Wednesday Boat Trip (7/23/08)
Decided to go for a boat ride around Boracay, and to be honest I was a tad hesitate. Last summer when we were in Thailand we went on a boat trip that was a total disaster with me seasick with blood streaming down my leg from a cut on the coral watching Eva vomit over the side of the boat.
Hopefully, this year would go better!
I could expound at great length about the fiasco that negotiating a boat trip on Boracay entails, but it will suffice it to say it is a Third World encounter wrought with duplicity and scheming. Even Eva who is seasoned traveler to some of the more dubious parts of the world, found the experience embittering.
We eventually decided to not focus on the trivial amounts of money that were embezzled out of us at every turn, and instead just enjoy ourselves. We both decided that had we simply had been told honestly how much everything would cost in the beginning we would not have cared, since it was not a lot by American standards (a movie and popcorn in the US cost more than the whole trip, extortionate fees included.) It was the insult to our intelligence and deceitfulness that left a very bitter taste in our mouths
. But enough unpleasantness. It was actually a good time!
We first went with one of the crew to the market and procured food to be prepared later in the day on a small island off Boracay. The crew member was nice enough to carry all our many items free of charge!
This was actually helpful, since Eva, Gordon and Sonny purchased half the market, including prawn, clams, crabs and chicken.
When we finally cast off it was pleasing to discover that we the only 4 people on the boat which could have held about a dozen people. (Last summer when Eva and I got sick in front of strangers, it was very embarrassing!
) Our boat, Adrian, was a wooden out-rigger style boat with a crew of two. The captain, Danny, was friendly enough and spoke ok English. I don’t think his first-mate spoke at all the whole 3 hours, but was helpful and affable.

At first as we cruised along, we all simply took pictures and enjoyed the thrill of being on the water (and not being sick). Shortly it was time to stop and snorkel. Now anyone who knows me well, knows that there was no way I was going to snorkel, and Eva doesn’t even know how to swim, but Sonny and Gordon were quite enthusiastic about snorkeling. I used my official status as trip photographer to avoid going in the water, but eventually was shamed into swimming as even Eva donned a life vest an entered the water. Eva was quite funny as she would not let go of the boat out-riggers for a very long time after getting in the water. Taking to the water like a fish, I soon convinced Eva she could not sink in the 3+ meter water with a life vest on and she soon wandered from the boat. We had a good time and Eva tried her hand at a little snorkeling, but water leaked into her mask profusely. I used this time to discretely slip back on the boat, as there was no way I was going to snorkel!

A light rain was falling as we sailed to a small coral island of about 2 acres that I will call Lunch Island. There were maybe 6 or 7 small gazebos (made of bamboo) on the island for boaters to use, but luckily we were the only tourists on the island, so no annoying neighbors! Regardless of the light rain I took many pictures on Lunch Island while we waited for our ample food to be cooked and served. I shockingly noticed that Capt. Danny walked about the coral island with no shoes on! I could not even imagine the horror of attempting this feat, remembering how easily the coral in Thailand had lacerated my flesh last summer.





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