Boracay: Puka Beach in Boracay

There's more to Boracay than White Beach. Yesterday morning, we were scheduled to go snorkeling and have a lunch picnic in Puka Beach. But since it was raining, that did not materialize. But we went to Puka Beach anyway and had lunch indoors at a nearby restaurant called Tesebel Ihaw-Ihaw.

Puka Beach is named after the puka shells which are abundant in the beach. Puka means "hole" in Hawaiian and these shells are pieces of the cone snail shell and are so named because of the hole which occurs naturally in the shell fragment. They have been popular material for necklaces, bracelets and anklets and there are a lot sold by the beach.

You could see nearby Carabao Island, Romblon which they say is the next big thing. I heard they are planning to build a better airport there to serve Boracay as well as the future development on Carabao Island.

I didn't stay too long since I had to rush back to Manila while the rest of the group stayed behind. So after a souvenir photo, I left for the hotel to get my stuff ready for the trip back.

In Boracay were: Abe Olandres of Yugatech, Lauren Dado of Flail at Life, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado of Touched by an Angel, Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, Eric Dormido of Byahilo, Gail Villanueva of Kutitots, Marc Villanueva of SheeroMedia, Melo Villareal of Lakbay Pilipinas, Eugene Villar of Lakbayan, Karla Redor of RockersWorld, Ferdinand L. Decena of En Route and Fernando Martinez of ShutterBox. Thanks to Anton for the photo!

Boracay: Cocomangas Boracay delivers pizza!

I was quite worried that I could not get a midnight snack from where I was. It was raining and walking to White Beach to get some grub was out of the question. The restaurants in Diniwid Beach were closed by this time as well. But there was no reason to fret since Cocomangas delivers pizzas up to 2 a.m. anywhere in Boracay!

There were so many kinds to choose from. I asked the lady taking my order to give me a sampling of their best-sellers. But when I found out that their pizzas were the same price for all kinds (XL - PHP482, 16 slices; L - PHP360, 8 slices; and S - PHP228, 4 slices), I got an XL-sized Halo-Halo which was everything on it! And no, I didn't eat the whole pizza. I shared it with Abe, Anton and Lauren.

Cocomangas Pizza
Tel No. +63 36 2884455

Boracay: Microtel Boracay in Diniwid Beach

Up to now, I can't stop raving about the chiropractic-approved beds of Microtel! I was able to get the much-needed quality sleep worthy of a grand vacation.

As soon as the second batch arrived, we went straight to the ferry that would take us to Boracay. Remember, that there are fees you have to pay including an environmental fee and the terminal fee which has jumped from PHP20 to PHP50. Cabgan is the only gateway to Boracay after the municipal government prohibited the docking of boats at the various beaches to preserve their beauty. It may be an inconvenience for tourists but it's better that way so that the beaches remain pristine.

We took a minicab from the port to Diniwid Beach where Microtel Inn & Suites is located. The only downside of this is we had to deal with all the exhaust from the tricycles. As soon as we arrived, we were given a cold towel, a shell necklace and a welcome drink. Since I was not able to sleep the night before which is usually the case when I have early morning flights, the first thing I did when I got to the room was to check out the famous Microtel bed.

The group had lunch at the hotel restaurant and since everyone was tired, it was free time for the afternoon. While the rest of the bloggers walked to White Beach, I found myself in lala land. And I blame it on the bed! At least I was able to get some sleep.

Anyway, I was up just in time for the sunset. We played some games at the beach before dinner. And after dinner, I was back in lala land again. I had asked the bloggers to wake me up if they were going out but since it started to rain, everyone decided to stay. And the next thing I knew, it was 12 midnight.

Microtel Inn & Suites Boracay
Diniwid Beach, Malay, Aklan
Tel No. +63 36 2884311
Fax +63 36 2884312
Mobile +63 917 7165004
E-mail boracay@microtelphilippines.com

Boracay: Butterfly garden at Seair Caticlan

Since our group was divided into two flights, and I got pushed forward to the earlier one, we had to wait an hour and thirty minutes for the second batch to arrive. It was a good thing there was a new attraction at the back of the Seair office in Caticlan. So if you're killing time at the Caticlan Airport, check out the butterfly garden.

Boracay: Seair's Dornier 328 plane to Caticlan

I've always wondered how it felt to ride those small commercial aircrafts in the Philippines. I had already taken the ATR42/72 from Guam to Saipan before and was surprised by the smooth ride. That's why the prospect of taking Seair's Dornier 328 plane to Caticlan excited me. And it's the fastest flight to Boracay at 35 minutes.

It was an ambitious gathering of Philippine travel and photo bloggers organized by blogging guru Abe Olandres. We were divided into two flights. A group was scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. while I was with the 8:30 a.m. flight. I chose to arrive at the airport early to avoid rush hour traffic and got there 6:30 a.m. in time to watch the first group board. The next thing I knew, my name was called on the PA system for me to board as well!

Since we were flying at an altitude lower than the regular commercial aircraft, the views were different. We were closer thus to the ground and at the level of many mountain peaks. The views were surreal! The sun was resplendently rising behind Mount Banahaw. And below us was a perfect view of the Tagaytay Ridge and Taal Volcano. We also flew past the grand mountains of Mindoro before reaching Caticlan. The Seair flight is itself a must-try with all these great views!

Adventure Pass
Now this is something I'm getting for the summer break. For P18,500++, you can ride all you can for 45 days on Seair. The first two flights are bookable but the rest are based on seat availability which means you'll be a chance passenger. But with so many great destinations from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi, you'll never go wrong with this pass!

South East Asian Airlines (Seair)
Tel No. +63 2 8490100

Boracay: Hello Boracay!

It was a spur of the moment decision. I was sporting a fever and a sore throat in the morning so I wasn't able to wake-up as early as planned. So I missed the early morning bus to Kalibo. I was thinking of exploring Aklan when I decided, what the heck, I'm on a bus that goes to Caticlan anyway, so why not ride until the last stop. So I did and I finally set foot on Boracay!

At the ferry terminal, several fees were levied including a PHP50 environmental fee, PHP20 Caticlan Terminal Fee and PHP19.50 for the ferry ride from Caticlan to Cabgan in Boracay. It was just a few minutes and I was there in no time. I had booked a hotel with the help of the tourism office in the terminal. Since I didn't want to spend much, I got a room in a place called Villa de Oro in between Boat Station 2 & 3. For a non-aircon room, I spent PHP800 plus an 8% credit card surcharge (which I know shouldn't be but what the heck).

I had my photo taken with one of the Boracay sandcastles which are done by enterprising locals. After settling down, I went for a swim while enjoying the Boracay sunset. I had dinner in the resort and then walked all the way to Station 1 to check out the night scene. There weren't that many people since it was a weekday and the sembreak was already over. It was amusing seeing ATM machines and a Smart Wireless Center amongst the numerous bars, restaurants and resorts in this world-famous white sand beach.

I decided to sleep early since I still wasn't feeling well but was roused later in the evening by my sore throat. Since I was hungry, I decided to go for a snack and settled for a burger and fries. There are so many establishments open 24 hours and every possible need you could think of is conveniently available on this beach.

The next day, I had to leave early to catch the opening cocktails of the 2nd Seminar on Philippine Towns and Cities in Iloilo City. I made a brief stop in Kalibo to check out the heritage structures then it was off to Iloilo City. More photos in Multiply.