Jasmin's parents were so nice that not only did they let me stay in their really nice home, but they brought me along on two truly amazing trips within our trip to the Philippines. The first was to Boracay (pronounced bore-ah-kuy), which can be summed up as the ideal getaway - a bright, warm place with white sand, clear water, palm trees, where everything is cheap. We had to wake up super early to make the long drive to Manila, where Jasmin, her parents, her brother Will, and I took a plane an hour or so to Boracay. But little did we know that it was just the beginning of our traveling. We took 2 vans, a boat, a jeepney (sort of like a mini bus or large taxi often used in the Philippines), and finally walked in order to get to the main beach where we'd be staying in a hotel a few steps from the water.
After we dropped our stuff off and got changed, we walked down the beach and were approached by many people selling us sun glasses, hats, massages, souvenirs, toys, or other entertainment on the water. One guy was trying to get me to buy sunglasses for around $18, and when Jasmin's dad came to bargain we ended up getting 3 pairs for the equivalent of $8. We went swimming for a bit, though I thought it wasn't as good as Guam since the sand felt not quite as soft, the water was a bit colder, and there was some seaweed lining the shore. Will, on the other hand, thought it was better since there weren't as many rocks on the bottom.
We came in, and after showering and napping went to dinner. There were a lot of buffets, inside and outside around the beach, but we were so full from an Asian all-you-can-eat lunch that we got something quick and walked along the sand. There were cool things like fire dancers and live musicians, and we got parfaits before returning for the night.
Thursday morning we went to a local wet market to get food for later. These markets are a big part of Filipino culture, where you can buy a large assortment of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meats, though this one clearly specialized in fish due to the location. We got on a boat and left for a day of "island hopping," the first stop being just off the edge of an island. The water was some of the clearest I'd ever seen, and we put on snorkeling masks and jumped in for my first-ever snorkel experience. There were tons of fish, especially when you threw in bread, but we had enough from the market so we didn't need to catch any more.
Our next stop was Crystal Cove Island to cook the food we brought, or at least.. have it cooked for us while we hung out and explored the island. :p We soon realized that a better name for the island should have come from the caves we found that you could swim or snorkel in. After some close calls of nearly dropped my camera, Jasmin, Will and I returned to the food which was great, especially the lobster.
We came back to the main island and took the people along the beach up on their offers for entertainment on the water, beginning with parasailing. Jasmin was scared at first, but they take you into the air relatively smoothly and slowly, and at the highest point it was just surreal, as if we were in front of a huge green screen. William really wanted to try wake boarding, so I tagged along to take some pictures. If he thought his snowboarding skills would help him, it seemed he was mistaken, and after maybe 12 attempts he was able to actually stay on the board to ride the water. After that, he got it down pretty quick and it was smooth riding from there. We finally made it back to the hotel again, and Jasmin and I passed out while Will continued his boarding, this time with skim boarding. We woke up and had a similar night to Wednesday, walking along the beach eating and getting another parfait.
We woke up early Friday morning so I could help Will with skim boarding. I have one at home so he wanted me to show him how it's done, since the day before I was just too tired. Unfortunately, the tide conditions weren't great for boarding that early, so I showed him what I could but asked him to take my word for it that it could be a lot funner. We packed and soon found ourselves following the same path we had come by before to return home, up until one of the last modes of transportation by bus. We were going to fly out from a different airport, which turned out to be 2 hours away. The worst part was that Jasmin was already starting to feel sick, and it only got worse with the bumping of the van. At the airport we waited for a bit by watching some Naruto in Tagolog, then took the plane to Manila where we had another long drive home.
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