No curve was too sharp for them and their bicycle. No puddle was deep enough to stop them. -- Friends by Helme Hein

27 March, 2010

Boracay Island, The Philippines

Spring Break on Boracay:
Tropical islands, mango shakes, palm trees, snorkeling, scuba diving, white sand, crystal clear water, sailboats, cheap rum, friendly locals, sunshine, good friends and a dream to go back.

The island of Boracay. Our villas and where we spent most of our time is toward the top of the picture.

I love these little tricycles. Similar to the tuk-tuks in Thailand, they take you around the island for about a dollar's fare.

Our typical day...

and a typical night. Most everyone speaks English in The Philippines and we had a lot of fun hanging out with the locals and playing with their kids.

I don't think I could rate the food in The Philippines higher than the spicy tastes of Thailand, but these mango shakes were a little slice of heaven. Fresh mango and ice in the blender. Every night we dined on fresh fish while watching the waves crash and the stars come out. Food and drinks were cheap. Massages about $8 for an hour.

James, Craig and Charity did a lot of sunbathing and a little diving. Cory and I took an Open Water Divers course, which Cory successfully completed. After day 2 I opted for more time above water and the occasional snorkel swim.

The glass bottom boat behind us is painted like Nemo. We found clown fish, spiny sea urchins and humongous sand dollars just from the surface of the sea. My favorite line from our dive theory books: "If it's really pretty, really ugly or doesn't run away from you, don't touch it!" So true in all of life.


Even the cats were on island time.

Kids ran free around the island. No hyper-attentive parents, no orange arm floaties, no sunscreen---just child-like play with wild abandon at the beach. They were gorgeous.

Sunsets were strictly observed. We left the beach one time for a sunset ride on a sailboat. Flying fish and big box jellyfish cruised with us.

Our perfect jungle villas for $33 per night. Just a 3 minute walk from the beach. Monkeys, toads, geckos and birds all inclusive.

Our tricycle ride back to catch the ferry to catch the plane to get us back to...

Manila. A city with a "captivating energy and electricity in the air."* Here's Cory on our final Philippine evening in one of the many outdoor malls in Manila. Fake environments are an oasis in the middle of a crazy city like this. Cory is on country #9 with us. We look forward to making South Korea #10 in May.

*Read: Travel code words for a messy, disorganized, in-your-face city with air pollution, honking cars, zero traffic laws, and guards with guns on every street corner and convenience store.

2 comments:

Scott and Heather said...

Great photos Jesse. It makes me want to find a beach and relax for a week. Our friend Kyle is our travel buddy and we have to been to 8 countries with him, just like you, James and Cory.

South Korea will be interesting, can't wait to see and hear what you think about that.

Kristin Pedroja said...

Wow.