My first Boracay experience happened only in 2006 (March) with some of my SSR coworkers (Dell). The second time I was with Brandon's mom and Rudelyn in 2007. I went back July of the same year with our Canadian trainers. In 2008, I decided to go back to celebrate my 26th birthday. And just last week, I went back again with my family. It was a short but sweet vacation time and believe it or not, it is the first family travel we took, just us. I know that it will not be the last time that I am going there and I will forever live up to the name I got christened with at work: "Boracay Queen". It's just because of the frequency of my travels there, not for any other incriminating reasons.
My travel this year has once again affirmed my love affair with the island.
How could I not love the place? First, I understand the dialect that the people speak. Second, you could forget about your stilettos and the way it makes your swag sexier while walking barefoot (or with your flip flops) on the shore...the fine sand will tickle and caress your foot and yes Boracay has the softest white sand beach I have ever been to.
I am one who loves a quiet rest but when I go to Boracay, amidst the noise of the local and foreign tourists alike, I can have my own slice of peace of mind. You look at the sea and the waves and you appreciate life more. You look at the simplicity of a coconut tree standing tall along the shoreline and you appreciate nature more.
I have always gone to Boracay during the summer months and so the travel last week was way off than before. This is the only time that I have seen waves taller than me (ahhh I'm exaggerating) but yeah the waves are really unusual than what I had experienced before. These waves are caused by the southwest monsoon or as the locals call it the hanging habagat. We went there on the 26th of August and got back to Manila on the 28th.
Day 1:
Our scheduled flight was moved from 10AM to 12NN aboard Zest Air due to some reasons that I wasn't made aware of. This is the first time that I travelled aboard Zest Air and they have considerably left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was still thankful that we landed safe at the Kalibo Airport. We then drove to Caticlan and took a boat to the port and then we took another ride to the hotel where we stayed. If you woke up super early in the morning to catch a flight that was moved two hours then all these vehicle transfers is no child's play. We were exhausted but still looking forward to our vacation. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the shore of White Beach. I had my hair braided and my sister just had to take a dip in the inviting waters. We were all just anticipating the sumptuous seafood dinner we were having that night. After dinner, mom and dad decided to retire to bed early while me and my sister went out to have some cocktails. We went back to our hotel before midnight to take some much needed rest for the activities in store the next day.
Day 2:
We hired a boat in the morning right after breakfast. The whole four-hour island hopping cost only Php1000 ($20). The first stop was the snorkeling site. I didn't really enjoy as much as I dd before because I think the Puerto Galera snorkeling site is way better than what Boracay has to offer. White Beach is nothing compared to the solitude and pristine beauty of Puka Island and Crystal Cove. In Crystal Cove you could explore two hidden caves and we were so lucky that it was low tide when we went there because we were able to swim to the other side of the cave, a place where I have never been before because I have this strange fear in me that the sea will engulf me in it's belly anytime. Ahhhh, silly fears!
Me and my sister had the time of our lives swimming in Puka Beach while waiting for our lunch to be ready. We had sweet and sour shrimp, buttered garlic shrimp, calamares (buttered squid rings), fish, oysters, mussels. I was too hungry to take a picture. Hahaha!
We went back to our hotel right after lunch and we were still so full of energy. We showered and changed and decided to walk farther away from our hotel and explore the rest of White Beach. I played photographer to my willing subject, the model that is my sister.
While having dinner along the shore, we witnessed a spectacular sunset. See for yourself...
Day3:
We decided to take a dip again after breakfast and then packed our bags right after. Boracay was sad to see us leave I guess. It rained while we were aboard the fast craft en route to the Caticlan port.
I will be back for sure...I just don't know when.
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For this look, I used mainly products I recently bought from a drugstore. I guess the palette is only available locally. I bought it because it is cheap and I wanna try it for practicing how to blend colors. I used different shades of green and blue and gray for the eyes. I also used the NB25 concealer from The Face Shop which is fast becoming my favorite. It glides evenly and very easy to apply. For the cheeks, I used another locally-produced tan blush. I found it a little challenging to play with the colors as I'm a little darker now from being under the sun for one too many days. I used an orangey-brown (don't know how to describe it) shade for my lips after exfoliating it with olive and sugar. 
The resort we went to uses plant-based detergent to wash all the linens and towels and that made me a lot thankful to know that "Going Green" is indeed a worldwide effort already. Let's all do our share to save our environment. I want longer summers, not rainy ones...
