My Kalanggaman Island Journey - Palompon, Leyte

I am anxious to write this part of my recent Leyte trip because I feel there are important, significant, necessary, pertinent information you need to know if you are planning to go to Kalanggaman Island. Therefore, I will be writing about this first before the other trips we did in Leyte. Watch out for that one too, though. It was a fun vacay.

Kalanggaman Island is located in the province of Palompon, Leyte. Palompon is approximately 2-3 hours from Tacloban City by van and once you get to Palompon, you will get on a regular pumpboat or speedboat and ride to Kalanggaman Island. According to the Palompon-Leyte website, it takes an hour on a regular pumpboat and 45-mins on a speedboat.

IMPORTANT STUFF I THINK YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE JOURNEYING TO KALANGGAMAN ISLAND:

1. CALL. Call the Eco-Tourism Office of Palompon beforehand and schedule your trip to Kalanggaman Island. We called their office a week before our actual flight to Tacloban. You need to be ready for the set time you will be in their office to get on the boat.  Let them know how many are traveling with you so that they can give you the amount to be paid for the boat. Unfortunately, there were only 4 of us. We were charged with Php3,000 for a regular pump boat that can accommodate 10 -15 people, I think, because that's the only boat available to our small group. There's also a charge of Php150 per person for non-Palompongan local tourist as entrance to the island.

Visit this pricelist from Palompon-Leyte Office (double-check with them once you are on the phone):

http://www.palompon-leyte.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=320&Itemid=338

Their tourism office phone number is also listed in that page.

2. RISE EARLY! Very important. If you are not planning to spend overnight in Kalanggaman Island, schedule an early morning trip at the Palompon Eco-Tourism office (again, remember to call prior to the trip). And then make sure, really sure, to wake up early to start your trip to Palompon. Example, if you asked at the Eco Tourism Office to be taken to Kalanggaman Island at 7am and you are coming from Tacloban City, get going at 4am. I mean 4am, you are on your way to the Tacloban City New Terminal. 

WHY?
This is why. If you are not planning to spend overnight in the island, you need to be back to the Palompon Tourism office before 12 noon. Because the last van going directly from Palompon to Tacloban City leaves the Palompon Terminal at 12 NOON. Yep, 12PM. 

So if you want to really frolic and hang out for hours on the island but would like to easily travel from Palompon back to Tacloban City carefree the same day, you need to schedule your time wisely, get on the island early so by the time you need to leave and get to the 12pm Tacloban van ride, you've had your fill of the island's gorgeousness. Yung tipong naka 1000 photos ka na, plus 20 jumpshots saka sangkatutak na selfies. (Like you've already taken 1000 photos with 20 jump shots and tons of selfie photos).

Now, if you missed this one or like us, you arrived at the Tourism Office at 10am and surely you don't want to spend just an hour in a beautiful island like that and come running before noon, there's another option but a little tricky.

The Palompon terminal is walking distance from the Tourism Office. We were told that there are vans in the terminal that travel from Palompon going to Ormoc, passing by a place called Lubayao (?) where vans going to Tacloban City can be found. The drivers of the van going to Ormoc would know this, you need to tell them that you need to be dropped off where you can ride vans going to Tacloban City. HOWEVER, the last van for Ormoc leaves around 3-4pm. So it's best if you start your boat ride from the island at 2pm so you can get to the Tourism Office by 3pm and start walking to the Palompon terminal.

Now, if you missed that one, you are in for the night. You need to get a room in Palompon and spend the night there until early morning, when the vans are again available in the terminal.

I am not saying that the above are the only ways but I am sharing what we've experienced. 

3. PATIENCE. It's a beautiful, picture-perfect place but it is far. Be ready for the 2-3 hours (mostly 3, from our experience to and from) van ride to Palompon, plus the 1 hr regular boat ride to the island. If you get hungry easily, bring food and drinking water. The driver will stop and ask if someone needs a pee break but I think there's no harm in letting the driver know you need to go. I guess he just needs to know where you can go, if you're a girl.

4. BRING YOUR OWN WATER. There is no water supply fit for drinking or bathing in the island. There's a CR and a dressing cum shower room but the water coming out is salt water. If you plan to have a feast there or stay for several hours, make sure you bring water to drink. If you plan to take a nice bath after swimming, bring your own bath water. For us, we brought 1 liter mineral water each to drink. We did some swimming but took showers in the Palompon Tourism Office. 

Yep, the Palompon Tourism Office allows people to take a bath there (2 stalls meant for bathing) but make sure you don't make too much of a mess like walking around outside the office, dripping with water or splash water around the restroom. Be nice and considerate. Di malakas ang flow ng tubig kaya (the flow of water is not that strong so) there it is again. Patience. 

5. DON'T LITTER. Even if you do see some candy wrappers or plastic cups in some places since it isn't legal yet to exterminate inconsiderate people, it doesn't mean you don't need to follow the island's request. The Palompon Tourism Office, before going off on the boat, will give your group two plastic garbage bags. The white one is for biodegradable trash, and the black one is for non-biodegradable. You can give them to your boatman once you are transported back from the island. 

How to get to Kalanggaman Island from Tacloban City:

June 8 2013 - We stayed at Go Hotels Tacloban which is beside the Robinson's mall. We saw a tricycle parked outside and ask if he could take us to the Tacloban City New Transport Terminal, it seems it's in a place called Abucay. There were four of us so he called another trike and we were charged Php100/2 people (Php50 each) per trike. 

We arrived at the terminal and boarded a van with a sign that says "Palompon". Take note that the van doesn't leave unless full so that's another time-related factor on this trip. I think we hang around the van for 15-20 mins(?) before a large group of teenagers boarded with us. The fare is Php150 per person.

It was around 10 mins past 10AM when we arrived in Palompon. The Eco-Tourism Office is located near the waters in front of an elementary school and right after the Palompon bus terminal and a church.


As it was informed during our call to reserve, we paid Php3,000 for a regular pump boat meant for 10-15 people. We were hesitant to join other groups because we don't have control over the time they want to spend in the island.  

It wasn't a big deal to me at first but when we learned that the last van to Tacloban City leaves at noon and that our last option is a van to Ormoc which leaves at 3pm, I was a little sad to know that we would need to watch the time and would only be spending a few hours in the island before getting our butts moving back to the Tourism Office.

Since we didn't have drinking water with us, there's a small store in the Eco-Tourism Office that sell snacks, drinks and mineral water. 1 liter costs Php40. We bought 1 for each of us.

The boat ride to Kalanggaman Island, especially if there's some rain brewing in the skies that affect the waves, is not for the faint of hearts. Or the jumpy ones. We went there June 8, and we've had some rains in Tacloban when we arrived so we were just praying to get some sun for a few hours so we can enjoy the island.

So the ride to the island was not really calm, there were some waves. Manageable ones. The sun did give us a couple of hours of sunlight which we appreciated and took advantage of. 

Kalanggaman Island is picture-perfect for me. The long sandbars. The fact that you will not be seeing any nearby mountains that indicate civilization. Calm and quiet.

There is a warning sign though at the start of the sandbar about rip currents. That day, we did see strong waves splashing on the shore at the right side of the island seemed to be treated as the "front", if you are standing facing the long sandbar where your boat is docked. The water was calmer on the left side near the boats but really good to be careful anyways. The "back" of the island is rocky. 




Kalanggaman Island has a barbecue area for everyone to cook food in. 

A dressing room with running salt water and two cubicles for toilets. 

A big nipa hut stands in the middle of the island where the tourist police and caretakers are posted.

There's a small store that sells drinks.

Tables and chairs are available for rent. There are also open cottages for rent and you can bring your own tents.

I saw some people have tents in front of their rented cottage so maybe, tent's the bedroom and cottage is the dining area? So cool. 

Since we will just be staying for only a few hours, we only rented a monoblock table and 4 chairs. The table costs Php30 and it's Php10 per chair. 

Our Kalanggaman survival food

We also did not pack any food to cook but instead bought food (Hungarian-silog) in Tacloban City and took it to Kalanggaman Island in microwaveable containers. No, there's no microwave oven there but we used those to secure the food during transport. Styros are unreliable and water might seep in from the sea during the boat ride. 

There were also activities that you can do by renting equipment from the island's caretaker. I saw some kayaks and bicycles (?) and a bigger, I don't know, bicycle? Just see the pictures below. Hehe. What do I know.

The first cruise ship that docked at Kalanggaman Island. I think it happened last year.

Don't forget to put on sunblock. We hardly noticed, taking pictures everywhere, that we were already toast. And since the sandbar is long, take the sunblock with you and re-apply every now and then. It's our mistake that we started for the sandbar to take pictures and left our sunblocks at the table. By the time we needed it, it was too far of a walk. Yes, ganun sya kahaba (yes, that's how long the sandbar was). At least to us. It could also be laziness. Kidding. My friends will kill me.

Far, right?

The white thing there, it's still part of the sandbar, it's just that the flow of water covered what's connecting it to the island.

 But around 2pm, we've decided to head back to the Tourism Office because dark clouds were beginning to form and move towards the island. We didn't want to get caught in the rain while we were there. We also need to catch the van to Ormoc.

Once we were on the boat back, that's when we really felt some big waves. Like my butt was bouncing off the seat (All 4 of us were seating in the middle of the boat but I was near the boat's front part). I could see the boat's nose go up and down. It was like that for maybe, 45 mins or 50. I am not sure if this is the case most of the time since it can also be credited to the fact that rainy season has begun in the area. 

So brace yourself and make sure your things are wrapped in plastic and are secured on the boat. The lady from the Eco-Tourism Office did assure me that before Tourism came to Palompon, the boatmen from their office are former fishermen. They know their stuff well and are used to the waves.


There are no words to express how relieved I was to finally see the Eco-Tourism Office. I kept thinking if we turn over, there are already people who can see us! We will be saved! Unlike the past 40mins. Brrrr! That's just me being silly. Not.

Okay so we got off the boat, (yey!) and asked to take a bath in their restroom which we were allowed to do. I am not sure if one day they might ask for a fee or a donation, which I would totally understand as long as it is not ridiculously high, but that day, we were free to bathe. Note that the doors of each cubicle don't have hooks to hang your clothes or stuff on. Go MacGyver mode and find a way. The water flow is not that strong so be patient. 

After our baths, we immediately head out to the Palompon Bus Terminal to see if we still have an Ormoc van to get on. There was! Yey! We asked the driver to drop us off to where we can get on a van to Tacloban City. He knows it and asks us to pay the cashier. I think he said the place is called Lubayao (? - double check this with the driver to be sure) I wrote it down and told the cashier. It costs Php90 each passenger. I know, but we were just glad we can go back to Tacloban City.

By the time we were riding the van, it was raining really hard. It was really a good thing we left the island before it rained and even got past the boat ride.  The driver drop us off to a T-like road. His van, going to Ormoc, will turn to the right and we are to wait on the side of the road for vans to Tacloban that will turn to the left. The driver was kind enough to holler at the "dispatcher" guy that our group is going to Tacloban. The "dispatcher" told us to cross to his side where a small nipa shed can shelter us from the rain. He told us to wait for a bit since there's no van yet. I think we waited for 8-10mins before he yelled at an empty van and said there are passengers to Tacloban. We were so happy to get on because we taught we might wait for a bit more because of the rain and because we don't know how often a van to Tacloban passes by. We paid Php100 each for this van ride and fortunately, it will pass by Go Hotels (yey!).

The van ride seemed even longer than ride from Tacloban to Palompon. Or maybe we were just tired. It's as if you don't have any choice but to try to sleep otherwise you'll get really anxious and be stressed. Not a good thing especially when you just came from a gorgeous island. So we slept the whole way. And finally we were at Go Hotels. 

Additional tips:
Tip: If you can avoid riding at the back, do it. It gets pretty bouncy.
Tip: Do your Kalanggaman trip at a day when you still have the next day for the rest of your itinerary. Time may not be as predictable.
Tip: Wear comfy clothes during the van rides.
Tip: Bring a large garbage bag for your things during the boat ride.
Tip: Plan out how you'll eat. If you will buy from Tacloban or around the Tacloban City Terminal or if you still have time to roam around Palompon for food.
Tip: Please take note of the "Important Stuff...." I wrote at the beginning of this post.

I hope this long story on my Kalanggaman Island experience is helpful. Please do follow my blog and/or subscribe if you like what you read. Leave a comment if you like. Take care! 

Boracay 2012 - Birthday Dream

Nov 2012 - Finally, my dream of spending a birthday out of Manila is coming true. I will be spending it in Boracay with my boyfriend, M, and my friends, K, T & R. First though, I have to get through my half-day shift, night shift that is. 

Have you experienced this? You have an out of town trip in the morning but you have a graveyard shift of 10pm-7am the night before. And you just can't wait for it to be over? You've been looking at the clock constantly and counting the minutes. You want to yell out your excitement but you can't. You can't really focus as much as you want to. There's like a marquee, flashing and flashing across your brain, "Boracay! Birthday! Boracay! Birthday! Boracay!". Hard, right? I applaud all of us hard-workers, really.

It's not my first time there. My first time was in 2008 and I went with my friend K and her family. For a scaredy gal like me (those who've read my first post know what I mean), Boracay beach especially Station 1 waters are golden. It's clear, it doesn't contain creepy crawlies, only has small groups of fish running around and I mean, I can stay in the water without getting worried about being bitten or a small creature crawling inside my shorts. I am declaring it my comfort waters. Ah yes, a place does exist. Thank you Lord!

Birthday Pancit

So the time to log out came. I actually applied for a half-day shift because my flight is in the morning and I can't log out normally at 7am. I'll run out of time. I logged out of the office at 4am instead.

Birthday Cupcake

I went home and found a surprise birthday breakfast from M. It's pancit canton with pandesal and egg!

And as a cake, I got a chocolate cupcake, Choco-Tops, and he put on a watermelon-slice-shaped gummy candy and a curled strawberry-flavored gummy tape.

All thrown in there. Like a buffet plate. LOL. You can see from the photo that everything is from that little store outside our building. It was sweet. To me, it was a great birthday breakfast. Because its from him and I know he stayed up until I get home, getting the stuff and putting them altogether. I love him for it. Okay, I know my story is getting icky-sweet to you all so let's move on. Hihihihi.

Morning came and we rushed packing. We packed just one normal-sized maleta (suitcase) and an overnight bag. One of the perks of taking a trip with a boyfriend is that someone can carry the heavier bag. Hahaha. Yey! Our tickets ready, IDs, cash, sunblock, etc etc.

 

We bought the tickets from Airphil Express and they had a sale several months back. It was my first time to ride Airphil Express.

I was surprised that Airphil Express serves snacks. I didn't know that. They gave us Fita and Happy peanuts and they served water (I don't remember if they served other beverages, memory gap). I know it's not much but I was thankful for it. It was something extra for their "sale" passengers. Take that, Cebupac! 

First Time to Ride Airphil

We reached Kalibo and had lunch first at one of the restaurant huts within the Kalibo Airport compound. The lunch is just below 100 pesos. Ah, the beauty of the internet. Prior to the trip, I was looking around the internet on going to Boracay through Kalibo and I remember reading that if you want to get lunch before the 2hr van ride to Caticlan, you can go out of the airport building and within the compound, there would be restaurant huts serving combo lunches below 100 pesos. Thanks World Wide Web!

After lunch we walked back to the front area of the airport building where you will find vans from transport services going to Caticlan. It's a package. A van and a ferry. We availed the services of KIATA and paid 250pesos/person. You will be wearing the square sticker logo for the duration of the van ride and ferry ride until you get off the jetty, for identification and sorting (hehe) purposes. 

Caticlan port

At Caticlan Jettyport, we paid for the fees (environmental, terminal, etc). You need to do it before entering the jettyport. Once you get off the van, you will see the counter at the right side of the entrance to the jettyport. Sabi nga nung isang blog (as mentioned by another blog), pay these first before going in because they' ll just ask you to go out again if you missed paying for something.

Finally, after a short ferry ride from the Caticlan Jettyport, we are on the island! Yahoo! We shared a trike with some other folks and went on our way to Station 1.

Our home for the next 4 days is Boracay Breeze in Station 1. It's one of the cheapest I could find in Station 1. And it's not bad at all. We paid 1500/night for room, which is a cheap price considering it's in Station 1 and not those Station 1 places that are already very close to Station 2. 

Boracay Breeze

 The hotel is near Balabag Church, a small plaza, and a small police (or was it barangay) station. When you cross the street from Boracay Breeze towards the beach, you will pass by the side of Willy's Hotel and then when you reach the beach, you will see Willy's Rock. It's also close to Cocomangas if you feel like going crazy and wasted. It has a couple of eateries nearby that offer karinderya-priced food so perfect for those in a budget. M and I had a breakfast and a lunch during the weekend at two of the eateries around the church. (A tip when you do this at an unfamiliar place is to pick food that do not require a lot of prep, such as fried ones or adobo-nized food. Why? Logically, these are the type of cooking that don't need a lot of "hands-on" prep work, if you get my drift. They don't also require a lot of ingredients that might not work so well with your tummy. These are just my theories.) Also, if you are lucky to be in the area on a Sunday, aside from the church bells I welcomed waking up on Sunday morning, there would also be a vendor of native "kakanins" (rice cakes) outside the church. We bought hot bibingka that Sunday morning before going off ATV-riding. There are also a lot of tricycles passing by as the hotel is near the main road so you can easily go anywhere.

Do you love BBQ?

We got to the hotel close to 6pm so we just walked around the beach for a couple of minutes. I also dropped by Residencia Boracay to meet up with an old friend from work who happens to be in the island that same weekend. I saw her FB post and texted her so we agreed to meet up even for just a few minutes and catch up.
Meeting up with the gang (K, T and R) for dinner, we agreed on I Love Backyard BBQ within D'Mall.

All things barbeque.

The internet said it's a must-try. It didn't disappoint. Though it took a few minutes before we were seated, the food was good. We ordered, errr, well, barbeque. Chicken and Pork BBQs.


We also ordered onion rings so big, they were not rings...they were bracelets for kids.

They stacked them up in a stick with a pineapple base, it looked like a giant...thing. After the meal, my friends surprised me with a cool-looking cake. Very island-dy (if that's a word).  I loved it! 

Gift

Boracay Cake

They also gave me gifts. T and her boyfriend (who wasn't able to come with us) gave me a book called Outliers which is an interesting read (I am yet to finish it among hundreds of things I need to finish). R & K gave me an erotic dice, which I appreciate and still don't know what to do with it hahaha. That evening was a nice surprise, with all the gifts and the cool cake which was also yummy. I really felt special. Thanks guys!

After dinner, we enjoyed the cool waters and the night air. To dry ourselves, we walked towards Obama Grill and had drinks, chatting some more till we decided to call it a night since we would need to wake up early the next day. 

The next day was island hopping day. We were to ride a boat, do some snorkeling (yaiks!) and head out to a place called Puka Beach to have lunch.  M and I woke up early and head to Residencia where the others are staying. The morning view of the beach that day is serene and calm. It's really better to go to Boracay outside the summer season. Less people, less chaos. More in nature, you might say.  After a few minutes, we were called to the boat. We walked from Residencia all the way to where the Station 1 shore ends, passing by Microtell Inn, walked on a cemented path and behind the, I don't know, small sea wall?, was our aquatic limo, our boat.

According to the internet this is where Station 1 ends and behind the small sea wall is Diniwind Beach. I hope my geographic rambling is making sense.

So we hopped on the boat and started to go around the island. We passed by more beaches (shores), probably private ones or really expensive resorts. It's the first time I've seen another side of the island. We passed Manny Pacquiao's house. To be honest, I didn't like it.

I felt that he could've spent the budget on a better, more tropical type of resthouse than this cold house that looked like a poor take on Casa Batllo, Gaudi's House of Bones in Barcelona, Spain. Yun talaga naalala ko (It's really what reminded my of). 

We found the spot where people do snorkelling so we all got off the boat and into the water. As usual, I'm scared and on edge. But I really wanted to try so I shut up and went with it. Holding on to the railing of the boat, K was at my right side. I turned to her and that's when I saw the black stripped sea snake. It's upper body was upright (you know, the snake you do with your arms when you're trying to imitate Jackie Chan's snake style? Ganun!) and it was facing K. I panicked. I said "K, may ahas! (K, there's a snake!) and K said, "oh my god" and backed away, as simple as that. The "oh my god" wasn't even a surprised shriek. Just an "oh my god" you say when you almost hit a cobweb and you ducked. That's it. Oh my God. While I, started screaming like I was being bitten by a shark. "Ilayo nyo kooooo!!! Layo nyo kooooo!!!! Kuyaaaaa!!!" ("Get me away from it!" "Get me awayyyy!"). I also started flapping my arms at the water, yep, like that helps, like that would propel me faster towards the bamboo stairs of the boat. It didn't, I moved a little maybe a few inches, but not enough. 

Whoever said that adrenaline makes people faster, has not heard of Me. Whoever you are, call me, let's set up a meeting and we will review your theories. The boatmen, panicked by my killer screams, dived in and started pulling me to the boat. M, started to swim towards the boat to get to me. K also started to go on the boat too. I think she also didn't want to be in the water where there's a snake but she didn't go berserk like me. That's what I want! Where do I buy that composure? Does it go on sale to only a secret group of people? 

Anyways, so I continued panting, out of breathe and trying to get hold of myself on the boat. The boatmen and M did see the sea snake swimming around the boat but they said it wasn't poisonous, that it doesn't bite. It didn't matter now. It's a snake and I got frightened. Either I'd die of being bitten and poisoned or drowning due to panic. It was embarrassing. I told you I was nuts.

They continued to snorkel while I wait on the boat. I took a picture of a man selling fresh buko juice while on a small boat. Reminds me of that floating market in Bangkok. I think it's a smart idea. People who snorkel get thirsty after so he has a market there, I think. 

After snorkeling, we head out to Puka Beach to have lunch.

There were a few tourists/visitors at the beach so it was great to shoot some pictures on the sand. We did that while waiting for our food.

The food was good. We ordered stuffed squid, grilled Tilapia and chopsuey. We were full by the time we finished eating and lounge around a bit more before going back to Station 1.

Next on the list, Zorb. After getting off the boat, we found a shaded spot in Station 1 where we waited for the ride going to the Zorb place. That was a convenient thing they thought of, those business-minded people in Boracay. If you choose to do an activity outside of beach bumming, like riding the Zorb, driving an ATV, helmet diving, parasailing etc, it comes with transportation going to the activity area. You don't need to find out where it is or how to get there. You would easily say yes when they offer it to you because they'll pick you up and drop you back. Hassle-free, easy-sell. It's a vacation, people! 

We get to the Zorb place and found that there's a weight requirement. Between the 5 of us, we decided that K & T (girls) would ride together, then M & R (boys).
I opted for camerawoman slash video recorder. The staff also suggested for K & T to lie down on the pathway of the Zorb while M & R rides in it. It was hilarious. Apologies for the blurred photo as it's just a screen grab from the video I took. All 4 of them emerged from the Zorb soaking wet but really enjoyed the ride.

After the Zorb ride, we were dropped off at our hotels. We just agreed to meet at D'Mall for dinner. M and I walked along the main road and sneaked in to Patio Pacific's beachfront and continued to walked by the beach. We watched the sun go down and took several pictures before it disappeared in the water.

  M enjoyed making pseudo sandcastles while I just sat on the sand, people-watched and took more pictures. After the sun set, we went to Jonah's. What is a Boracay trip without going to Jonah's and getting a fruitshake? Not a Boracay trip, of course! It's a tradition, a cliche, a must, a photo you need to take when in Boracay, it's in a Tripadvisor list! 


We went back to our room to take a bath and change clothes. Rode a tricycle to D'Mall. I remember that M and I ate at an Inasal stall near Ice Monster. It wasn't great. Don't eat there, sayang pera (waste of money). We met the others outside of the Epic bar and I thought we were supposed to party there but somehow we didn't. I don't remember why. I think all of us are getting old and all we want is to chill sometimes. Not party rock, I guess. So we walked along the beachfront behind D'Mall where the bars are and settled at Cafe Del Mar, drinking mojitos, listening to music and looking out at the darkness above the beach.


Relax mode to the max. I think we were also tired from all the things we did earlier and just waiting to get sleepy. 

Finally we got up and head to our respective rooms. Walking along, we passed by a bar playing some salsa music and to my surprise, M took my hand, spread his arms out and made me do a turn towards him, like a salsa dance. It was the sweetest thing because there were people around but he didn't care. I'm hearing awwwwws in the crowd. Hahaha. Will stop the cheesiness here.

The next day, Sunday, we again woke up early, this time it's because a van was picking us up for the ATV ride. M and I woke up early, texted the others and went out of the hotel to look for breakfast. We saw a small eatery near the plaza and ordered coffee, fried rice, fried fish and sunny-side up eggs. Yum yum! And then we saw a vendor outside the church selling native kakanin! Yey! They have bibingka (it was November so I guess it's already considered Christmas season enough to sell bibingka), hot with butter bibingka! We bought two to bring to the ATV ride. We texted the others if they want one but they said no. They regretted that, soon after. Hehehe.

We finally arrived at the ATV place. It was drizzling so we ran for the counter where we paid and ran back out into the rain where the ATVs are parked. T, M & I took individual ATVs, while R & K took a buggy since K didn't want to drive an ATV. Our path was from the ATV place to Mt Luho where we will go up a tower and see a view of the island. We could've also taken a longer ride going to Puka Beach but it was more expensive and we are not even sure how we'll fare at ATV driving.

Driving an ATV was scary. Scary good in a way. It had a rush especially when you're going down a hill or when there are no other vehicles around. Sometimes there would be jeeps, vans, tricycles coming your way so that part's scary. There was one point during the ride where my not-so-brilliant brain and hand coordination almost took me and the ATV off a cliff. I swear! I forgot that the right side of the handle bar, when pressed meant Go or Speed Up. I thought it meant Break or Stop. I accidentally pressed it when I wanted to stop and almost went over a cliff. It was fenced though so I'm not sure if that would've protected me if I didn't stop right away. Good thing, in a split-second, I remembered where the Break was. Haaaay.


At Mt. Luho, we saw different sides of the island. We were at a high tower so it took a while to go up but the view was worth it. There was a view of some sort of resort with a golf course in it, and another view of the shore. We even had a peek at a house nearby with a pretty blue pool and a bar. That must be so cool, living on the island, taking lazy afternoon dip, having a drink, the Boracay beach just a few minutes away. Man, must be some expensive real estate! 


After the ATV ride, the others went to D'Mall for lunch. M and I ate lunch near our hotel and then enjoyed the beach in front of Pearl of the Pacific Boracay. M created a sand couch, good for two, complete with armrests and we covered it with one of our beach towels. I took a nap there, and head out to the water if I wanted to. M was doing the same. People were walking past us and I could see they envied our couch. There was a time, we both took a nap. I even heard a voice tell someone who passed by us, "Kaya ko po yan! 500!" (I can do that too for 500 pesos). I guess a kid was offering a tourist to create a similar sand couch. It even drizzled while I was lying down and I didnt get up, Let it rain. What, I'd hide because I might get wet? I was just swimming at the beach! Hahaha. LOL!


From their lunch at D'Mall, the gang passed by us and hanged out a little. Then we moved to their beachfront for more dips in the water.

We also drank blue Tanduay Ice and finished off my leftover cake.


That night, M and I took the trap and had that free dinner at Astoria. It's a long and bad, non-sense story so I'll skip telling it. But I just had to take a shot of their indoor pool and show you. Nice!


In the morning, K, T & R had earlier flights than M & I so we still had a morning by the beach and did what we both wanted to do since we got here. Sit on the sand, look out to the waters and have a hot cup of coffee. Here's a photo of that morning: 

Wow, quite a long tale huh? I enjoyed that vacation a lot. I turned 35 that weekend but I felt very young and alive. I was with good people and a dear loved one. I had a beach that didn't scare me and the sun was rarely scorching. I will be back there for sure (need to save up, of course!). 

It's not Boracay, the sosyal (high-end) beach to me. It's Boracay, my comfy beach. Ang aking malaking swimming pool. (My own big swimming pool.)