Early Christmas in Boracay

I just had an early Christmas in Boracay!  This trip was my Xmas present to myself  hahaha so I don't have a budget for my friends and family anymore!!!  I had a super dooper great time, even though it was cloudy and it drizzled occasionally.

The first time I dipped into the water, I looked up at the sky and said : Thank you, God!!!!  I was soooo happy and grateful because I was given the gift to enjoy my most favorite place on Earth.

The air was a bit chilly but the water was lukewarm.  As usual,  I had the ocean all to myself but at least, there were moments  I was not alone. 

When I saw some people swimming, I  gravitated towards them but I kept a polite distance.  Just enough that if something happens to me, they could call for help.

I stayed at a mid-budget hotel this time, Hey Jude Resort Hotel.

It is located inside D'mall, just a few meters away from Pancake House.  The room was big for the rate I paid, with 2 double beds. 

The bathroom was just ok, everything in plain white.  The breakfast, no big deal, one has a choice of American or Filipino breakfast.  No problem because I am on a "diet".  Even though I was on vacation, I  still tried to mind my diet.

My first meal in Boracay was at the D'Talipapa, their version of our Dampa.  I don't know why it's always my first stop.  I find the seafood in the market too expensive, tourist price.  But.... I wanted "Island food".

I just bought half a kilo of prawns, half of that cooked as Sinigang...

and the other half ... cooked as Tempura.  Hmmm I don't know what to call the shrimps but to me it wasn't tempura ... not even Camaron Rebosado .. but just plain fried shrimps with thousand island dip. 

I am in Tempura mode ... I just ate it before leaving for Boracay.... but when I have a craving ... I have to have it until I purge it out of my system.

So.... guess what I had for dinner?????  Yup... you guessed it right.  I ate at Hama Japanese Cuisine (D'Mall), same owner of Aria and Cafe del Sol  (Elizalde).

I had Miso soup.....

Pan-Fried Silken Tofu in warm tempura sauce....

and.... Tempura Salad with Ponzu dressing.  Their Tempura batter was a bit on the heavy side.

After dinner, I went back to my room and slept at 9:30 pm!!!! I was soooooooo tired because I woke up at 5:00 am so I could hear mass at 6:00 am at CSR.  It was the feast of the Immaculate Concepcion.  My next option was to attend mass at the Holy Rosary Church in Boracay ... but the mass schedule was at 4:30 pm, primetime swimming hour!

The trip from Kalibo to Boracay was too tiring.  I didn't book a Caticlan flight because it was very expensive.  PAL  did not have a promo so I had to pay the regular fare.  The bus ride was almost 2 hours!  Then the boat ride from Caticlan jetty port to Boracay only took about 12-15 minutes.  The waves were huge... hahaha  ... like jumping over an elephant.

The breakfast I chose the next day was Daing na Bangus with sunny side up egg and white rice.  It was enough for me... as I've said, nothing fancy but enough to appease my hunger.  Then it was swimming time (again) for me!!! 

The best buys I made for this trip were my Speedo rashguard, Speedo aqua shoes and Flojos flip flops with arch support!  I didn't get a sunburn.. I don't know if it was because I was wearing a rashguard with SPF50 and UVA protection or because the sun did not show up?

Speedo Black rashguard and aqua shoes

I walked all the way to Willy's Rock to have my mid morning snack at Jonah's Fruit Shakes. People always say you have to try the shakes.

Willy's Rock

Mango Melon shake and

Island Burger... there are times when I am in the mood for "Filipino" burgers ... perhaps like the ones from Hungry Hippo or Tropical??? 

The highlight of my Boracay trip this time was ..... hahahaha ... you wouldn't believe it... but it was ......

Tempura!!!!  At the Nagisa coffee shop of Surfside Resort, Station 3.  I had to walk about 3  kilometers just to reach the restaurant but it was worth it!!!

In my opinion ... it was the best Tempura I have ever eaten... tasted even better than my version!  The batter was so light and crisp... you can see what you are eating and not heavily coated.  When you bite into the vegetables, whether, okra, sitaw or squash .... you don't have to do a tug-o-war with them.  One order of Mixed Tempura only had 2 pieces of prawns, 1 piece of fish, 2 squid rings, 2 slices each of eggplant, carrot, squash, 2 pieces each of okra and sitaw.  It might not seem  enough but I was so full, I wasn't able to polish off the rest of the veggies!  And to think I had to walk about 45 minutes just to get to the resort. I always seem to lose weight whenever I'm in Boracay because of the amount of walking I had to do.
                                                     


A very satisfied customer!



My view while having lunch.

One of the reasons why I wanted to go back to Boracay was to try the Caesar Salad at Aria. 

I also tried the Mango Cheesecake... read from the blogs that it is one of the best sellers of Cafe del Sol. 

I'm not much of a cheesecake fan but I enjoyed my order .... was not too sweet and there were bits of fresh mangoes!

The next day when I woke up it was raining!  I just had Tapsilog at the roofdeck and was thinkingof  what to do.  I checked out the beach ... people were swimming already but I didn't feel like going into the water yet.  I've decided to hop on a tricycle and asked the driver to take me to Bulabog Beach ... just to see what it was like.  After a very short trip ... I was disappointed I didn't see any watersports activity and the beach on that side of the island wasn't beautiful.

I asked the Manong driver where else could we go and he suggested Mt. Luho.... the highest peak in the Boracay. 

I had an aerial view of Boracay...  bit cloudy, was not able to see Caticlan ... but it was still breath taking just the same.  Have I mentioned it was raining??? hahaha  I looked like a drowned cat in the pictures I am NOT posting!

My last meal before going home was at the Lemoni Cafe.  I just had a light lunch ... their version of Club sandwich - Foccacia with grilled chicken, shrimps, bacon with pesto mayo, lettuce and tomato.

 And I couldn't resist trying their Mango cookie.

I don't know why I love Boracay so much.  I thought of living there but when I rode the tricycle and went around the island ... I discovered that the place is prone to flooding, streets are too narrow and they have power outages every so often.  I don't mind visitng every quarter though... even if only for 3 days at a time...  just enough to refresh and rejuvinate... to destress ... to have a goal ... to have something to look forward to.

Boracay is my happy place.  I can't wait to go back!