Day 1 in Boraquay: Endless hours of travel...

This feels strangely backward, trying to review an entire week's vacation despite the fact that I kept a daily journal. The latest study in the NYTimes says that planning and anticipating your vacation gives you the most "happiness." Another finding is that the more relaxing your vacation, the more "happiness" you feel. Maybe I qualify under both conditions.



Day 1: A very long one indeed...



We booked our tickets very late, so our options were limited and made for a very long travel day. We were up at 4 AM and in the car by 5 AM. Taipei was strangely quiet with very little traffic, and the ride was actually enjoyable. We were in line before 6 AM, but we are all freezing this morning. Beach clothes and jackets were not appropriate for the low temperatures. We were in line until 7 AM...massive amounts of people leaving for the holiday this morning. Thank you, Kerri Vines, for the donuts! We are finally through security and walk straight on the plane for the 7:45 AM take-off that actually happened 30 minutes later as we waited for everyone to get through the multiple lines (see picture blog). Breakfast on the plane: Fried fish cubes on noodles...loved the fruit and coffee!

We are supposed to have 3 1/2 hours between planes in Manila. Our first line in Manila is immigration...another long hour wait Now we stand in line for "free" ride to the domestic terminal. People keep jumping the lines and getting into vans...we begin to understand that "baksheesh" is exchanging hands. We finally get into a van, and the driver demands 20 pesos from each passenger for the "free" ride. We struggle to oblige as no one has gotten any money exchanged as yet. As we pull away from another hour wait, the "free" bus pulls up behind us and loads up the remaining 3 passengers (see picture blog)!

We are finally in the domestic airport...very busy, very noisy, very dirty...as we wait another 45 minutes for the Zest Air prop plane to Koliba, the "gateway to Boraquay." When we land at Koliba, the luggage is kidnapped and carried to a bus where tip money is demanded. We are starting to learn how to play this game! We wait on the bus for anther 45 minutes for two more late arrivals (see picture blog.)

We begin the two hour trip over hill and dale to the boat dock. The houses and businesses are inches from the two lane highway. We drive from one side of the island to the other...bus driver honking all the way...around scooters, tuk-tuks, jitneys, small trucks and buses. We bounce our way from village to village through endless rice fields in various states of growth and harvests. I'm certain the water buffalo are signs of wealth for some farmers. One farmer rides his water buffalo across the highway just as the bus gets to his village.

We are finally at the jetty where we will board "outrigger" boats to Boraquay. Our "guide" must go to three windows to buy our tickets...the pier tax window, the environmental tax window, and, finally, the boat tax window. We load onto colorful boats with outriggers for balance. Life jackets hang above the seats, and we all put them one...Filipino boats having the reputation they do. A is especially nervous, but gets through the ride like a real trooper. It's only a short hop across the bay to our "final destination."

Section 1 of the island turns out to be the boat piers. We load into trucks with suitcases on the top. Section 2 is the heart of "downtown" and beach access. "D'Mall" may be the "cleanest" part of town, many small shops and peddlers, access to clean water...we must walk through D'Mall to get to the beach. Section 3 and our hotel, Alta Vista, is a 20 minute ride from D'Mall. We have now been traveling over 15 hours in order to get to paradise...7 adults and 8 kids (7 boys aged 17 to 8) and 1 girl (Good old A who always goes with the flow!...see picture blog).

We unload suitcases, "freshen up," and head for the dining room. The Alta Vista is really lovely (see picture blog). After two glasses of white wine, the bar runs out. We order our dinner...two end up with fish "fillets" that have heads and eyes that they cannot eat...another dinner is ordered, and, miraculously, white wine is now available, though quite warm from its ride up the hill. We ask for the bill, and it is a MESS! We each end up writing our orders on a napkin, using my mini-calculator, and paying from the napkin...poor, poor waitress, but really poor food! Remember, two free breakfasts come with each room, so we will have to be back to fill up 8 kids before our days begin. The end of a very long day....