Boracay (Part 1)

Me and my husband has celebrated our 10th year wedding anniversary last March 24, but since we were looking forward to our grand vacation in the Philippines come May, we decided to forego of any celebrations until we were in the Philippines. With the help of my friends, Red, Emm and Rommel, we booked a 3days/2nights accommodation at Alta Vista de Boracay.

This would be our first time in Boracay, the most sought-after beach destination in the Philippines. It has been voted as one of the best beaches in the world, and we were soon to experience it for ourselves. Despite the many blogs, reviews and pictures I have read, researched and looked at, I still didn't know exactly what to expect as we flew to Kalibo International Airport on May 24, 2011 via ZestAir.

Domestic flight from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila) to Kalibo International airport (Province of Aklan) via ZestAir

The flight to Kalibo from Manila took only 45 minutes. Upon entering the arrival area after walking in from the tarmac (sorry, no jetways here), we were greeted by quite a number of men clad in yellow shirts holding whiteboards with various names written on them. My husband spotted his name right away and we made our way to one of them. It was interesting to note that these men looked professional in their shirts that have their names and corresponding ID numbers written on them. It turned out that they were drivers of the different vans for the hotels in Boracay Island. I also spotted a kiosk of a private shuttle service for those who didn't make arrangements for transfers with their hotels.  If you're on a budget, you might want to consider this but be prepared for a longer wait as the shuttle service company would want to get as much passengers into the van before heading to the boat terminal.

Soon after, an Alta Vista de Boracay hotel representative (in maroon polo shirt, their uniform) met us and walked us to the coaster van that would bring us to the Caticlan Boat Terminal. He told us that there would be another hotel representative waiting for us there.

Our hotel arranged all our airport/hotel transfers.

The travel from the airport to the boat terminal took one hour. Being a first-timer in the province of Aklan, I tried not to doze off during the trip. I looked out the window and savored the rural sceneries that passed us by.  It was amazing to see locals whose houses were right along the virgin white sand beach of Aklan! What I would give to have that piece of land - my very own paradise right in my backyard!

A jeepney plying the Kalibo - Caticlan route. Judging by the passengers on the jeep's roof, I would guess that there weren't too many jeeps that ply the route.

I admit that I got real antsy on the way to the boat terminal. I soon realized that the road trip was longer than the actual flying time from Manila to Kalibo! Had I known, I would have chosen to fly via Caticlan Airport than through Kalibo International Airport (Ha! Lesson learned there!). I kept looking at the time and alas, our van stopped and parked across from the Caticlan Boat Terminal. Another Alta Vista de Boracay hotel representative greeted us, took our bags and asked us if we needed to freshen up and use the bathroom. We politely declined and  off we went to the terminal.  He stayed with us throughout the whole boat trip. While at the boat, he told us some information about the hotel and our accommodation. He said that when we dock, there would be another van that would shuttle us straight to the hotel.

En route to Boracay Island. Thankfully, the water was calm and we had a smooth sailing.

After 15 minutes, we docked off Boracay Island (yehey!). We were led to the hotel's van and off we went to our hotel. Upon arrival at the lobby, a throng of hotel staff greeted us. One of them gave us our welcome drinks of gulaman (jelly juice) that tasted really delish :) After checking in, a staff led us to our hotel room which was situated in one of the 11 buildings in the sprawling property of Alta Vista. Thankfully, it was the nearest building to the lobby. The receptionist also mentioned that we have the most beautiful view of the infinity pool from our room (made me think it was Arie's idea - thanks, Arie!).

The gulaman welcome drink was really delicious and refreshing.