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Landed at the chaotic city of Manila, and checked into our hotel with a view of the Bay and the US embassy. With the upcoming elections we didn't want to stay for too long, so booked ourselves a flight straight away bound for the beautiful and popular island of Boracay, with just a small backpack of beachwear each. It's surprisingly easy to hop around here, and they were certainly used to receiving tourists who didn't know quite what their plan was! Tourism though, according to a local taxi driver is not the main form of income for Filipino workers - most will go abroad or elsewhere in the country to earn money to take home to support their families. The people are basketball mad - it is what football is to England and everyone wears their team's vest so I felt quite at home!
We flew out the next morning and were soon over the azure seas looking at many a beautiful island on the horizon. There are over 7,000 to chose from, and we were probably heading to one of the most tourist filled, but part of us was looking forward to a reasonable standard of comfort, and of course something to do.? There is another island where you can surf but with the forecast not looking good, we went to explore the kite surfing options here. From Cataclan airport, it is a short boat ride to Boracay itself and the two main beaches; White beach, and Bulabog. We found a cheap place to stay in between the two where we could enjoy a little peace and quiet, but also enough space and facilities to enjoy the island experience. We had a small bungalow with a shower room and fan for 700 Pesos - about 8 pounds which we were very happy with. A few sticky nights followed, but with the a cold shower and the sea nearby, we couldn't complain.
We certainly spent a fair bit of time in the sea over the coming week. Went to Bulabog beach, the quieter, less developed of the two, and met Winnie at Habagat kite surfing centre. We booked up a beginners course and got started the next day. The wind came onshore there and picked up at various times of day. When there was a lull, we took a break, but other than that we were flying kites, dragging through and swallowing some water, and gradually getting the hang of what it was all about. Chris of course picked it all up very quickly, which I attribute to his wind surfing and paragliding experience, rather than admitting that he's just much better than me at all of that kind of stuff! I gave it a good go, but it wasn't quite coming together, and by day three when he was speeding past me attempting jumping, I really felt like giving up! I just about got standing up, but only for a split second, and was starting to think it was coming together, when the wind died, and didn't return in full force for the remainder of our stay, so it will have to wait for the next place for me to pick it up and try again. For now, I'm left with aching arms and a few sea urchin spikes working their way out of my hands and thighs from being dragged through the shallow waters!
Boracay is a picturesque beach with white sand and turquoise water, but is fairly busy with predominantly Asian tourists (although apparently in the European winter there are many here). There are some up market resorts on White beach, but when you can stay cheaply two minutes away, there is no need to fork out unnecessarily. There are some great restaurants, and it's all fairly relaxed with a few bands playing in the evenings.
We didn't want to leave when it was time to go, but felt we should have explored some other islands to do justice to our visit as we spent the last few days just waiting relaxing on the beach willing the wind to pick up again. Next time perhaps we will rent one of the pretty sailing boats here and do a little exploring independently.
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