BORACAY ISLAND - It’s more than the white beaches

BORACAY ISLAND, Malay, Aklan – A curt announcement of the aircraft captain jolted me from my day-dreaming: “We are now approaching the beautiful Island of Boracay!.’’ Almost everybody excitedly looked out of the window as our 50-seater plane, a DASH-7 of the Asian Spirit started to reduce its speed and begun to glide down over a group of island to prepare for landing in one of them.

The sight below my feet was breathtaking. An endless ribbon of white beaches separates the tree-covered mountaneous islands from the waters that surrounded them.

I have been to many islands in the Philippines and even in Southeast Asia but Boracay really stands out because its beaches are gleaming white even from the air. Our pilots expertly landed our plane at a small airport in Caticlan in this town where Asian Spirit’s 50-seater DSH-7 and 40-seater CN235 planes fly 10 times a day. Smaller SeaAir and other chartered planes also unload tourist passengers here from Manila. Bigger planes of PAL, Air Phils. and Cebu Pacific that farry tourists to the island land at the Kalibo airport, an hour and a half bus ride to Caticlan for the crossing.

It was my first time to Boracay Island. The waters that surround it are blue-green and crystal clear indeed asIhave heard and read it many times back home. Aswe cross the channel I could see the seafloor in some areas and the fishes that playfully moved around.

After15-minute boat ride from Caticlan port I stepped into the beach of Boracay barefooted. I thought people or even writers exaggerate everytime they describe it as “powdery-like’’ white beaches. Now I know it’s true. As I moved around the beach as if in slow motiom I found the sand pleasant to my feet.

For two consecutive years in the late 1990s this butterfly-shaped island, 8 kilometers long by three kilometers wide, was declared by the London-based BMW Tropical Beach Handbook, Harper’s and Queen Magazine to have the best beach in the world.

After checking in at the Boracay Regency Resort, the only AAA-rated establishment along Boracay strip, we started to explore the island.

Along its narrow sand-street that runs parallel to the 7-kilometer long white beaches, tourists of different nationalities and locals wandered around in their slippers or barefooted wearing only shorts, two piece suits or wrapped-around that showed much of the top.

Hotel of various categories, restaurants, canteens, coffee shops, Internet cafes and dry-goods booths selling batik sarong, colorful anklets, beaded jewelry, slippers, hats, shirts and even lamps stand side by side along the strip fronting the beach.

These items are enormous at the famous talipapa (flea market) located between Stations 2 and 3. Station 1 is at the northern part of the island.

Another place we visited is the more sophisticated D’Mall located near the boat station 2, where prices are a little bit higher because of better quality of the merchandise.

Vendors also stop you to sell their wares, such as cheap or is it fake wristwatches, shell and pearl beads. Some offer their services: massage on the beach or in your hotel suites for as low as R250 per hour and tatoos (permanent or temporary); boating around Boracay for R300 per passenger with three stopover: Crocodile island, Crystal Cove and Puka beach.