Paradise Found

Paradise [par-uh-dahys] noun: (1) a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness; (2) a state of supreme happiness; bliss; (3) seven days on Boracay Island.

Well, after three days of recovering from sunburns, coral wounds, and a few too many margaritas, we're finally ready to post about Boracay. Because this post includes almost 30 photos, we're going to keep it text-light, in the hope that the majority of you will make it to the end!

Two Fridays ago we boarded the midnight train to Georgia....err, I mean the midnight bus to Seoul (doesn't quite have the same ring to it, methinks), and a mere 15 hours later we were boarding this....

Half boat, half spider...all Filipino. The ferries between Panay and Boracay islands are like a catamaran's second counsin-twice removed. There's about 50 of them tangled at the Caticlan port at any given time, and they leave about every 5 minutes.

(View from the ferry, with Boracay in the distance.)

No this isn't a snapshot from the wild jungles of Africa...it's our hotel. We don't usually give free plugs, but if any of you ever make it to Boracay, we definitely recommend Dave's Straw Hat Inn. It's located on the quieter end of the beach, has a super-friendly staff, and it's surrounded by lush tropical gardens.

Boracay has a lot of lizards and we were lucky enough to have quite a few of them visit us. They eat flies and spiders and look pretty cute (which is a lot more than most house guests can claim).

But enough about the hotel and lizards - we know what you want to see. Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, we bring you the white sand beaches of Boracay...

(It sure beats Ilsan Beachee.)

(This is where we spent the majority of our trip.)

(Another view up the beach. It stretches just over four kilometres.)

(Jo enjoying the swimming pool-clear water.)

("Beachfront Path" which is littered with dozens of restaurants, shops, and hundreds of vendors. This is a quieter section, though.)

After a few days of lazing on the beach, we were ready for some exciting activities. Thankfully, that feeling passed and we went horse-back riding instead.


It was Jo's first time on a horse, and as such they gave her a half-dead pony circa the 1980's. Not included in this photo is Jo's adolescent lead, who trotted (okay, let's face it, he strolled) alongside Old Smokey for the whole hour and a half. Good God, that horse was slower than a pair of Christian high school sweethearts.


Shayne, on the other hand, was given "Dirty Red", a bad mamajama if there ever was one. He outpaced Old Smokie by enough that the only view Jo ever had on the trip was Dirty Red's ass. (Shayne's note: if you're wondering why I'm wearing trackpants, it's because the stable owners made me, not because I've reverted back to the grade 10 me.)


Strangely enough, when we got to the top of Boracay's highest peak, we were greeted by monkeys. We can't tell what they're doing, but it looks like they're having fun doing it...especially the one on the bottom.

(A view of the island. That is all.)

Humans can't live on lounging and horse-back riding alone; they need boat cruises and snorkeling as well. And dammit, we weren't going to miss out on either. The next day we signed up for an all-day snorkeling cruise that took us all around the island.

(El Capitano holding on for dear life.)

(The happy couple. And in the front, the two of us. Mwa-wa-wa-waaaa.)

(One of the cuter vendors on the far end of the island. This pic cost us a fair few pesos, so you'd better enjoy it.)

(Filipino boys flipping off of our boat as we docked for lunch.)

(A photo of us enjoying our favourite evening pastime: drinking San Miguel and listening to local music.)

Of course, the problem with too many San Miguels is you wake up the next morning a few thousand pesos poorer and with one of these on your shoulder...

(Surprise Mom!)

That first cruise made us long for the open seas once more, and so we found ourselves a sexy boat captain with his very own sailboat (balangay) for hire.

(Kickin' back on the high seas: the captain and some other guy.)

(A beautiful photo that Jo managed to capture without dropping the camera overboard.)

(As testament to our budget cruise - and Shayne's manliness - he helped the captain push the boat back ashore after the trip.)

(Coming soon to a Corona ad near you.)

Well, the worst part about this trip was that it had to end. But at least we left in style....

(No doors, no windows, no seatbelts, no problem.)

(Rush hour in Boracay.)

(Shayne in the back of the taxi-trike, guarding our suitcase full of seashells. Good old Shayne.)

It's a bit out of sequence, but we couldn't think of a better image to leave you with. Here's the sunset on Boracay, taken by Shayne...


Cheers,
Shayne and Jo