is like sneezing.

It took awhile before I got the hang of it. The instructor then assisted me to the bottom. He gave me bread so that the fishes would go near me. He then took pictures and a video of it. I took some stones at the bottom as a remembrance. It was a 20 minute experience but it seems so long.

When the 20 minutes was up, we then headed back. I got a cd with the pictures and video in it.

We then headed back to Station 1 where the bangka took us.

We then walked going back to our hotel to prepare ourselves and our things since we need to check out by 12:00 PM. We had our lunch near the hotel. We left our things in the hotel to roam around again.

I bought souvenirs for my friends back home and also get to taste their halo-halo.

The souvenirs costs P100.00 for 7 pieces.

The halo-halo which is just like fruit cocktail with leche flan and cherry costs P78.00 pesos.

Around 3:00 PM, we decided to go to the port already. We paid our fast craft ticket for P30.00 and terminal fee for P50.00.

When we arrived in the Caticlan-Jetty Port, we thought we could still ride a van for hire at that time however there was none available. Good thing, we were still able to catch up with the last trip for the Ceres bus. Their last trip leaves at 4:00 PM. The trip takes about 5 hours and the fare costs P346.00.

When we arrived in the Tagbak Terminal in Iloilo, we took the Leganes jeepney. We stopped near Smallville.

Smallville is the newest hangout in Iloilo. There are different bars, restaurants and coffee shops there.

One of the reasons why I visited the place before going to Ong Bun Pension House is to check out the dessert shop called "Nothing but Desserts".

I wanted to taste the Macaroons that they have their. These macaroons costs P30.00 each.

We waited for a jeepney for Mandurriao since that would take us directly to our pension house however at that time, there were none. We just took the Leganes jeepney and the driver was so kind that he took us to our pension house. The fare costs P8.00.

When we got to the pension house, we went directly to our room. Its not air conditioned since its just an Economy double room which costs P 230 per night. It only has an electric fan, two beds and cabinets. The comfort room is a shared one just like in dormitories. We don't want to spend much since we are already leaving.

On our last day in Iloilo, we woke up early and prepared ourselves. We need to go to SM Iloilo to ride a van for hire going to the airport. We then took the Baluarte jeepney with an P 8.00 fare to take us to the Leganes jeepney stop. We took the Leganes jeepney going to SM Iloilo with an P8.00 fare.

Good thing that the van for hire is occupied directly. The fare for this van for hire is P70.00.

When we got to the airport, we got our boarding pass and had breakfast.

There is also a pasalubong center in the airport.