Thursday, April 24, 2008

Boracay: Day 1

Writing this in the van on the way to Caticlan. Left Kalibo Airport at 8:25AM.

This must be a day of hits and misses.

First, thought that our flight would be at 8:10AM, thus, we are to leave the house around 5:45AM, enough time to be at the Manila Domestic Airport around 6:10AM, two hours before ETD. We even dropped by McDonald's to buy an Egg McMuffin Meal plus Hash Browns for our breakfast. While lining-up to check-in, that's when we learned that our time of departure is 7:10AM! They already made the last call around 6:20AM. The gods must be smiling at us as we were still able to get a seat.

While waiting to board the plane, found out that the cover and the battery of my battery-operated fan is missing. (sad) Another hit (or is it a miss?).

Touchdown of our Cebu Pacific flight 5J 339 is 8:00AM, ten minutes earlier than ETA. And, lo! It is raining. Hit (or miss?).

Now, gonna check that weather report...

(To be continued...)



(...continuation)

Writing this at my improvised computer work area at The Panoly.


Arrived at Caticlan Port around 10AM, about 1-1/2 hour travel from Kalibo to Caticlan. Our next ride is a boat bringing us directly to The Panoly. It is a 30-minute boat ride.

As soon as we docked to shore, my niece (first time in Boracay) is already amazed by the white sands of Boracay. We were met by the friendly staff of The Panoly plus a cool glass of iced tea for a welcome drink.


We, then, checked-in our room, rested a bit and already enjoyed the Star Mandarin channel on cable. Hehehe!



(To be continued...)



(...continuation)

Back to my improvised computer area at The Panoly.

Decided to proceed to talk to the The Panoly's Guest Activity Personnel to inquire on the activities me and my niece can do. Here, we met Reynen. Decided to ride the All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) to Mount Luho today, roam the White Beach tomorrow, and island-hopping and banana boat on Saturday. We would be checking-out at 6AM on Sunday for our flight back home.


Our tour guide is Mark, with his able, young assistant Alvin. (Alvin has a twin, Albert.) It should be an hour ATV ride, but it seems more than an hour, and we enjoyed every minute of it. At Mount Luho, we have to climb up several steps to reach the top and see the view of Boracay. Entrance fee is PhP50.00. At the peak, there are also unique animals being taken cared of--like a mini-zoo. There are monkeys, wild cat, the Philippine Eagle, bayawak, python, etc.


Our next stop is the Butterfly Farm, which we were able to see bats plus several species of butterflies. Entrance fee is PhP60.00.

After the ATV tour, we proceeded to d*mall. This is where Club Panoly's shuttle would pick us up. Pick-up time is at 4PM. Thus, strolled around d*mall while waiting for the time.

(To be continued...)



(...continuation)

Back to Neo eXplore X1.

My niece decided to take a swim at the beach to cool off after a strenuous activity of driving an ATV. We would both be swimming in the pool after dinner.






While waiting for my niece enjoy the water, Aling Juana approached me and informed me about dinner. I've learned before, at the side of The Panoly are the fishermen's houses where we can order food. This would be more affordable for us. But, we must order it ahead of time as they still have to prepare the food. Thus, it would be liempo and tangigue for tonight.

My niece also took a short dip at the pool. After showering, we proceeded to the side of The Panoly where the houses of the fishermen are. Ate our dinner there with Aling Juana as our cook. While eating, a family, also a guest of The Panoly, joined us.

Decided against a dip in the pool. Thus, called it a day by watching cable and updating my blog... hehehe!



Sidelights:

* Four friends were the other passengers on the van. As expected, they were the talkative ones in our ride. When they finally mellowed down, the one who is beside me fell asleep and was leaning on me. The good girl that I am, just let her be. But, the rest of her friends were laughing. Duh?!

* While waiting at Southwest Tours' office at Caticlan Port for our boat ride, a group of golden girls arrived. Sure was fun watching them banter around. They looked "sosyal". I think they would be staying at The Regency. But, I think, they were surprised when they saw the staff from The Panoly (with his fetching uniform) pick us up for our boat ride to The Panoly. "Mas sosyal!" LOL

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