Philippines International Convention: Boracay

Today we head to Boracay. We leave our hotel at 7:30 am by a taxi and head to the airport. The airport here is very different. It's actually easier than where we live but since we're not used to it - very confusing. We get to the domestic airport and it is a one story building that stands alone. We go through security 1st thing when we get in the bldg. But we didn't have to take our belts or shoes off . Then we check in at the right counter. We didn't know where to go next - but there was only one place to go and the security officers all pointed to the way to go. I felt really lost and like a tourist. And they didn't speak that well of English there. We then go around the corner and we have to go through security again. Weird. But again, it is very easy. Leave your shoes and belts on , put your bags through , ect. Then we get through and there are people sitting all over. There were 4 gates right next to each other and our ticket didn't say what gate we were supposed to wait at. We look at the tv and again, not sure what gate to wait at. Then we figure it out. They don't tell you the gate # until they are actually ready to board. So everyone just sits anywhere they want and have to really listen to any announcements made for when to board. John got his SIM card as we waited and I played Cut The Rope and bought some frozen hot chocolate at Seattle's Best Coffee Place. (It is interesting, when you don't feel the best a lot and feel lost - a place of familiarity is quite comforting ... Even if it isn't that great of a place at home. ) So finally we hear they are boarding our flight and instead of doing it in sections like at home - everyone lines up at once in front of the gate . But the line goes pretty quick. We board our plane and once we finally take off it is only a 45 minute flight. We get off the plane and again the airport is a tiny one story building. We are in a place called Kalibo and have to take a shuttle over to Boracay. Inside the airport it is crazy . People all have signs up with prices on them to take their mode of transportation. We call the sister that we are suppose to meet at Boracay and ask the info desk just to make sure we understood the sister correctly (she doesn't speak very good English). It is kinda hard to understand them even though they speak English some. So we take a van over to a shore on the other side and then have to take a boat to Boracay. We have no Idea how long it was going to take . No one really explained it to us. Haha. Just - 'you want to do?', 'Ok , go here' ect . LoL . So we get into our shuttle- it is a big van packed with 12 people and we are in the very back. Even though the AC was on we couldn't feel it in the back. I see road signs that say 60 km till where we need to be . How long is that ? John looks it up on his phone and it'll take about 1 1/2 hrs . Whaaat?! I didn't realize it'd be that long. We didn't eat lunch and it was about 11:00 am. So with not eating , the heat , the crazy driving and windy rds. - guess what happens, again? I get car sick. Ugh! Annoying ! Haha . The drive was really pretty though. Mountains in the background, and palm trees, and lots and lots of rice fields. We get to our destination and I'm so happy to get out of the back of that van. Then the sister is there to meet us. She knew it was us since we were wearing our badge cards. Her name is Lea. And we could barely understand each other . She is like 'ok , we go on boat now' . But I wasn't ready for that yet because of me feeling so sick. So I had to ask her where I could get bottled water and we needed lunch. We go to this junky fast food place where everything is smothered in sauce and very flavorful- which might be good if I wasn't recovering from car sickness. Haha. I get speghetti (oddly enough they had that) and was able to eat a couple bites. And I had Gatorade and lots of water. John had some barbecued chicken on kabobs and rice and coke of course :) . When we finish we go get our boat tickets , go through another security check and hop on a boat. That all would have been very confusing if we didn't have Lea with us. She was able to zip us right through everything. It's a cool looking boat . Probably holds about 30 people and has 2 rows to sit. I'll have to upload a pic cuz it's hard to describe. About 5 mins later we get to the other side. We don't know where we'd be without the sister with us. She talks to the people In Tagalog and then turns to us and says 'ok , we take this now' . After the boat , we take what they call a tricycle. A man with a motorbike and a side car that fits about 3-4 people. It was fun. We get to our hotel. And the sister is like - 'ok , you want to do sea sports now?' Well I need to take a nap 1st. She said she will come back when we are done. We rest for about an hour. And at about 4 pm we are ready to go, so we text her and she says to meet her in the lobby. We go down and she is already there sitting on the couch. We are pretty sure she was there the whole time. Sheesh. How nice! We felt bad. So we had no idea where she was going next for these 'sea sports' . There was a beach right outside our hotel but she went the opposite way and we got on another Tricycle. Apparently this is where we go for the tourist stuff. We decide to go helmet diving. It's a giant helmet that has air In it and we go under water with it - easier than real diving . We pay and then she walks down the beach and finds a guy with a boat and speaks to them in Tagalog. Then she says 'ok you go with them , I stay here and wait for you'. I feel so lost here . Haha. We get on a small motor boat and head for two pontoon type boats tied together (but made out of wood, like they do on the islands) in the middle of the ocean that have the helmets and oxygen tanks on them. We listen to our instructions and John lets me go 1st. The water was slightly chilly but not for long. It was kinda scary at 1st but once you realize there really is air in the helmets , your are ok and can focus on the beauty. It was really nice down there- seeing the reefs and the school of fish. We got to feed fish out of our hand. I touched one on the side. Haha. And the best part - I got to see NEMO ! Swimming in the Anenome ! Awesome. The tour guide took a lot of pics of us under water and gave us a cd so we are interested in what those look like. And if they are good- we will show you guys haha. We get out of the water after about 20 minutes and get back on the boat. The other boat gets us soon after that and we head back to the shore. There the sister is waiting for us and we head to get dinner. It was at an outdoor mall on the beach front . First she tried to take us to a 'new place' called 'Sbarro' but John rescued us and spoke up , "Is there anything nicer? We want to try something different since we have these in the States." He was nice about it. Then we go to this nice restaurant on the beach called, Epic. The food was good too. Maybe not epic, but probably the best food I had here yet. Then we head back to our hotel , but see a lot of cool things along the way - touristy vendors selling things, fancy decorated sand castles and even FIRE DANCERS! Pretty cool. Then we get back to the hotel at around 8 pm and go to bed soon after... man we feel like old fogies. But we were tired from the journey :)