Valentines at Boracay – and a Marriage Proposal

Valentines is coming up so time for a trip.  It is the one year anniversary of me arriving in the Philippines and of meeting Melane.  So I want to go back to Boracay.  There are still a lot of places to visit here in the Philippines, but I love Boracay!  And since it is our anniversary I think I will surprise her with a marriage proposal. 

Thursday 13FEB14

After a 6 hour bus ride and a 15 minute boat ride we are here.  Just in time for lunch!  We wander around D’Mall and end up at Ole, a Mexican/Cuban joint.  I was asking about the Friday night fajita bar that I read about online but the waitress had never heard of it.  We decided to stay for lunch just to try the place out. I ordered a Cuban sandwich. I remember enjoying it well enough but now, 4 days later, can’t remember what was in it.  So not bad but forgettable. Melane ordered chicken curry which was OK.  It was mediocre food at mediocre prices – so not bad.  Just not great.

Last time we stayed down at Station 3, which is the quieter end of the beach.  But we ended up walking to Station 2 a lot since that is where most of the action is.  So this time we opted to try a Station 2 hotel and hope it is not too loud.  The Seabird Resort does not have beach access but has only one hotel between it and the beach.  And it is right next door to D’Mall – where tons of shopping & restaurants are.  We were happy with the hotel.  The staff was friendly, the food was pretty good, the bed was comfortable, and the aircon worked.   That is all I need.  The layout reminds me of a dive hotel.  Dive as in Scuba… We were a quick walk from the beach.  And close to everything – but the room was quiet. Anyway not much to say about the place.  It was a nice enough hotel, I would be happy to go back there again.  

We probably had dinner somewhere… I do not remember.

If you have never been here let me explain.  the boat stations are no longer used – they used to drop you off at the stations (so I have been told but it was before my time).  Now all the boats go to the jetty but the terms are still used. So everything is in Station 1, Station 2 etc. It just helps you know what part of the beach something is at. Station 1 tends to be higher priced luxury joints, Station 2 medium priced but has more bars & restaurants. As well as D’Mall, the main touristy shops. Station 3 is a quieter section, medium priced.

Friday 14FEB14

Today is the big day!  Yep the glass bottom boat tour.  Melane has never been on a glass bottom boat and I thought she would enjoy it.  And it will give me a good time to go snorkeling.   It was a pretty good trip.  Most of the coral is in pretty bad shape but there are so many tourists, and boats, I am surprised there is any coral still living.  Lots of cool fish, so the snorkeling was fun.

Oh yeah, today is also the day I am asking her to marry me.  I think that is what made it a big day…  We wander around looking for a good place for dinner.  End up at one of the beachfront hotels for a buffet.  I picked a table inside with the best lighting I could find.  But it was a bit noisy so the sound on the video was terrible.  Bummer.  I made a gift certificate for a wedding ring set and folded it up into a ring.  So I presented her with a paper ring.  The sound is horrible but I will post the video anyway.  It wasn’t like I could do multiple takes. A proposal is kind of a one shot deal.  I told her I was setting a timer for a picture and then knelt down and gave her the ring.  And not to spoil the ending – but she said yes.  And in case you are wondering the food was pretty dry and bland. I would expect more for a p500 buffet ($12 USD each).

 Maybe I was nervous at dinner and did not eat enough.  About an hour after we ate I was starving!  So much for an all you can eat buffet, huh?  So I went to Jammers.  A 24 hour burger joint right on the beach.  I got tacos and they were quite good.  The Filipino spin on Mexican food usually leaves a lot to be desired – but these were actually good.  Fresh veggies, good spice on the meat, and real cheese. The hot sauce was actually too hot to eat, which never happens here!

Saturday 15FEB14

Today went swimming at Williy’s Rock.  It is just a volcanic rock with an idol at the top.  But somehow it is really fun.  We went at low tide and were able to walk around the entire thing, and climb up into sections that would be underwater at high tide.  Great photo ops – it is the header pic for my blog BTW.

For dinner I wanted to go to a tapas bar. I did not read any reviews before going to Dos Mestizos. I read about the Saturday night tapas bar and live music on a Boracay blog and just had to try it out.  Never having tapas before I cannot compare it to other tapas but this was one of the best meals I have ever eaten!  They had, I think, about 14 dishes out.  Somehow the stand out dish was the baked macaroni?! I don’t know… but it was incredible.  Wonderful liver pate. I hate tuna but they had a tuna on tomato that was very good. A nice kabob, seasoned exceptionally.  They had clams & mussels but neither of us ate any, but they seemed popular with every other table.   And they have a pretty good Mojito too!  There are a lot of buffet choices in Boracay but this is number 1, without a doubt. The buffet was p750, and with drinks it was just under p2,000 (about $45 USD). Pretty expensive for a Philippines dinner.  Not too expensive for a Boracay dinner.  And the food was so good I can’t wait to go back!

Well it was another great Boracay trip.  We did some shopping, drinking,  swimming, got engaged, you know – an average weekend in Boracay!