The waters of Boracay were amazing. Clear, blue, and beautiful. White Beach, the most popular on the island and where most of the hotels are located, is a long, long, stretch of the softest white sand imaginable. Besides the people, it was lovely.
Fresh spider lobster. We've seen these in the sea living, it was hard to see this one dead. :(
The sunsets were amazing from the rooftop at the hotel we stayed at, the Lingganay.
The boatman for the shuttle boat to the para-sailing boat took Laine and my photo. The para-sailing was really scary, but really fun, too. The scariest thing was that when the wind gusted it buffeted us around. I didn't like that much. Especially, after Laine commented on how high up we were and that if we fell it would be like landing on concrete!
Para-sailing - look how high we are! The boat was a tiny speck!
I bought Laine this custom painted Nemo t-shirt. Sometimes, I forget she's not 5 any longer. Nice Nemo face, Laine!
Laine and Van reading a book on the rooftop as the sun slowly sinks into the horizon.
The view of our hotel's pool and the beautiful sea beyond. We watched kite boarders from the pool. The hotel was on a hilltop on the south end of the island, away from the busy beach, and with beautiful views in all directions.
Local map of Boracay. It's about 7 km long. Not very big, but very busy during the peak holiday season.
Laine and Van at Willy's Rock on White Beach. Willy's is a shrine to Virgin Mary. It was early in the morning our first day and if we had been there four hours later (when the island woke up after a late night of partying) you'd be hard pressed to get a photo without a bunch of people in it.
Laine talked us into opening her presents about 10 minutes after we arrived. She loves to open presents. It was fun. We opened them right away and had a blast doing it. Of course, it made Christmas morning a little anticlimactic.
Sunset and para-sailing. I bet the people on board had a beautiful view if they were afraid to turn around and look.
We rented scooters on Christmas morning. I had a wee wreck first thing and didn't get on them the rest of the trip, but Laine and Van had a fantastic time!
The Briggs Family sand castle on Christmas Day. I didn't help too much due to the amount of Margaritas I had consumed and the pain from my scooter wreck injuries.
Laine's most excellent bandage and the medicine that worked better than iodine.
Storm on the way, but amazingly it never rained. The colors were a beautiful contrast. White beach, blue water, and dark clouds. The island where it is raining is Caticlan (where the closest airport to Boracay is).
There was no lack of exciting activities. Here Laine smiles after her Zip Line ride. There were two lines and we were supposed to go together, but my harness got held up at the top and she went first without me. It was a screaming good time!
White Beach and a local boat. Beautiful.
Another beautiful sunset from the rooftop of our hotel looking towards White Beach.
This local boy gave Van the "thumbs up" on his curly locks - much like his, only a little lighter in color.
A local sailboat on Puka Beach. Laine and Van took a short sail on it. Puka Beach is on the north end of the island, more remote, and certainly not as crowded.
The view from our hotel balcony looking towards the kite surfing beach and the north part of the island.
White Beach from the boardwalk looking towards the water.
View from our hotel balcony looking south towards Caticlan Island. The small island with the white sand beach is called Crystal Cove and you can rent it for weddings and special events.
White Beach at sunset.
We took a day excursion to Ariel's Point. About an hour's rough sail from White Beach. It's a cliff diving/jumping paradise. Laine and Van were the jumpers of the day. I took the day off from screaming!
Christmas decorations at the Shangri-La Resort. We ate there for Christmas dinner and the buffet was amazing. We also tried their Italian restaurant one night and it was really good, too. It was an amazing resort. I wished we could have stayed there, but they were full when I was making reservations.
Van and I at the end of the Zip Line.
During the trip, both Laine and Van came down with food poisoning or some kind of virus and both had a doctor house call complete with IVs. That kept us pretty low key for a couple of days, but we made up for it when they were both feeling better.
It was so good to see Laine for Christmas, but we all wished Joe and Blair could have been with us. Family at Christmas is a really wonderful thing. It really made me miss my own family. I hope you and your families had as much fun as we did. After almost two and a half years in tropical climates, a little snow and a fireplace have a certain appeal to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment