Boracay-Iloilo Trip

June 7, 2007

Yeah, yeah, it's already rainy season and it's schooltime once again (hmn, bakit ba kasi tuwing tag-ulan ang pasukan?). Summer is over but I still would like to share with you how my trip to Boracay and Iloilo went. This is a late post.

I know a lot of you guys have been to Boracay. By plane, it's just an hour ride from Manila. But my friends and I were in the mood for a more adventurous trip to the said prestigious tourist spot before April ended. So we took the road less traveled by, literally. We traveled through the "roll-on, roll-off" (RO-RO) system. The trip itself was an adventure. It entails getting on and off various modes of transportation. I have to give the government some "pogi" points for putting up the Strong Republic Nautical Highway. This highway serves as an alternate route to some major tourist spots. Also, it facilitates transport of goods, especially farm produce, from Luzon to Mindanao and vice-versa.

If you are curious how we reached Boracay via RO-RO, please read. You might also be in the mood for a more adventurous trip next summer. Make sure you allot more time because the whole trip took us 17.5 hours. Here's our itinerary.

April 27

12:30PM - left Quezon City onboard Alps busline

4:00 PM - reached Batangas port and took a small ferry to Capalan, Oriental Mindoro via M/V Beatriz (yes po, Beatriz ang pangalan ng ferry and no, I don't own it lol). Our bus also transported by the ferry along with other buses. Napansin ko lang ang isang pangit na ugali ng mga kababayan natin sa point na ito. Maraming nakatayo yet we could see may mga upuan naman na mga bags lang ang nakalagay. Nung tinanong namin ang mga tao na andun, ang sabi may mga nakaupo daw dun at naglilibot lang sa ferry. I have observed that during the three-hour trip, tanging mga bags lang talaga ang nasa upuan at walang tao na dumating para umupo. Meaning, talagang pinaupo ng ibang mga pasahero ang mga bag nila kahit na nakikita nilang napakaraming nakatayo. Hmp, nakakainis lang.

7:00PM - arrived at the port of Calapan and traveled by the same bus

8:00PM - reached Barangay Sta. Rita, Pinamalayan in Mindoro and had dinner

9:00PM - traveled by the same Alps bus to Roxas, Mindoro

10:30PM - reached the port of Roxas, Mindoro and waited for about 1.5 hours before getting on a bigger ferry

4:30AM - arrived in Caticlan. We waited for 1.5 hours before the ferrywas allowed to dock because there were other ferries which got head of us. We had to wait for one or two ferries to leave the port before we could dock

6:00AM - took an outrigger boat and arrived in Boracay island after 15 minutes

Boracay Island which is 7-kilometer long is blessed with spectacular, clear waters and powdery, white-sand beaches. It's a busy island with so many establishments. I've read in a magazine that there are over 300 resorts in Boracay. Each year, it is visited by thousands of tourists who have come to love the place.

I enjoyed Boracay's sun, sea and sand. I spent more time not swimming but lazily lounging at the beach with a Selecta drumstick and pinipig crunch hehehe. I tried the banana boat and had fun. At night, I passed by a beach front resort where Sitti was performing.

April 29

1:00PM - left Boracay for Caticlan

1:15PM - left Caticlan on a bus to Iloilo

6:30PM - arrived in Iloilo City and booked in Fine Rock Hotel

April 30

The whole day was spent touring Guimaras Island and Iloilo City. Flight to Manila via Cebu Pacific was at 9PM. That was a great 4-day vacation. Medyo nakakapagod ang byahe but enjoy naman. Next stop? Cagayan de Oro siguro. Or maybe Banaue, or Sagada, or Lake Sebu. Hard to keep my itchy feet from lakwatsa hehehe.