Waking up on one of the beautiful islands in the Philippines is a memory I've made sure I'll remember. Every time I visit the beach, I take a picture memory. I'm not talking about eidetic memory.
A picture memory is a picture I take in my mind when I'm really, really happy. I close my eyes and take a picture, so when I'm feeling sad or scared or lonely, I can look at my picture memories.
This pensive thought came from a first-grader. Yes, I'm quoting a first-grader from Brene Brown's book, Daring Greatly. The little girl's name is Ellen--she's the author's daughter.
I didn't know I was doing a picture memory then, but Ellen somehow described what I was doing minutes after the picture below was taken by my friend on an early Sunday morning from the second level of the Starbucks coffee shop by the beachfront.
Morning coffee and a close-to-empty beach---that may be the best combination for a lot of people. But I skipped coffee because I'm just not a coffee kind of gal (no hate, please 馃槅). So, while the rest of my friends enjoyed coffee inside Starbucks, I had some alone time by the beach to just be in the present. An introvert's energy pill--the "me time". I was thinking, how could I bring this home? The fresh air, the sound of sea waves, and the fine sand. Picture memory, it is.
I guess some other travelers feel that way. I always have a premature habit of missing the beach even when I'm still at the beach. You know, that fast-forward thinking: I'm going to miss this when I leave.
It's the start of Day 2 and I'm already feeling nostalgic. Too much me-time. 馃槄
After we all had our morning energy fix from the coffee and alone time, it's time to enjoy frolicking on the island. While waiting for our boat that'll take us to the other side of Boracay, we had some free time to take beautiful snapshots with nature.
Early mornings after sunrise will always be my favorite time with any beach I go to. It feels like a brand new day. As if the tide has archived everything that happened the day before into the deeper parts of the sea. On the next day, the sea is generous to take in fresh memories once again.
The Puka Shell Beach is named after the shells with holes at their center that comprises the coarser seashore compared to the finer sand of White Beach where tourists reside.
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As soon as the boat reaches the shores of Puka Shell Beach, locals will greet you by putting an anklet around your ankle. I was caught off guard at first because it looked like the lady was about to do a deep bow which was confusing. When I realized she just gave me a gift, I was pleasantly surprised by the unique greeting. Instead of Hawaiian leis, in Puka Shell beach, you get an anklet. I still wear it to this day, which reminds me--it's already a year old. Aside from the picture memory, I got a "beach-warming" gift, too.
There are no hotels and restaurants in Puka Shell Beach. Hence, it felt more exclusive because it doesn't hold that much crowd. We had lunch in what looked like a cafeteria courtesy of the boat organizers. After a fulfilling lunch, all we did was swim, laugh, and take snapshots. There are no water activities either because the wind direction was not favorable in our location.
After a short while, we left the island because it was getting too hot anyway. But before we returned to the White Beach, we stopped somewhere in the middle of the sea for some snorkelling where we saw different shapes, sizes, and lively colors of fish swimming around the coral reefs.
Back at the White Beach, we were looking for some water action after spending most of the time idly swimming.
There are a lot of water activities offered by locals. There's parasailing, banana boat, helmet diving, wakeboarding, etc. We settled in for the UFO ride because it looked like a fun group activity where we could see each other's faces. Also, the maximum capacity for each ride is 6 pax -- PERFECT!
When we started loading into the UFO boat, I got all panicky when I realized there were no seatbelts. We only had to hold on for dear life onto the handles. Even though we hade lifejackets on, it was still thrilling to think about the possibility of getting thrown off the boat during the bumpy ride.
We got the action that we were looking for, after all. We were all hilariously disoriented as we kept bouncing up and down, and swinging sideways. All in good fun especially when we could see the mix of struggle and the joy of laughter in each other's faces.
The UFO boat was attached to the jet ski. When we got the hang of it, we signaled the driver to do more sharp turns. Another bout of screams and laughter followed suit.
Luckily, every one of us remained intact after the ride. But we were all a tangle of limbs by the end. The whole ride lasted 15 minutes, but it felt longer. Overall, we were satisfied with the activity despite the slight muscle aches.
After what felt like a strenuous group activity, chilling by the beach at twilight was the best way to relax. Compared to the almost-empty seascape in the early mornings, silhouettes of people and sailboats decorate the view. I sat contented on the scarf that I laid out on top of the sand. It felt like a good time to read a book, but I didn't bring one because I know I'll be preoccupied when I travel with friends. So, we just sat there people watching until the Sun called it a day.
For our last dinner on the island, we were invited to a free dinner buffet by a 4-star hotel with a good location by the beachfront. What's the catch? We'll have to listen to a sales presentation. Doesn't sound so bad, so we took the bullet.
Aside from the acoustic band, there was also a cultural dance featuring Philippines' national costume - baro't saya and barong tagalog. We had a good time, especially when there were so many desserts to taste!
After dinner, we were shown a tour of the hotel facilities. Their amenities were quite impressive. My favorite was the modern style of furniture.
However, our experience went downhill from there when we were unfortunate to listen to a pushy salesman. We listened to his presentation, but frankly, I guessed we were just not the right audience. The offers he gave did not match our needs or wants. So, we felt trapped in the situation as we politely went through with the excruciating process. What makes it bearable is having to go through it with friends. After the whole ordeal, we felt closer than ever. lol.
Despite this, we did not take the bad experience to heart. When we were in the clear already, we talked about our collective struggles and just laughed it off. Just let the tide archive it into the deep trenches of the sea.
That was my goodbye to Boracay. The next day, we left the island early on a rainy morning to catch our flight back to Manila. Back to the bustling city again. But with the picture memories, the puka shell anklet, and the tiny sand bottle souvenirs, I'll always have a vivid memory of Boracay.
It took me more than 10 years to visit Boracay again. I hope it wouldn't take that long until we meet again. Until then, keep the memories for me, Boracay 馃槏
Here's an amateur montage I've made out of our short video clips. I hope you enjoy it! (I'll do better with my shaky hands, haha).
Shout out to 
鈻讹笍 3Speak
Check out Part 1 of The Boracay Island Vibes series.
