WriteBrain

Published: Expat Travel & Lifestyle Magazine 2007

A gateway to earthly delights with a heavenly backdrop, it beckons people the world over to experience its splendor. Yet Boracay reserves its most enchanting self to the expats who call it home.

It is hailed as one of the best beaches in the world. Indeed, Boracay developed to be one of the more popular tourists’ destinations in the Philippines, drawing in a little over half a million international and domestic tourists last year.

With its sugar-white beaches and the crystalline, blue waters that surround it, this tiny, 7 kilometer long, dog-bone shaped island off the tip of the Western Visayas Region of the Philippines island fits everyone’s description of island paradise. Quandaries seem to lose their urgency as if blown away by the balmy tropical breeze.

At present, the image of Boracay as a serene island getaway is often over-shadowed by its burgeoning reputation as the ultimate summer party destination for city-dwellers. A sub-culture of tourists, encourage by the lower cost of transportation and clever marketing, is turning Boracay into a place of decadence and revelry, an island-style echo of their city night-life.

After the summer months much of the island reverts back to tranquility, a quiet reprieve until the next peak-season. If at first I thought it odd to plan a jaunt to Boracay in June, the tail end of summer when the rains start coming in, the scorching sun that greeted the instant I stepped out of the airplane quickly proved me ill-informed. Unbeknownst to first-time visitors such as I, the island surprisingly retains its summer-like weather even in the monsoon season. Even more surprising was the steady stream of tourists the island attracts all year round. I was told, in fact, that most returning vacationers precisely avoid the crowded summer months.

In the nearly deserted shoreline, everything takes on a life of its own; the warm sand rises up in soft swirls around my feet as I walked towards the lapping tide. The water is cool and inviting, without realizing it, I had stroked out, fifty yards or so. Lying on my back, I let the gentle swell of the waves lull me to utmost relaxation.

I was booked in Fridays Resort which rests at the northern end of the island. The cottages are situated around a charming fresh water swimming pool within a tropical garden setting around a beach courtyard. The bar and the 120-seat capacity restaurant had a gorgeous view of the beach. The place was designed with a distinctly native Filipino styling with all the modern amenities this hapless city girl simply cannot do without, air-conditioning, a mini-fridge and bar, DVD player, 27-inch cable TV and telephone. I stayed in one of the recently completed Premier rooms, conveniently located up the stairs from the swimming pool. It was a gorgeous, airy and circular, that came with a collosal bathroom with an elegant tub and showers facing large floor-to-ceiling windows. The private veranda also offered a marvelous seaside view.


If its Boracay. It must be Fridays. It’s not a tag-line they thought of on their own. It came from guests who sincerely had a wonderful stay. Without a doubt, I can’t imagine Boracay any other way. It’s got to be Fridays. The sand in Fridays beachfront is unlike the rest of the island. It’s considered to be the finest and cleanest in Boracay. Because it is at the northern end, guests can escape for some peace and quiet when the rest of the beachfront is on a frenzied partying mood. But if they want to partake of the festivities, all it takes is a short, beachside walk.

Like a postcard come to life, the place deserves all the hype that surrounds it. It’s not a mystery why foreigners –from diplomats to jet-setting tourists– are drawn to this little corner of the archipelago, and why some of them choose to make it their home.

Boracay grapples with modernization, striving to keep its unspoiled beauty that it is known for. Certainly, the burdens of commercialization do not outweigh its benefits. It opened the doorway for businesses, employment and a thriving tourism industry, and it also made island living for expats immensely convenient.

Aboard the small boat that would take me back to the airport in Caticlan, I looked on longingly for a final glimpse. Watching the island of Boracay get smaller and smaller as we drifted further away from it, I made a vow to return as soon as chance permits. The same vow, no doubt, made by many other tourists that went before me as they bid adieu to a most lasting vision of earthly paradise. Nowhere else can one so instantly overdose on breathtaking gorgeousness. And those who once having drank of such beauty never forget its taste.