Always a New Experience in Boracay

It's my nth time in this beautiful paradise and I thought there would be nothing new for me to experience. How wrong was I. There was nothing in particular I wanted to do but lounge under the sun and get a decent tan (Jessica Alba ang peg ko - sadly, my color never turns into that golden tan). Whatever the rest of the group wanted to do, I would just tag along. After all, I already tried some activities and there was only one thing left that I wanted to do - cliff diving. But I'm still terrified of heights and I can't swim so more likely I'll drown (but wait, read more about my surprise).

Anyway, here are the new things for me on this trip:

• Swimming without a life vest!!! I know, I just said earlier that I didn't know how to swim so it was a big revelation to me that I can float in the middle of the sea without the very uncomfortable vest. Almost all of my friends knew how to swim and I somehow felt that I'm safe in case I start gasping for air, someone will surely save me. I was so happy to frolic in the sea that there were times that my friends were busy taking photos on the boat and I was left alone to do some snorkeling. So yeah, I can float but I can't dive and swim in the deep waters so I was mainly on the surface all the time. But what the heck, this still goes on top of my list.

Yup, that's me without a life vest!

• Dining at Aria. I've been seeing this restaurant since my first time in Boracay but I never actually got to try it until now. Food was superb but don't eat here if you're super hungry since their food takes about 15 minutes to be ready, which is really normal. We were just very hungry then. Meals were a bit pricey but when you think of it, it's actually quite reasonable since it's really good.

Quattro formaggi pizza: pecorino, feta, parmesan and mozzarella

Boscaiola: creamy sauce of mushroom, ham and parmesan cheese

Chocolate and strawberry gelato

• Alcohol-hoarding. Well, technically, it's not just me and I'm not actually sure if this is a first-time but if not, it's been a looong time since we last did this. So, because of the election liquor ban and the rumors that it was to start three days earlier than usual, we panicked. Vacation of the summer will not be complete without booze! And then there was a temporary restraining order on the liquor ban, so we decided to go out and finish all that alcohol (well, they did finish the stash).

THE STASH

Yummy Mojito from Epic

• Summer vacation with people I've known more than half my life (this time, without any parents!!!)

I know my pose sucks but this is the only photo where everyone is really underwater.
Thank you Bryan for taking the photo.

• Playing Philippine games on the beach. Reliving our childhood memories by playing tumbang preso, patintero and agawan base. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I'm not good in any of those games. Sorry.

Strategic planning

• Visiting the other side of Boracay. It was peaceful and very quiet. There were parts where there were some grass on the shore and the sand was not as fine as the other side. It was also not advisable to go swimming since there were worms and sooo many seagrass (maybe, even some snakes). We rented a tiny boat and rowed ourselves a couple of meters away from the shore since swimming is impossible. We even got stuck for a while since there was a shallow part near the "island". The experience was fun but terrifying.

• Winning in the scratch thingy. I won P40! Haha. 

So I had lots of fun during this trip. I told myself that I won't be back to Boracay anytime soon as I want to discover other places but I still believe that when I come back, there will be something new in store for me!

Click here for more photos from this trip.

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“Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience.” 

– Francis Bacon