Boracay, Day 3 Water Sports Galore!!!!

Our third day at Boracay was the most exciting! We all decided to have some fun on the water. Banana boating, parasailing and helmet diving were on our agenda.

Boatmen or adventure salesmen will approach you on the beach to offer such exciting adventures for the day. Never pay what they are asking for, haggle, haggle, haggle. You get a better deal when you're with a large group. Always look for an accredited guide. Your water adventure usually starts at the end of station 1 or 3 where the boats are docked. A van is usually provided to take you there.

Just a few reminders, do not bring expensive camera equipment with you, it will just get damaged by the salt water. Wear sunblock, remove all jewelries and never forget to take your Bonamine (hubby got terribly sea sick!). Waterproof all your things and secure them well on the boat/raft. It is best to bring only your barest essentials.

The speedboat ride was both fun and scary. The water was very choppy that day. JJ got scared at first but eventually loved it as soon as we started speeding up.





The banana boat was super fun. The boat was surprisingly stable. The government prohibits turning over of banana boats so, you'll be quite safe. However, everyone is advised to hold on tight and wear protective gear. I would definitely do this again. This was JJ's favorite :-) For a 15 minute boat ride, we paid just P200 per head (US$4).

Next up was the helmet diving adventure. You breathe in trapped air from your helmet. This is quite safe and kids 6 years and older are allowed do it. Our little Rama even did this twice! If you haven't dived before, you will be freaked out a little bit because the water is about 20-25 feet deep and your ears will hurt just a tad due to the water pressure. Don't panic, you will not die nor suffocate. Two drivers are always on hand to assist you and can bring you up to the surface anytime that you want. Air is constantly pumped on your helmet to make sure you never run out of oxygen. This is a fun experience for both kids and adults. Feeding the fish with bread is so much fun. We paid P700 per head (US$14) for a 20 minute dive. The site allocated for this activity was not the best but a lot of little fish still showed up for the unlimited bread buffet :-)

This is me and hubby underwater. Yes, hubby wore a shirt, no idea why ;-)


My brother Jacob and his wife Angel:


Next up was the parasailing. This is the most daring adventure that I've ever been to. The water was very choppy and it was very windy. Me and my sister-in-law Angel flew together and got very scared after a few minutes on the air. Despite being scared, it was fun seeing the island from that vantage point. If you're afraid of heights, this is the best way to conquer it! I made it! Hubby was too sea sick to go, sayang :-( This adventure is quite pricey. Be prepared to shell out P1,300 per head (US$26). Not too bad really when you think about it. I mean how often will you fly on the air overlooking such a pristine beach, right?




(this photo was taken earlier in the day before hubby got sick)

The whole adventure took about three hours to complete due to the many transfers and waiting for the wind to settle a bit.

After our adventure, we set off to d'mall to get some grub. I forgot the name of the inasal place that we went to, probably because the food wasn't so great.





After our meal, hubby decided to take the afternoon off and rest. Meanwhile, my mom and I went to the deli store, Heidiland, to buy some sea salt (how appropriate, eh?) You'll be surprised with the amout of inventory that they have in that place. I guess having a lot of multi national tourists in the area keep them in business.

My mom was very eager to treat us for dessert. Her choice was Crzy Crepes located within d'mall. I must admit their crepes were good and the fruits are very fresh. Crepes go from P80 to P200 depending on the flavors/variants that you will order. They're well worth the price. Their servings are generous. I couldn't finish mine!

Here's my brother Jacob and Ashley, choosing from a wide array of flavors.






After all that dessert, we wandered around the area to burn some of it off and my nephew JJ wanted to climb d'wall. A rock climbing wall that's about 30 feet high. He was very eager to climb. He managed to get halfway (he's only 5 years old) but climbed twice to brag to his dad.





Dinner was at a Mongolian Buffet along the beach. The food wasn't that great but the place was right at the beach. It makes for an interesting dinner.


Hubby was compelled to eat somewhere else after that. We settled back to Lemon Cafe again for some goat's cheese salad.


For our nightcap, the whole family (kids and all) went to Discovery Shores, located at Station 1, it is the swankiest hotel in the island. The architecture is simply magnificent and very modern tropical (reminds me of LP, but on a much larger scale). The bar in the hotel serves really really good cocktails. Bar nuts and chips are free and unlimited. The kids were even given some toys to play with while the adults are drinking the night away :-)





What a fun day!

A Salad of Beach Memories

I consider myself a very privileged person not because of worldly goods but of worldly experiences that I've had growing up in a beautiful country surrounded by countless pristine white sand beaches.

Boracay:






Dakak:






Pagudpud






We often associate a scent or a type of food that we eat with certain memories. For me, some of the happiest memories were collected from family outings at the beach and my honeymoon in Bohol.

I remember when my father was alive, he would often take us to the beach for the weekend in Batangas, Cavite and Quezon since they were the most accessible from Manila. At that time, there were no hotels, just simple nipa hut cottages. As a child, it did not matter to me. I was at the beach, swimming and having fun. As I grew older, started working and eventually got married, I would then explore the more exotic and beautiful beaches of the Philippines. But the memories of those simple childhood beach outings will always be special and cherished.

Nothing reminds more of the beach than eating Lato Salad. Lato is a type of local seaweed that looks like hundreds of minuscule grapes clustered together in one tiny branch. Lato is a true representation of the sea. The tiny grapes smell of the ocean, the taste is slightly salty, the texture, a little slippery. Each lato kernel that bursts in my mouth as I eat it, triggers a memory. A memory of my brother and cousins playing all day in the sand, our skins burned to a crisp, my father and I seated on the shore waiting for the waves to hit us and filling our bathing suits with clumps of sand, my lola in the middle of ankle-deep water in Matabungkay, my mom walking on the shore with my nephew, hubby and I walking hand in hand on the shores of Bohol, my tita teaching us to snorkel in the waters of Dakak. Each tiny little grape is a reminder of the happy times spent on the beach.

I remember also that my dad used to love eating Lato, he called it Aru-rusep and he would tell us that they were grapes from the sea and that they were very nutritious. We did not appreciate it when we were kids but now, I love eating lato, not just because of it's ocean-y taste but also for the memories that they evoke. Hubby loving it is just the icing on the cake.




Lato Salad (for 2)
(The lato must be prepared immediately after you buy it. It will not do well in the fridge.)

1/4 Kilo lato
1 small red onion, sliced thinly (optional)
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
White distilled Vinegar
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

1. Be careful with handling lato for their bruise easily. wash the lato with cold or tap water, snip off the dark stems, leaving only the stems with the "grapes", drain well. Very carefully toss with cucumber, onions and tomatoes. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar, salt pepper and sugar. Mix well. Drizzle over the lato right before serving.

Now, wouldn't you want to evoke some beach memories too?