Boracay Budget Trip: Day 2

 Finally after getting some good night's sleep, it is a new day in Boracay.

water is inviting, isn't it?

We were then faced with the most challenging question of all, "what to do – first?"

Without any final decision on what to do, we decided to go swimming in Boracay's clear waters – just in front of our hotel (since it is a beachfront hotel).

Eric, DeParis Hotel's staff, was very accommodating and enthusiastically put up a parasol by the beach chairs we occupied and gladly supplied us with some beach towels. (Another reason why I'll be staying at this hotel again!) Even their security guard was very friendly. It was like staying at a place that is so much like a home away from home.

there are at least 5 fishes in this picture... can you spot them?

Anyway, soon it was midday and we decided to have lunch.  Of course, in every trip, we believe that the best parts are taking in the sights, experiencing the culture, and eating good food.  So we picked one of our favorite restaurants -- Cyma!

Lunch

Located at Boracay's D'Mall (Station 2), Cyma was near and very accessible; which was a good thing. At that time, "hungry" was an understatement. You could say "starved" to describe us better. So we had Roka pasta, Cyma lamb chops, Moussaka, Mixed meat Gyros, Pita bread, and of course, each of us had their house blend Iced Tea (bottomless). 

Lunch was superb! πολύ νόστιμα! Opa!


Expenses: Cyma lamb chops                 :  (Php) 440
                Moussaka                             :          265
                Mixed meat gyros                 :          200
                Roka pasta                           :          415
                Pita bread                            :             50
               Cyma bottomless iced tea (4) :           380
               10% Service Charge             :            175 
                                                            Php 1, 925                                                                                  

Believe it or not, we actually couldn't finish our lunch. We had to force it down, though; noting that we paid a lot for it. I guess "starved" was an overstatement. 

By the time we finished lunch, it was time for our first activity: helmet diving.

It was arranged by a guy named Edwin, whom the hotel staff recommended to us. He scouted the island for good deals knowing that we are backpacking folk on a budget. 

Helmet Diving

It was all in all, a wonderful experience :)

When in Boracay, do try helmet diving! 
At first we weren't sure if we'd like it since we've never tried diving before. But it was great!                                                                They provided us with diving shoes and oriented us with what we needed to know before going underwater – basic hand signals, dealing with the pressure as you sink to the bottom, etc...  

Our helmet diving fee already includes the activity, a 3:1 guide underwater (seeing to it that everything in his group is in order), and a CD with our pictures and video compilation. 

Here's a tip, though: helmet diving is usually best done before 10am because the sea is calm (although it may depend on the season). The sun's position also makes the underwater world brighter during this time. Since we went helmet diving in the afternoon, it wasn't as bright underwater... :(  
                                                                                                                                                                                             Expenses: helmet diving fee (4): 2,000 (Php)

By the time we got back to shore, it was about 4pm already. Although not yet hungry, we decided to drop by Jonah's Shakes – home of the best fruit shakes in Boracay!  

A trip to Boracay is never complete without dropping by this place.

Still full from what we had at lunch, we just had a glass of shake each. But don't let the term "one glass" fool you. A more appropriate term is "one big glass".

Upon leaving Jonah's, that's where more fun started cropping up.


We spotted a sand dolphin and decided to have our picture taken. These are made by the locals, a different sand sculpture daily, for tourists to have their pictures taken with. They don't charge, but they do appreciate tips. So an average of 20 pesos (or more, if you're feeling generous) is the usual amount given.

The kid who made the sand sculpture even carved our names on the sand to make our pictures more personalized. (aaawww... sweet!) We then spent the next minutes taking pictures of the beautiful Boracay sunset.

By the time we were done, it was already twilight. Soon, darkness fell, tiki torches were being lit up, paper lanterns began to illuminate the place, and lights everywhere were already being turned on.
And that's when we met Kim.

We were making our way back to our hotel when a middle aged Korean woman (whom we later found out went by the English name Kim) approached us, and persistently and assertively asked us to go sailing with her.  She explained that she's travelling alone and if she goes sailing by herself, she'll be charged 600 pesos for it.  Whereas if we joined her, we can just pay 100 each and she'll take care of the excess amount.  We explained that we did plan to go sailing, but not tonight - tomorrow during sunset.

wrong camera settings.. but more or less that's
 how it looked from the sea

I don't know what she did for a living, but I figured she might be into marketing. She persistently sold to us the fact that the sunset is best enjoyed from the beach (she had a point) and that if we went with her, we could enjoy the view of Boracay at night from the sea, as well as the endless blanket of stars since it was a clear night -- and all that for a very low price; which, she pointed out was a bargain. 

She did make sense, and since we are spontaneous folk, we joined her.
                                           
We DID NOT regret that we did!


Boracay is so beautiful from the sea at night! We sailed from one end of the island to the other, and the paraw (sail boat) dropped us off somewhere in Station 2. It was quiet and serene; and the only sound you could hear was the soft wind blowing and the boat slicing through the calm, steady water. As a bonus, the moon was bright that night too.
I am glad we met Kim. It was something new – and we made a new friend.

us four, and Kim :)

Expenses:  Jonah's shakes (4)       : 360 (Php) 
                      Sand dolphin tip     :   20
                      Evening sailing (4)  : 400
                                            Php  780
We then headed back to our hotel, washed up and discussed what to do next.

Dinner

By 8pm, we got hungry and decided to head down the beach for a buffet dinner by the shore. There are lots lined up at night and you just have to take your pick. We picked Alf's, randomly – for no apparent reason whatsoever. 

They served Filipino food, including unlimited supply of grilled oysters and clams.  Yummy!

After dinner, we decided to savor Boracay and opted to go sit by the shore and watch the Boracay fire dancers. So we grabbed a couple of bottles of water and headed to where the show was.

We picked a spot just under the coconut tree and enjoyed the moment. We watched the performance by the Boracay Phoenix fire dancers which lasted about 15 minutes or so. (I lost track of time).

Expenses: Dinner buffet (3) : 900 (Php)
                Bottled water (4) : 100
                                  Php 1,000
Afterwards, we decided to take some pictures before heading back to the hotel. 
We stopped by Boracay Mandarin's attractive Christmas display, as well as Summer Place's creative facade. This is then where we stumbled upon another stranger.

We never got his name, though. Hubby and I were posing for a picture when suddenly this guy stopped and posed with us, waited for the camera to click (which took a few seconds, by the way, since he got us a bit puzzled; until we figured out what was going on), and then ran off to rejoin his group of buddies who were about 50 steps away by then.

hubby and I with the blond stranger-friend :)

Anyway, that's it for Day 2. 
A fun-filled, lots-of-expenses, and strangers-turned-into-friends kind of day. Total expense for the day amounts to Php 5,705. (Which again, will be divided into 4 later).



Until Day 3, then...