It was a long journey to reach the island of azure deep water, white pearly, shell streamed shore and shadowy mountains with a limitless sky burning as the sun collapse… Boracay. The island of palm trees with lanterns, of stylish huts and white sand. I had it all pictured in my mind, a peaceful ambiance that I’ve been to years ago. We rode a jet plane for a 35 minutes ride to Cataclan. The coulds, like the water, I imagined to swam at. But as the wind seem to shake us, I thought of the waves crashing… One has to learn to swim to be safe at the island. After a 35 minutes ride, we hopped off the plane and into the dusty grounds of Cataclan. We had a ride to the dock wherein we were fetched by some boats. The boats were made of wood and bamboos. Boracay was more or less a sight to behold from afar. The stations had a welcoming ambiance of chairs, umbrellas, bamboos, palm trees and sand castles. The hut was beneath the frontier. The houses were designed for an aquatic blend- manors, native huts and cottages.
At a white resort, we checked in two rooms in which each room contained 2 large beds. My room contained a balcony, with pink old florals as sheets, an aquatic quilt matching the curtains, a dresser, vanity table, a tv and a coffee table with cuschion seats. On it’s first floor, there was a cottage-like, meadowy restaurant. Extending to its lawn where passers had meals on tables with umbrellas. From the ancient memories of native straw huts- now, Boracay turned into a modern beach resort where manors go beyond 2 floors.
The night calls, and I saw the sun look like flamigo’s feathers. Pink, purple, orange and red. The sun was a mixture of every eye-sore, but ironically, pleasing. With our eyes avoiding the heated rays, we headed beneath the palm trees and had dinner at a grill restaurant. The beach turned dark. Sand castles were lighted with bottled candles. The laterns on the palm trees were radiating soft rays as if the sun didn’t set. The night was alive and it was enjoyable to have a dim dinner of grilled steaks, squid and my personaly choice- choco banana shake.
The night went on, from the shore to the so called "The Mall". At the heart of the outlets and restaurants was a sign pointing to a lively alley. The Mall consisted of a lighted ferriswheel encircled by all imaginable delicacy restaurants- from Mongkok’s, Bangkok’s, a typical Cindy’s, Andok’s, the Spanish Ole, and the this and that… Blinded by the lights, suffocating from different scent of cuisines… We heard the beach music at an attractive house similar to the Lord of the Rings. With a stage band playing, we ate at the d Hobbits where even the waiters/waitresses were as small as LOTR’s hobbits. The last place hatt we went to was near the water. With only tall bamboos protecting the place from the tide, we listened to a rocker/acoustic modern singer while we had midnight snack.
————-
SATURDAY
————
Sometimes, getting up is the hardest thing to do. I woke up at Boracay, in one of those white manors where I have the view of the palm trees and some other native structures. I have a balcony right next to my floral bed, a spinning chandelair/fan and aircondition. I though I caught a cold at that time. I haven’t even had a swim yet…
Stalls were all around us- hena, perm tatoos, massages and hair braids were a usual occupation. Clothes, furnitures, lamps, souvenirs, etc. etc. Everything that a shopper wanted was at Boracay- may it be at the form of an outlet, a posh shop or a street shop…
I went speed boating to an island with them. We stayed at the far off island-raft where in we floated and waited for the jet skiers. People were loud and lively at the raft. They said the raft was anchored on a rock 10 feet below. Without the anchor, we would’ve been swept to a visible sight from the raft- which was Palawan. Jet ski required the skills of a swimmer, a driver and a dare devil. Swimming was a must to survive being far off the shore and unto the deep water. Since the jet ski have no breaks, the engine was stopped through turning off the ignition (similar to driving a car). A dare devil is needed since to do all these at once and to enjoy it needs an adventurist unafraid to face the worst. Atop the jet skiers was the view of parasailers… They have vests similar to parachutes but they sailed from the sky and landed back to the boat without getting wet. Parasailer was known to be the most dangerous stunt in the island. After jet skiing, we thought of banana boating. But when we saw the banana boat flipped in the middle of the ocean… we thought we’d go swimming instead. We spent the afternoon swimming and using our boards to float. The sun was utmost hot and the water was warm which beckoned people who were sweating badly on the shore. The water was refreshing even though it was salty and it was really painful on the eyes. A sprinkle of the salt water turned my eyes bloody red. And with the strong rays of the sun, one couldn’t see through clearly…
The sky was a beauty and for a while, the sun set was breathaking. The sky was a mere reflection of the water. And the more we looked at the sky, the more we fell close to sleep. Instead of tiring ourself, we headed to the other stalls that we missed at the mall. We reached the Regency where there was an accoustic band playing. However, we felt droplets of rain and since we already had enough of getting soaked for the day, we transfered to the Wave, an indor & airconditioned disco.
———-
SUNDAY
———-
One of the memorable moments at Boracay was my mom giving a piece of something to a stray dog. We gave a malnourished stray dog a a plate of a dozen rib bones. He was thin and sickly that’s why, among all dogs, we gave the left overs to him. After that incident, we didn’t know that small things could mean much to those lil ones. Everytime we saw him, his tail wags, his eyes glittered a hint of joy and longing of wanting to be brought home! Or atleast, to be with as a companion. The stray dog followed us from the night we fed him, through the times we had coffee breaks (he stayed nearby and foreigners tried to shoo him)… and on our last day he followed us as we went to the van that fetched us… I looked back to the eyes of a warm dog and remembered my own pet at home. I looked back at him until I saw him as a tiny dot who was still looking at us from afar. I looked at him as he sat at an Island rich of everything that was beautiful. I remember how he just wrap himself on the white sand, how he ate left overs and how he stroll with the dim lights of The Mall… A paradise could sometimes have a lack in it. That dog should be taken cared of or be sent to a VET or have a bath at least. Upclose, I don’t think I can just dispose how the bumps on his skin looked like and how close he was to be called a "shaved" dog 
But sometimes, it is this imperfection that makes me realize that this is LIFE. No more, no less. One can’t have everything. Even a place rich of white sand, crystal water would have its speck of imperfection seen in the eyes of stray malnourished dog…
We rode a boat from Boracay and back to the dock. We rode a van from the dock to the Airport. Then we went home riding the small plane that really scared the (@*# outta me. Imagine, bad weather was at sight. I looked out my window and saw gray clouds look like comets being splashed unto us. Then we keep on tilting and we faced turbulence for the whole ride. What in the world?!?!? We landed at the airline and until now, I have the clear vision of what I saw thousands of feet from the ground- I saw the clouds shaped like dolphins… crashing onto the comets… boy, did it just rain a bit! That was the scarriets part of it all!
being there was a gift itself). And it’s sad to leave when you feel that you’re leaving a part of you behind it. A BIG PART especially when someone out there unexpctedly touched you profoundly in ways that couldn’t have otherwise transpired anywhere else. 
