After the boat docked, my first impression of the island was of the natives rushing at me, waving their arms in my face (as if to say ‘Pick me, Pick me’), yelling "Porter, porter?" For a minimal fee (we usually gave them 20 pesos = about $0.40), they’ll carry your bags off the boat, and safely to shore. I of course had over packed, so I was weighed down by these HEAVY bags. I was glad for the help, so I handed over my bags and made my way down the rickety wooden plank, into the waste-deep water, and sloshed my way to shore.
Then I looked around and saw the crystal clear green water and sparkling white sand. Beautiful! Just like a postcard! The water was the color of jade, and the sand was smooth and unblemished. Blue sails skimmed the ocean and red buoys bobbed in the waves, like over-sized beach balls. Unfortunately, the skies were overcast and grey for most of our stay, with the rain drizzling off and on. Only once did it really pour down in skin-drenching torrents, flooding the dirt paths and causing all the merchants to scamper for shelter beneath huge umbrellas. For a few hours each day, however, the clouds parted and the sun broke free, beating down on the sand and reflecting off the green sea, momentarily blinding us with picture perfect serenity.
One of the first things we noticed was that the island was swarming with Koreans. I’d say roughly 90% of the tourists were Korean. And they came in packs. Wherever there was one Korean, there was surely 30 or more to follow. Reserving entire restaurants, lining the beach getting massages, shopping at all the side stalls, and scuba diving in droves. Apparently Boracay has become a popular Korean vacation destination since it’s only a short flight away. The rest of the tourists were either European or Filipino. I was no longer an anomaly – there were other white(ish) people on the island. That didn’t keep the natives from commenting, though. I have learned that white girl is synonymous with beautiful in the Philippines. There are two English words that everyone seems to know – "Beautiful" and "Ma’am". Except they pronounce "ma’am" like "mom," so it sort of confused me when I first heard the natives, waving their wares in my face, erupting in a chorus of "Mom, mom!"
During our stay, we went on a small boat ride around the island, shopped in many of the beach-side stalls, spent hours exploring the shopping mall, got massages on the beach, feasted on fresh seafood, and took in some of the night life. We tried to go snorkeling, but the water was too choppy to get to the prime spot for snorkeling. Poor Marla got seasick. Make sure and take your Dramamine with you if you are prone to motion sickness! One interesting thing to note – the natives find every way possible to make a livelihood, even out on the sea. There was one older, shriveled fellow selling Nestle ice cream sandwiches from a little tiny boat. And a young kid selling fresh coconut juice (basically fresh coconuts with a straw sticking out of them) from another tiny little boat.
When we went swimming in the ocean, we found that the water was incredibly salty, and as a result very buoyant. So buoyant, in fact, that it took no effort at all to float! And this coming from a girl who has NEVER floated on her back before! So I spent a good amount of time enjoying this new feat, just floating motionless on the surface, my head and feet sticking out of the water. Christianne and I also tried to do some yoga moves in the sand. Our feet kept sinking, so it was quite difficult to balance. But we got a few good shots of us attempting.
All in all, our trip to Boracay was well worth the $10/night I spent on the hotel! My only wish is that we could have spent more than 3 days there!