Absolute, unabated tranquility. A warm breeze lazily pushes its way through the palm tree canopy. Perched on a soft cushioned couch my feet explore the smooth contours of the lacquered bamboo floor. The subtle, humid moisture clinging to my arms and chest is not at all unpleasant. Like the rest of our quaint island bungalow, the veranda is assembled from dark timber, woven bamboo lattice, or thatched palm fronds. A few yards away I can see Steve, the Australian owner of this secluded get-away, sipping a beer at the bar. The compound is situated amongst vibrant tropical flowers and exotic foliage. The man made structures here have little impact on the natural setting, managing to harmoniously coexist. It's funny how only five months ago I was depressed and jobless, when now, exploring beaches most people only see on the Travel Channel with the most beautiful woman in the world, I can't remember ever being happier.
Tuesday night I made my way out to Incheon airport to pick up Rachael. I really didn't know what to expect because I hadn't seen her in over three months. Would she look different? Would we have anything to talk about? As soon as she walked through the gate smiles broke out on both of our faces and we rushed into each others arms. The moment was the the polar opposite of the last time I saw her, a cold rainy farewell outside of the Philadelphia Airport. We ended up having so much to talk about and I recall thinking that being Rachael's boyfriend was like riding a bike. It was a little strange to see each other in the flesh after such a long period. Rachael described it best when she said it was like seeing a 3D representation of a picture you've been staring at for months.
Back at my apartment I made Kimbap while Rachael got a shower because she smelled like a shoe. She went right to sleep because she'd been up for 20 odd hours. The next day we got some coffee and hiked Chilbo Mountain. Upon arriving at the top we saw a Huey helicopter climbing from the valley below. It was hauling a cargo of railroad ties from it's belly to be dropped at the radio station on the summit. The powerful rotor craft was an awesome sight maneuvering less than 50 yards from our vantage point and I cursed myself for not bringing my camera. Later we grabbed a quick lunch with my homie Jared Dubbs because he had yet to meet the hot girlfriend I keep bragging about and because he's leaving Korea for good to pursue other ESL opportunities. Jared, thanks for introducing me around Topdong. I'd be friendless in Korea without you. I wish you the best with your Hong Kong adventures. May our separate paths in life, whatever they may be, cross one day soon.
At 9:30 p.m. Rachael and I were back aboard an Airbus A320 for Manila. Pretty standard 3 hour flight that we passed watching Super Bad. There was a 7 hour layover in Manila. I managed a spotty sleep on the floor of the terminal while Rachael stretched out on a bench. At 7 a.m. we were escorted out to the tarmac to get on board a little turbo-prop island hopper.
I was pretty tired of traveling at this point but really had no right to complain. Rachael had been on jets and buses for going on 40 hours. We were originally supposed to land in Caticlan, which is only a 20 minute boat ride from Boracay, but instead we had to land in Kalibo. The reason for this being that a plane had an "unbalanced landing (nice way of saying it crashed)" in Caticlan and the airport was closed. From Kalibo we had a 2 hour ride in a cramped minivan with 12 other vacationers. The van brought us to Caticlan Port Jetty, where we boarded one of many colorful outrigger boats. The boat ride to the island was a bit turmulous and there were points when we wondered whether or not the homemade outrigger would stay in one piece. Upon landing on Boracay we jumped in the back of a little truck and made our way to Station 1. There is a ton of little buildings at the drop off point so instead of wandering around aimlessly I paid a local 300 pesos to carry a bag and take us to Frendz Hostel.We showered and ate lunch before heading to the western beach. The path through palm covered and vibrant villages broke onto bright, white sand leading down to the water. Many locals lounged worry free on rocky outcrops or at beach side drinking spots. We walked along the shore passing hundreds of the little outriggers, some floating a few yards out in the water, others being constructed on the beach, and still other just rotting wooden hulls left in tropical grasses.
Many times we'd pass a mangy little dog, who having his own stratagem in the works, showed a complete lack of interest in us. A quarter mile past where the outriggers littered the shore we found a gorgeous little cove that lay all but abandoned, save for the odd Filipino sleeping under a tree. We went for an unforgettable swim and took a ton of pictures.
Later in the afternoon we explored the eastern beach. It is completely opposite from the western shore in that it boasts wild waves and fierce winds. This is where kite surfers come to fly and do tricks. The sand here is soft and jelly-like as it sinks between your toes and the waves are perfect for a little body surfing.Eventually we got cleaned up for the night and went to dinner. Almost every bar here has a Buy One Get One happy hour from 4-7 p.m. For two rounds of cocktails and a large pizza we paid about $6 U.S. We had a few more beers with the owner of Frendz and some European tourists before calling it an early night. Plenty of awesome beaches and adventures yet to come but the Internet connection here is shoddy (it's takes about 20 minutes to upload a single picture) and...well...I'm on vacation. So while I'll try my best to update the blog, I may just wait till we get back to Korea to publish a really long entry.
Cool Thing About the Korea #23: It's close geographical proximity to The Philippines
That sounds like a great time. The photos are really good.
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