Family Vacation: The Island Paradise that is Boracay
BY SIMEON SILVERIO JR

BORACAY - A day after attending the Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo, Aklan, he and his family were ready to start a new adventure as they proceeded to Boracay Island. It took them 45 minutes, via an L-300 van, to travel from Aklan to Caticlan.

Their friend in Kalibo, Lyn Calizo, picked them up at their hotel and brought them to the van station. The ride to Caticlan was enjoyable especially since it was the first time they saw the rustic and seaside sceneries.

At one crossroad, the highway forked into two, one leading to Pandan and another to Caticlan. Pandan is the hometown of two of their friends in the United States. One of them has sponsored a youth band in her hometown and goes home the day after Christmas to bring more instruments and other supplies, as well as enjoy the music of her protégées.

If they had the time, he would have wanted to swing by Pandan Bay and see for himself the beautiful beach and town that his friend raves about whenever they talked about the place.

Tourists

Among the passengers were tourists like them who attended the Ati-Atihan Festival and would now proceed to Boracay to spend the rest of their vacation. His seatmate was a restaurant worker from one Boracay resort who participated in the Festival during the weekend.

After two days of witnessing the “Festival of all festivals,” he could still hear the beat and the music of the drums ringing in his ears.

The images of the festival’s participants, with black soot and colorful ornaments covering their bodies remain in his mind.The ride served as an opportunity for his daughters, born and raised in the United States, to witness a typical rustic scene in the Philippines — the isolated huts, coconut and other trees and rice fields lining both sides of the highway. A few miles before reaching Caticlan, the van passed through a highway with the mountain on the left and the view of the sea on the right.

Before they left the van station, he noticed that the driver made a sign of the cross, and kept raising his right hand as if he was waving at somebody in some parts of the route. To this day, the gesture was still a mystery to him.

Familiar

Caticlan is a town that has become very familiar to him before he even set his eyes on it.

Two months before the trip, he met Nelia Sancho, the beauty queen turned activist in San Diego, California. Nelia was in town as participant in a workshop about injustices committed around the world held at the University of San Diego.

During her talk, she brought to the table the struggles of the World War II comfort women, women forced into prostitution in servitude of the invading Japanese soldiers.

She mentioned that her grandfather donated the land where the Caticlan airport is located. In addition, she had a house by the beach where she spends her vacations.

He would have wanted to let her know that they were in town, but they simply did not have the time to meet with her.It was obvious from the sight of the pier depot in Caticlan that the town had benefited from the tourism boom in Boracay Island.

It was the closest town to the island resort from the Panay mainland, maybe about just three or five miles away. In fact, one could clearly see the houses and the trees at the other side. From Caticlan to Boracay, it was less than a fifteen-minute boat ride away. The new Caticlan pier depot was a one-story concrete building, constructed a la Ellis Island. Nonetheless, a simple ticket booth could serve the same purpose.

Yet, awash with tourism revenue, why not think big?He was also impressed with Nelia Sancho’s grandfather, not only because of his generosity, but also for his vision. Kalibo was the only airport on the island before, but it was a forty-five minute drive away from Boracay. With the Caticlan Airport, travelers can exit the airport, hop onto a boat, and are in Boracay in a matter of minutes.

Ticket booth

The van driver obeyed Lyn’s instruction and accompanied him and his family inside the pier depot building to the ticket booth. The driver was surprised to know that 300-peso environmental and other fees were being charged to tourists in addition to the twenty-peso boat ticket. However, they were informed beforehand that they should claim that they are from Aklan and not tourists.

Although it was obvious that they were otherwise, judging from the travel bags they carried, the ticket seller just waved them to the ticket booth for the locals. Thus he only paid twenty pesos, about 35 cents, instead of 350 pesos ($6.35) for each member of his family, saving him 1,400 pesos ($26), which, he must admit, was quite a bundle.

When he gave the driver a 200-peso tip ($4), the driver was reluctant to accept it, but he insisted.The boat had a capacity of twenty to thirty people.

It would dock on three points in the island, Stations 1, 2, and 3. Station 3 was located at one end of a row of hotels, restaurants and resorts, Station 2 located in the middle, and Station 1 located at the far end.

He was given instructions to depart at Station 3 and avail of baggage-carry porters. What he didn’t know was that the boat docked right on the beach and the passengers had to wade through a knee deep part of the water towards the shore.

He had to remove his socks and rubber shoes, and raise the hems of his pants. Despite all of his efforts, he still managed to get wet. Welcome to Boracay!

A surprise

The sight ashore was a surprise. It was a long stretch of beach, perhaps ten miles long, with hotels, resorts, restaurants and stores on one side of a fifteen-feet wide pedestrian path. The pedestrian lane was constructed of compacted sand, maintaining the sense of being on the beach. People were lying on the beach, some on the sand, and others in beach chairs and recliners. The constant cool breeze of sea wind lulled others to sleep.

There was a steady flow of pedestrians, as if people never got bored leisurely walking back and forth. There were plenty of fascinating things to see. Someone commented that the rich and poor alike are equal in Boracay because they all walk in sandals, T-shirts and short pants. Nobody cares what one is wearing, as everyone is there for comfort and fun.

The porters suggested that they take a pedicab, a so-called “sikad cab” attached to a bicycle instead of a motorcyle. It used muscle power instead of gas. It was allowed on the beach because it makes no noise, except perhaps the panting sighs of the driver.

They were charged fifty pesos ($1) to be brought to the hotel, which was just a quarter of a mile away. The hotel was located on a side street, about 300 meters from the beach. It wasn’t beach front, but he thought that it was good enough since he was concerned that there might not be any hotel vacancy in the area during the peak season.

He was grateful that despite the short notice, they were able to book a flight to Kalibo, not to mention hotel rooms. A family friend with connections to the owners booked it and they got it at a discount of 3,500 pesos (about $67) per night. It was a steal, since the luxury hotels cost from $120 to $250 per night. He however had some misgivings. It was like a two-star hotel and the bathroom had no partitions between the shower and toilet.

Taking the shower would mean drenching the entire bathroom. While waiting for the room to be cleaned, he decided to explore other options on the beach.

El Centro Hotel

To his delight, he found a good one: El Centro Hotel & Resort. It was almost a brand new hotel with beautiful décor and furnishings.

It was comparable to a three-star hotel, with nice bathroom fixtures and a separate area for the shower. In the middle of the resort was the main office building and restaurant, constructed of red-brown natural wood.

The main office was on the first floor, nestled behind a beautiful garden. An open-air restaurant with wood décor was on the second floor. Prominently placed on the second-story façade was an image of Our Lady of La Naval.

The owner of El Centro, Mrs. Rosa Tirol of Iloilo, Panay, is a devotee.One-story hotel rooms lined the perimeter of the grounds. Each room had a private patio. The available room was at the end nearest the beach, and cost only 4,500 pesos ($86) a night.

In front of the hotel was the beach, with beach chairs and recliners reserved for the hotel’s guests. He wanted to reserve the room right there and then, afraid that somebody might beat him to it. Yet, he hesitated, worried that he might offend the family friend that reserved the first hotel room. Reluctantly, they went back to the first hotel to check-in.

However once inside the room, he found that the shower had no water. He called the owner, who seemed to have fixed it. When the owner left, however, there was no water again. That was the last straw.

He threw caution to the wind and chose his family’s comfort over his fear of offending their friend. He decided not to take the room, and they lugged their bags to the El Centro Hotel. Later on, he “texted” the family friend and told her what happened.

He was assured that it was okay with her.The manager at El Centro told him that he was lucky because somebody almost took the available room. It seemed that everything was falling into place for his family. He looked forward to enjoying the next few days in the island paradise that is Boracay.