Boracay Beach Walk

Things change... people change. That includes what we do (or keep doing) when on an island getaway like Boracay. There are things we now say "pass" to, and there are things we "still want" to keep doing.

Hmm, I think I worded that paragraph nicely. A way of saying: somebody is growing old (and wise ha)!

Aruu, sa madaling salita... tumatanders na, di na kaya ang physical fun adventures katulad ng banana boat, cliff jumping, zorb, fly fish, wind surfing, jet skiing, kite boarding, parasailing, kayaking etc., etc.!

Well, at least dalawa kami hahaha! But we can proudly say "been there, done that" [in our youth]!

Anyway...

Here's one fun (and insightful) sample day we spent on the beach, that I dedicate to the dear "golden generation" (and those who insist they're still young and active, but most definitely on the way there)!

After a hefty free buffet breakfast at Astoria Current (I'll have a separate story about our entire stay in that hotel), friend and I decided to hit the Boracay sand - that means walk & swim a little. Pasyal lang!

Actually, the swimming happened first, right in front of Astoria Current. Then we walked a bit; then we hit the water again; then walked; and so on. It was more of a "swim-walk-swim-walk-swim-rest-sleep"!

Bakit me kasaling sleep? Aw? Buti nga di ko sinabing "snore" eh! So keep reading if you want to know!

Every walk, we headed north (no back or side tracking), in the 'general direction' of Station 1, since we started at Station 3. This is the usual tourist walking direction, be they young or old, trying to walk on fine white sand 'from-end-to-end'. Syempre kung nasa Station 1 ka, you stroll southwards to Station 3!

There were only 2 of us but this walk had strict rules and guidelines, seriously deliberated, eventually promulgated over breakfast hahaha! Listen well because... imagine if you were a big group doing this?

That's just about 4kms of a beach walk, but with many distractions along the way, and many interests among you, your stroll can be too slow, that you may end up at just a few meters away come nightfall!

So we set an objective:
The walk-swim-walk would be from Astoria Current until we reach The Lind without veering away from the beach, unless it is for lunch! Quite a lot of fun said the friend, who had to control his temptations!

Temptations? Like what? Ah, the stores, the 'tiangge', the little shops that sell just about anything that you don't use back in your home. I can tell you this friend is the only man I know who loves shopping.

Kesyo a fridge magnet is for his wife's collection, the 'heart-shaped shades' for his little girl, and yaya has to have a pasalubong t-shirt, and so on. So I said Rule No. 2 no shopping-shopping along the way!

But Rule No. 1, dapat tumigil pag me 'magagandang tanawin'! Wheh, nag-swimming pa kami dito eh!

I liked chancing upon this 'pictorial'! Oist nagpaalam ako if I can post this here, oo daw!

Very good weather and very "good views" on a November. Let's hope Boracay is like this, forever!

I took a pic of the water we were swimming at. It looked attractively clean. Not yellow-green anymore!

Not many people do this, but taking photos of the beach from the water side, is also great...

I had to tell this guy "stay away from us" hehehe! When he asked why, I told him we are so tempted to do paddle boarding in Boracay, but if we did so, we'd do it all day, we won't be able to finish our walk.

This manong stayed around (he knew we would do it sooner or later)! But we resisted the temptation, we must finish our beachwalk! But when no one was renting his boards yet he allowed us to use them "for photo-ops lang". Aba, and "pictorial to da max" we did! Others would've charged us for even that!

Here's a little clip:

My friend noted that anything on the island is a photo opportunity, like these driftwood on the sand.

We silently laughed as those "girls" posed at every inch of those logs! Shh, after them aba kami rin oi!

Here's a snippet of things my friend wanted to visit but was forbidden according to our walking rules!

First it was 'Bamboo Shades' that attracted him, then 'Laser.ph'. Imagine how long that would delay us if I allowed him to pop into any of them? It's not as if it would take just a minute each. Lalo yung laser thing na yun, medyo matagal yun just looking at samples. Tapos ako, ano, nakatunganga naghihintay?

No way! I said "sana bumisita ka sa mga yan while I was still out on the water". Panalo ako. Proceed!

As we moved on with our stroll, we had a good discussion about 'Pinoy ownership', after we saw that "Hae Maru " restaurant. Our main topic: nice to have those "imported" restaurants that are authentic, since they are operated by real people from those foreign lands (genuine). But how about ownership?

So 'restaurant nila, kita nila, pero sa bansa natin'? We laughed at the realization na 'baka tulad dyan sa kapitbahay nating bansa, gumagamit ang foreigners ng "dummy owners'. Ways of doing business!

On with the walk... still the same old wonderful views wherever we looked. Like this famous rock!

It's nothing but a rock with a grotto. But I 'theorize' that: it is probably the most photographed spot of Boracay! My friend agrees. You, have you been to Boracay without having at least a pic with that rock?

That innocent rock (ugly pa nga eh) now seems to be part of what we might call the "Boracay Brand"!

I liked this next scene (blurred, baka pagalitan tayo nung mga nahagip sa pektyur)!

At left are "sunbathers", in the middle is a wedding photoshoot and at right me nagfefektyur con todo sumbrero at naka payong pa! My friend was sayin his protestations but I said 'walang basagan ng trip'!

The funny part is... amazed (as always), I was just trying to take a poto of that speedboat flying by. Da!

Make the long story short... Station 1 na! About 500 meters from that rock, we passed by this...

We laughed heftily as I shot that pic. Memories! And the friend said "surely they forgot about me na". I said "halika itanong natin"! The reply was a quick "gago 'wag"! I said "pose ka dyan". Reply: "no way"!

Hahaha! Once upon a time not so long ago, mga 3 years lang yata ang nakakaraan, me isang malaking dambuhalang mama, nagsusuka dyan sa me letter V na yan! We had to ask the help of resort crews to bring him up to his room. At aba nagsalita pa ng mga katagang... "me amoebiasis yata ako 'pre"! Aruu! In the morning the GF (now wife) said: "sinisi pa ang amoebiasis, marami ka lang nainom, period". Da!

After Discovery Shores is Fridays, just before The Lind. And as if planned, it was about noontime.

Fridays is a good old favorite in Boracay - not only of me, but also of my friend and our many friends.

It may look like outdated, but it's one of the few 'originals' with direct beach access right in front of it.

The beauty of this area in Station 1 is that there is no more road between the sea and all the resorts.

But unlike its 'newer' neighbors (Discovery Shores and The Lind) this place remains to be the 'last one remaining' that's not made of concrete condominium-like edifices. Resort rooms are still in 'cottages'.

For the younger set, Fridays may not be a "sosyal' kind of place. But for many of us who like country-living, where cottages are scattered amid greens, this is the last such resort on this white beach strip.

Friend and I had a relaxing time at Fridays' restaurant, with conversations dwelling on the nostalgia at this place... that this might succumb to the lure of big money, by converting into tall concrete edifices.

Yeah, sana 'wag, since this is the last such "resort".

Ah, until lunch caught up with us, we ordered our favorites, and forgot all about The Lind!

It's still the same good food, not too outlandishly decorated/garnished na bland din naman ang lasa, as you'd find in those building-like resorts that have sprouted on the island! Friend said 'crowded pa'!

Yeah, and we talked about that, where our lunch was amid a nice cool breeze (no airconditioners nor electric fans) - Boracay breeze lang talaga! And not noisy, with respectable people dining - not crowds of scrimmaging buffet-hungry busloads of tourists from 'mainland ni pingpingping' and/or elsewhere!

Friend laughed at my description of those crowds and he said "hindi ba banned na ang groups nila at many restaurants in Paris"? I said "ah, sinabi mo"! We agree they're a source of 'tourist money' but we also agree that they are just so rowdy unruly and seemingly uncivilized. At least we had a good laugh!

And after that lunch... even if I had Coke and friend had coffee, nakatulog kami haha! Where? Dyan sa restaurant mismo, since they have a lot of those lazy chairs amid the breeze under the coconut trees!

And when we woke up (the waiter said naghihilik kami ng malakas hehe) it was time to go back to our Astoria Current. How? Lakad uli along the four kilometers of beach? No and no way! We know our way!

All that you need to do is enter and stroll the 'resort proper' of Fridays, passing by the many cottages, gardens, swimming pool, tennis court or whatever else, and you end up at the back or main entrance!

Yep, most resorts in Boracay are like this: main entrance is at the "back" since we call the beach front!

It really is anyone's point of view on what to call front and back! Maybe "main entrance" is better!

All we visitors have to remember is: at the 'back' is the road, that private/public land vehicles use.

Ayan, we went to that 'back road', saw a rickety e-trike waiting for passengers and we took the ride! To Astoria Current of course, at the hectic crowded crazy commercial district that's Station 3, 4kms away!

And those are just some of the things we saw along the way... constructions and repairs everywhere!

Alright folks! Boracay beach walk done! Let's talk about something else (still in Boracay) next!

Rejoinder 2024...
Somebody asked what I prefer, my early-morning walks or the above. I can't choose, because they are both pleasing experiences that evoke different feelings of satisfaction. I instead added this: "you may want to walk the length of the shoreline on a late afternoon until evening - it's a different sensation"!

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