A Little Off-Track - Boracay

This post is a “little” off-track. The truth is, it’s the rainy season here in the Philippines … not biking weather. Not for me, anyway. So we went off to Boracay. Well, most people would say it’s not Boracay weather, either. To go to a beach regularly voted among the top five white sand beaches in the world … during a typhoon? Well, we were hungry for sand and sea and the hotel was giving a good promo so we trusted in our luck and went.

A Look Back

Biking around Boracay, 1992

Boracay had developed and changed yet again. The first time I went, in the early 90s, people got around on foot or on motorbikes, or making angkas (riding shotgun) on motorbikes … 2 to 3 people riding behind the driver. Most of the restaurants were nipa huts. Our first night there, we took taxi-motorbikes and hung on for dear life as the drivers roared down pitch black lanes by the light of one tiny headlight. We ate pizza made by an Italian beachcomber in a nipa hut. In those days, when we went to the beach, we usually brought our own food: precooked adobo or canned corned beef or marinated pork chop. But in Boracay, one could have not just pizza, but flambed crepes! It was different and exotic. We walked on the beach to get back to the hotel, by the light of the moon reflected on the sand.

One of the draws of Boracay in those days was the topless bathing. Whereas the foreigners were drawn by the white sand, Filipinos were drawn by the topless foreigners. There was a bit of a drug scene, as well, and a great party scene (still is). Bazurah disco, an open-air disco under coconut trees, and a bar/raft in the sea were legendary party places that, unfortunately, I never got to see.

On my next trip to Boracay, nipa huts were disappearing, and people no longer made angkas on bikes because the tricycles had arrived. Friday’s was still the best hotel, but there were many more lining the beach. And one, Pink Patio, had a swimming pool, climbing wall and a gym. I hated it! Too citified! On my next trip, there was more concrete, a 300-room hotel and – gasp, oh no! – a mall. Now, there’s glass and chrome and some cars, a ferris wheel, billboards and fast food. Sigh. The chain eateries from Manila have finally gotten a toehold, for ages the local government managed to keep them out. Pancake House, Gerry’s Grill and, of course, Starbucks are all in D’Mall (Yes, that’s the name of the mall.). Every new introduction is greeted with horror as the beginning of the end, but despite it all thank goodness, Boracay’s charm remains.

The runway and downtown Boracay in the early 90s


The main road, right by Willie's