My family lives on the island of Panay. It's the big island adjacent to Boracay, now a destination for mostly European tourists looking for cheap living in the gorgeous squalor of a tropical paradise. From my hometown in La Paz, Iloilo, it is a tiring five- to six-hour trip by crowded jeepney, dusty bus or air-conditioned hired car. Tourists can fly directly to the island from Manila, less than two hours by plane.Boracay is famous for its fine, white sand, not like the vaunted beaches of the French and Italian Riviera covered with gravel. White Beach is the main area that most people first see of the island after arriving from mainland Aklan by pump boat. The harbor is better now. Passengers walk down the gangplank instead of jumping into the water to get to dry land.
By day there is wind-surfing, swimming in the often shallow water so clear you can see down to the sand below. Beach chairs and cabins can be rented and you can spend the day just people-watching. Better yet, hire a two-rigger and circumnavigate the island to find your own private cove or beach. There are other smaller islands like Carabao Island for exploring underwater caves and cliffs overlooking the South China Sea.
White Beach is lined with typical touristy cabins behind coconut groves and hibiscus shrubs but slowly big hotels are taking over the prime areas. At night torches light restaurant after restaurant with surf side tables overflowing with the sea's bounty and, of course, lechón, the Filipino version of roast whole suckling pig. There are souvenir shops galore and Internet cafes.
Many German and Swiss men have married local girls and themselves gone native. Of a morning I follow my nose and wend my way through the narrow paths most tourists don't even notice to fresh-baked baguettes and other crusty European breads the expatriates often sell right off their porches while their children play barefoot under the houses, dark as the native kids. Life in paradise is sweet!
No comments:
Post a Comment