on kalibo, boracay and traveling with a toddler in tow

when jude and i were deciding on what destination to take for this year's wedding anniversary, the island of boracay instantly came to mind. you see, we haven't been to this overrated tourist destination and we thought it's high time that we set foot on its white sand beach and see for ourselves how fine and powdery it is. it's like everyone had been to this place except for us! it always came as second choice for us then and it was only this year that we both longed for a boracay trip so that explains. =)

we stayed first in kalibo for one night before we took the ride going to caticlan. we were with iñigo, as usual, so we were very careful with our itinerary trying to have it toddler-friendly as much as possible. but as fate would have it typhoon "ineng" was still in the country last weekend and though it was heading north, the strong gusty winds enhanced the monsoon rain in the western visayas area, boracay included. and i tell you, it was RAINING all day in boracay. we just locked ourselves inside the room and killed time watching cable tv.

we would have been more adventurous and just ignore the rain and the possibility of getting wet if it hadn't been for iñigo. going on a trip with a baby, who's now a toddler, made a big difference on the way we travel... and the loads we need to carry, i must add. for this trip alone, jude had to bring the samsonite luggage and my expedition backpack to accommodate all the necessities (take note: we didn't bring anything unimportant) especially for iñigo, which includes the nebulizer apparatus. and i haven't mentioned the stroller yet which was another bitbitin for the poor daddy. good thing that we bought a lighter one because the graco stroller iñigo was using when he was still an infant is really a heavyweight.

oh well, that's the trade-off i guess for having a kid. we can't even go on an island-hopping or banana boating because that would be risky for us. and yes, we didn't swim nor take a stroll on that day we arrived in boracay because we can't take iñigo out in the rain.

but that was friday. fortunately for us, the weather went better the next morning so we were able to go to the beach after a brief stroll in d' mall. iñigo wasn't in his best mood as he was suffering from a bad cough. we just let him stay in his stroller which we parked along the beach as i read that sea breeze is the best saline solution to remedy a cough. true enough, iñigo's cough calmed down, which made jude to consider buying a beachfront property in batangas. feeling mucho dinero ang daddy! hehe.

we still had a nice time in bora despite the rain, which poured down again btw in the afternoon. jude ogled at the curves covered only by two-piece swimsuits while my eyes feasted on the goodies being sold in shops or by peddlers. i realized at the end of the trip that bora is more of a shopping haven to me than a beach paradise. hahaha! we've already been to honda bay in puerto princesa, el nido, panglao island, and coron and honestly speaking, boracay comes last in the list.

we stayed until sunday afternoon which gave us more time to enjoy the beach. for our meals btw, we survived in boracay because of andoks, goodah, and cindys'. isn't it obvious that we were in tipid mode? =P we only had a grand dinner last saturday night since it wasn't raining anymore and we felt that a bora trip isn't complete without a dine-out in one of its restos. we went as far as station 3 for the buffet dinner with a promo price of php 200 per head. i failed to get the name of the establishment but i left my seat disappointed because their foods were all ordinary to my palate.

talking about restos and foods, we enjoyed them more in kalibo city as we stayed there again sunday night to make ourselves in time for the early monday morning flight back to manila. if you'll get the chance to visit this city, which is famous for its ati-atihan festival every january, i recommend that you eat here:

- perfect combination, formerly known as mix n' match. we tried their baby back ribs and it's good! you can't believe its price because it's only php 100 per serving.

- peking house. this seems to be an old restaurant but i was really raving when the sinigang na hipon was served on our table--i counted the prawns and it's 10 pieces! =D i couldn't believe the prawns are that cheap in this city because i only paid php 95 for it. and mind you, it's delicioso too. with its name, this resto also serves good chinese food.

so okay... that's all for our 2nd wedding anniversary celebration. though we still cap it off last monday night with a nice dinner in paseo de roxas as jude insisted. SWEET!