Today we travelled to PARADISE! No. Seriously. But i should start at the beginning. i didn't fall asleep till about 2:30 AM, but i woke up around 8. so, i got up and started packing. i was about done packing by the time Scott got up, and then we went to breakfast before it was time to leave for the airport. We got to the airport smoothly, and checked in, went through security, and everything was great. We boarded the plane only a few minutes late, and took off about a half hour behind schedule, which i tried not to be cranky about. The flight was gorgeous, with amazing views, which Scott got video of. (all these vids i mention will be on youtube at some point, it's just that the internet here is super slow for uploading video so it might be when we get home.) Then, we landed in Kalibo, which was a nice intro to the tropical paradise we were headed for. After claiming our baggage, a nice porter helped us get to our bus to go to Cataclan, where we would catch our boat to Boracay. The bus wasa air conditioned, cushy, and a nice ride. there was a movie playing too. it was about a 2 hour bus ride to Caticlan, where we then were filtered out by hotel to vans to ride to the dock to get on a boat. The boat ride was beautiful and short, and i really couldn't believe we were somewhere so ideal. Getting on and off of the boat was a little scary, however. there was a ramp about 10 inches wide that was balanced at the ends on the dock and on the boat and it had a rail on one side and on the other, the boat crew helped you on and off. it wasnt so bad getting on in Caticlan, but when we got to boracay it was at this crazy steep angle and was kinda moving. Scary. I made it though, and Scott of course made it with no trouble at all. Then, with another porter carrying our baggage, we walked down a dirt road a little ways to meet more vans from the hotel. These vans took us to the hotel where we checked in quickly and smoothly and were taken to our very elegant Premier room that overlooked one of the resort's three swimming pools. i wish i had taken pictures of the room. it was perfect. After settling in for a few minutes, we put on swimsuits and headed down to the beach. this was the first time we met Mario, who is basically the evening entertainment Director for the resort, and became our Buddy. more about that later. We were also introduced to the slew of men selling pearls, sunglasses, and activities: parasailing, ATV, Snorkeling, Island hopping... a few of which we would have done if we were going to be on island more than 48 hours. there is sort of a boardwalk area/path along the beachfront of little shops. it is sooo cool. we didnt really venture into that right now, beyond walking past all the restaurants (seven, i believe) in our resort complex. We went down to the beach itself, and were blown away by the beauty. it was like being in a travel commercial. i sit here struggling to find words. it was breathtaking- quite literally. Scott looked over at me, i looked up at him, jaw about to hit the sand, and he said "Seriously?" neither of us could believe this place. we set our stuff down and got in the water, which was exactly the perfect temperature. we swam out into the waves awhile and then, when we were starting to get worn out, headed back up to play in the pool. After showering off, we got in the pool- heatred to exactly the right temp- and swam around will we were about ready to eat dinner. We dressed and headed down for our first meal at the Sea Breeze Cafe, where our weekend package included all of our meals. It was an amazing and huge buffet with mostly Asian foods, and lots of variety. it was a very good meal. there was much Nom. Then, we went back to the room to let the giant and awesome meal settle, and then around 9, we went back down to MO2, the beachfront hotel bar, where the entertainment for the evening was getting into full swing. this was Mario's domain, and he found us seats at the bar to have a few drinks and enjoy the show. There was a local band playing that was jsut great- almost every song they played was one we liked ,and a great many were Black Eyed Peas! W00t! The band took a break after a bit and the fire dancers came out! there were about 4-5 of them and they were all amazing. a couple of them came into the bar area at different times and did tricks among the patrons. one cam and stood between us, banding over backwards into scott;s lap while twirling his fireballs. it was crazy awesome. after the fire dancers finished, the band played some more, until about 11PM. When they were finished, Scott and i started walking north on the beach path to see what other entertainment was going on, as Boracay is known for its nightlife. There were many clubs with Dj's and live music, and cafes with live music, and it was just incredible. at one point, we saw a break in the palm trees that separate the beachfront path from the beach itself and saw the moon. it was bright and perfect, and wouldn't you know, right there was a driftwood log to sit on, so we did just that. Scott and i sat and looked up at the moon and the ocean and just enjoyed being together for awhile. it was a really special moment. *swooon* We walked the path some more before turning back and walking back to our hotel. We went back to the room and finally went to sleep around 1:30 AM.
I mean, Seriously. These pictures don't begin to do it all justice.
After our walk, we went and had a lovely breakfast, and followed it with some time on the beach and in the water before the sun started to get too hot. notice that may of these pics were taken in the shade? the sun was so intense that i was wearing SPF 45 and tanned right through it even wilt multiple applications. After playing on the beach awhile, we decided to do some shopping and exploring at d*Talipapa, an open air market. Here is a terribly unflattering shot of me on the way up to d*talipapa- you can see the sign in the distance.
Here's a shot of a little corner of the market:
Here i am trying to not google too much over all the beautiful seashell jewelry. There was so much of it! The shopping in d*talipapa relied heavily on bargaining and negotiation, and Scott had a really good time with that! BTW- i am not super sweaty, i just thought putting my top on over a wet swimsuit would help me stay cool longer. :-)
After we shopped awhile, we headed back to the hotel for lunch, a short nap, and then more time in the water and on the beach. the sun was really intense, and so we didnt stay out on the beach for long at this point. we headed back to the pool where we could set Scott up safely under an umbrella and ordered a couple drinks while we lounged- this hotel has awesome Mango Shakes!
After pool time, we went down to the beach to enjoy the sunset, which was a really quiet and peaceful time. Then, we headed up to the room and showered and got prettied up for dinner. i don't have pictures, sadly, but i wore my new white halter maxidress with coral colored flowers, and scott wore a teal cabana shirt with tan linen pants. we looked awesome. Dinner was super yummy. :-) Later, we returned to MO2 and enjoyed the live music and fire dancers again. We went up to bed around 11:30 since it'd been a long day, but the party seemed to go on and on down at the beach! we could hear the music till 2AM!
