Unplugged: The Boracay Trip

I was unable to update the blog since I was unplugged for the whole weekend. My cousins arranged a trip to Boracay for three days. I’ve been there once and it was truly amazing, but the others haven’t had the opportunity, and were itching to go and experience paradise for themselves. So after more than a month of preparations (bookings, reservations, and shopping), we were finally set to leave at Friday, 9th of December. We were all hyped by Thursday, but bad weather throughout the country was casting a grey sky (literally) on our highly anticipated trip. To add to that we all had prior commitments that night (Christmas Party, Wedding, etc.), which would cut our sleeping hours before the trip. By the start of Friday, things started to brighten up, and everything seemed to be all set for our Boracay Trip!

My girlfriend and I woke up early for breakfast and final preparations, and by 6 am we were off. We made a couple of stops, including breakfast in Sinangag Express for the others who haven’t eaten yet. Our Cebu Pacific flight was scheduled to depart at 9 am from Manila and was expected to arrive in Kalibo at 9:40 am (yeah right!), so we had to get to the airport happily fed and caffeinated (I don’t drink coffee, just cigarettes). By the time we got to the domestic airport, we immediately checked our baggage in, only to learn (to our outmost disdain) that the flight was delayed for at least 2 hours. This sucked! But we couldn’t do anything about it. After much useless confrontations with the manager, we had to concede that our trip had been compromised (our pick-up in Kalibo had to be informed of our delay and properly rescheduled). After a couple of trip to the Gas Chamber (AKA The Smoking Room), and free lunch from the airline (for the delay), our plane arrived, and just when we thought all were ready and set, my cousin lost her boarding pass. We felt like we were on the Amazing Race, my cousin’s husband and I were biting our fingernails just as the crew announced the flights final boarding call. And just like any good cliffhanger, my cousin arrived just in the nick of time with her replacement pass (thank god she didn’t loose her ticket), and so we were finally ready to fly.





We arrived Kalibo airport at approximately 40 minutes passed 1 in the afternoon. Just when things were going right, we realized that our baggage claims were all attached with the lost boarding pass (good grief! How unlucky could we get?), After further delays and humiliations, we were able to talk ourselves through, and get to the van that would drive us all the way to Caticlan port, where our boat awaits to bring us to our final destination, Boracay baby! Atleast that part was uneventful, mostly diverting our attention to the rural scenery, listening to our iPod, or just snoozing away. The boat ride itself was worth all the trouble we went thru earlier that day. We whipped out our cameras, and started taking in the incredible sights, and smell of the open sea. We all had a laugh just talking about the misfortunes of the day, and how the sight of Boracay wiped it all away. Although the skies were still grey with the impending rain clouds, the picturesque view of the Boracay white sand shores, and clear blue waters was enough for my first timer companions. We were welcomed warmly by the Regency Resort, and were ushered quickly into our respective rooms. The rooms were lushly furnished, comfortable, and most importantly clean. We had a blast just unpacking our stuff, and exploring the nooks and crannies of the hotel room, before we gathered back down into the beach. Aftter consuming our free welcome drinks, some of my companions went for a swim, while the rest of us just bummed around the Gazebo Bar.



Taking a quick shower afterwards, we all went down to Alfon’s Bar and Resto for our Dinner buffet. Having stuffed ourselves to the brim, we all decided to head out for a night of partying and drinks. We took a short tricycle ride to Station 1 (we were in the edge of Station 2), and decided to hangout in Coco Mangas, famous for their 15 (?) shooter drinks, and night till dawn parties. After settling ourselves on the comfy Indian inspired bed seatings, we didn’t waste time to order their infamous Jam Jar drinks, which were basically cocktails prepared on a large jar for… well jams. We goofed around, getting pissed with the ridiculous amount of alcohol, and played around with the camera, taking pictures of each other as we started to spiral in a funky mixture of drunkenness and exhaustion. After a late snack of grill cooked pizza, we headed back to the hotel, the alcohol still buzzing in our head, and plunked down face-first into our respective beds and called it a night. All in all we had a fabulous first day despite our earlier mishaps. Our dreams only hinted what was going to be offered the following day.

Well that’s all for today. I’ll chronicle our second day in the next installment. Till then, it’s back to reality, folks.