31 years ago, Michael Caine discovered Boracay Island

(continuation)

“Too Late the Hero,” a World War II movie which Caine

co-starred with the late American actor, Cliff Robertson

and the late Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune and released

in 1970, was shot partly on the airstrip in Caticlan on the

mainland and in the still pristine island of Boracay. The

second wave of Hollywood luminaries that set foot on

Boracay came in 1975, when the voluptuous Italian

actress, Gina Lollobrigida, came for a two-day visit.

But it was not these foreign superstars who exposed

Boracay’s beauty to the rest of the world. It was puka

shells that abound in its northern coastline, which did it.

Because of its unique shape, these seashells, battered by

waves against the coral reefs for ages, became a major

fashion accessory in the early 1970s, right after the

discovery by an American visitor who fashioned them into

necklaces and bracelets.

Soon, Boracay’s puka shell necklaces found their way into

tiny tourist shops in Hawaii to as far away as Puerto Rico

where they sold like hot cakes. A couple of Hollywood

celebrities who made fashion statements of puka shells

were Elizabeth Taylor and the late Frank Sinatra, whose

cover photos in well-known US magazines showed them

wearing the remnants of Boracay’s unique sea shells.

Then came a group of intrepid European trailblazers, the

so-called “backpackers” that set foot on the island in the

mid-1970s. They were the ones who triangulated a

“backpacker route” that became popular among foreign

tourists up to now. The so-called “Asian Backpacker

Triangle” starts from the city of Chiang Mai in northern

Thailand to the mountain resort town of Sagada in the

Mountain Province in northern Philippines. From the Luzon

highlands, it goes down to sunny Boracay and then on to

Bali in Indonesia.

By the late 1970s, Boracay became a byword among

foreign sun worshippers who came in droves on board

motorized outriggers. True to its legend, many foreigners

who are repeat visitors swear to the island’s magical

charm. In mid-1996, Boracay’s undulating northeastern

coastline began to undergo a drastic change. On what

used to be a 58-hectare wide swath of shrubs and old

balete trees it has evolved into what is now called

Newcoast Town Center, an 18-hole par 72 golf course

called Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf and Country

Club.

The R6-billion project of the Fil-Estate Group, comprising

almost 11 percent of the island’s total and area of 1,083

hectares, created not only a theme park like golf course,

but a modern community as well. Newcoast will have

hotels and luxury resort villas (some of which are ready

for occupancy now) to be managed by ITT Sheraton.

To minimize earth movement, Graham Marsh, the

renowned Australian golf course designer, made use of

the natural terrain of the area to take advantage of the

scenic view of the Sibuyan Sea. Covering three valleys,

the 18-hole golf course has unique features not found in

the other 70 golf courses nationwide.

Like a theme park, it has lakes, streams and waterfalls

created by Living Waters USA, the same firm that also

made the unique water features of various world class

theme parks in America.

“At No. 2 tee, for example, there is a cascading

waterfall,” explains Roger Adriatico, an official of

Fil-Estate Group’s public affairs division who invited a

select group of media men during the chairman’s cup golf

tournament recently. “The second (waterfall) is on the

ninth green,” adds Adriatico who is also an avid golfer.

“What’s more, when you take the golf car, you’ll go

through a 15-yard tunnel underneath a 50-foot waterfall

on the east side of the 9th hole.”

With its new world class golf course and modern resort

town shaping up, together with more than 300 resort

hotels, restaurants, shops and recreational facilities

(including its own FM radio station), Boracay has evolved

into an urbanized island community. Now, the glitter of

the “Pearl of the Pacific” is finally shining through.