Christmas on the beach
Trip Start
Dec 24, 2011
1
2
Trip End
Dec 31, 2011
Where I stayed
Morning Beach Resort
What I did
snorkeling
Boracay, Visayas, Philippines
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Our hotel was very basic; we shared our room with a few ants, geckos, and mosquitos. But when the beach is 10 meters from your door, one does not spend too much time in the hotel room.
The first 2 days it rained and it was very windy. Janice did warn us that we were visiting during stormy season. It was warm and humid enough to walk the length of White Beach afew times, but not quite warm enough for me to be in the water and lay out on the beach. Didn't stop me having a swim, though.
We walked in the rain, and I took many photos. When we walked as far as we could up White Beach and around the rocks, we headed back inland along the road. I took photos of the housing and people. I loved the big banana leaf trees and the palm trees. The electrical wires were overgrown with creepers, as were the electrical boxes. I liked seeing the conveniences stands along the road displaying their fruits for sale.
It was surprising how small the island is. Only 1km in width, with one main road down the center. We walked around half the island in those few hours.
We ate so well during that week. All the efforts of sweating out workout routines were quickly demolished with a few dinner buffets. Our breakfasting and lunches were small and light due to the heat of the day. Our dinner was our main meal. An all-you-can-eat buffet with limitless ice tea worked out to be around $6 each. Wow. We supped like kings. The lumpia and pork adobo... The make-your-own pansit and crabs. The sweet chilli clams and the bbq shrimp on a stick. The fresh fish and steamed vegetables. The salads and dressings. The soup and bread. Did I mention how delicious it all was?! It was great to walk along the beach listening to the different restaurants playing music after our sumptuous meals. I don't think I could ever get tired of being by the beach. Listening to the sound of the waves, and sitting on the sand with your feet in the water.
The moon was full over two nights we were there, and it was beautiful to see its reflection in the water. I love to be outside at night and it still be marginally cooler than the day.
The first two days were cooler than expected and I was actually cold laying out on the beach. The water was too cold to swim in. For the briefest of seconds I was wishing I had gone further south to somewhere like Malaysia or Indonesia where there are no stormy seasons. It rained and stormed and was very windy. The rest of the week was beautifully hot and humid. So hot in fact, that Zeus got quite bad sunburn and had to have two days retreating in the shade. The water was still at a cool enoguh temperature to refresh one's self in after soaking up enough sun. I presume in the height of summer, however, it would be much more tepid.
The sunsets were truly glorious. We saw many artists' paintings of beautifully rich colored sunsets, and I presumed the colors were exaggerated.
I took soooo many photos, and Zeus was so patient waiting for me. Like, really patient; when someone stops every 2 seconds to take a photo of the same thing, it must be love for you to wait on them.
The one evening I had a nice full body massage on the beach and I persuaded Zeus to get a foot massage, which he did enjoy.
I did more shopping than I intended to, which was none. The dresses were so cheap, as was the jewelry, one couldn't help but be swayed. We went into one European food shop, and it was truely mouthwatering to see the selection of cheeses and cold meats laid out. All the familiar treats I had growing up in Germany were very tempting. Most of them covered in chocolate, which would have melted out of a/c or a fridge anyway.
