The silence is broken only by the swish of the paddle. Suddenly the boat goes faster. Ah! Here’s what you’re looking for: a tree full of fireflies! You all decide to stop by the bank to bask in the beauty of these magnificent creatures. You can’t imagine where in the world they all come from in order to converge here.

Then another tree full of fireflies comes into view, and another and another. You keep on going northwards to see more and more trees full of fireflies. The darkness is illumined very gently – you imagine tiny pin lights. (Some cell phones give out more illumination). Yet the outlines of the treetops are visible against the sky.

You take out your flashlight and point it to the fireflies – you don’t see any within the orb of the flashlight. But of course! At a distance of a few feet, you don’t see the bodies of the insects. Turn off your flashlight and what you see in the dark are the lights that they emit.

You recline on the boat – wow! Millions of stars! Pin lights above you; pin lights in front of you; darkness all around. Can you be in a more magical place than this?

I was in this most magical place on January 16, 2008.

The following day, early morning, we went boating in Donsol Bay to see the whale sharks. I stayed in the boat but my friend Linda went down the water. A fellow snorkeler was able to take an underwater picture of the whale shark with Linda in the foreground. She was smaller that the mammoth’s fin!

There are more whale sharks now than previously because the waters in Donsol Bay were cleaned up as a result of typhoon Reming in 2006.

Interact with fireflies and whale sharks! Email sarabatan@yahoo.com  or call +39277512768. Edith Batalla

I think I’ve developed a new kind of phobia — being scared that summer will soon be over and I have not made the most out of it. So being the proactive person that I am, I have taken advantage of free and/or long weekends to soak in as much sun and swim in as much water. And I think I’ve been imposing myself on Mia too.

Just about an hour and thirty minutes away from Manila, a butterfly haven is nestled in the heart of Pulilan, Bulacan in an unassuming old house. The place doubles as a wedding reception site, a resort, a tourist spot, and even movie/TV locations. (more…)

BANTAYAN

never been to the island.. poor me.. i mean rich me for positive vibe and in the name of THE SECRET..  hehehhe.. i will be going there this summer! geoffy and the rest of the geng are  already there.. and they left me out! sheeez….  it could have been a nice party with all the hot girls in their bikini.. hahaha.. scary!


SIQUIJOR

hmm mystical..the whole UP LAAGANS will do their usual laag to the island of siquijor… i have no plans of going there anytime soon.. bwahahahha…

CAMIGUIN

haaaaay.. this place is part of my list.. but its too far.. and it reminds me of gelli de belen and jomari yllana.. hahahah…

BOHOL

again all of the people in my family visited here except ME.. they’ve reached all these places in my list except ME.. because i was BUSY tending the goats and feeding the PIGs.. hehe.. i have heard that the cost of going there will almost be like going to boracay.. hmmm.. mag pambot ra ko doh!

LEYTE

i havent reached the part near EASTERN SAMAR.. but my ’surfer boy’ friend told me that LEYTE has surfing spots.. particularly in CALICOAN.. among the spots i have listed.. this is the one most likely to happen.. i have plans with my ally also known as ‘the real surfer boy’ to pack our things up and just take along with us Php 2000 in each of our pockets.. a tent.. and some extra ‘de lata’..  and NO we have no special connection whatsoever.. we just have the same WAVE length.. bwahahahahhahahahahaha…

and of course this is  not an OPTION but a MUST… the one place i keep on going back..the one place i HAVE TO be in every vacation because i HAVE TO..

CAMOTES ISLANDS

i have been SICK about this place.. i have been PROUD of this place.. its like my love-hate relationship place.. hahahahah…  but it definitely saves and stores a lot of wonderful summer memories.. as they would say there is no place like home.. pait… there is nothing beautiful as eating HANY CHOKNUT in the white sands of santiago… i have to kill in order to get every CHOKNUT i have to munch..

either way.. these places are mostly reached by boat.. and travelling by boat is really cheap and we have a lot of choices.. now for better planning and for the latest schedules of shipping.. i can always rely on this webpage…

www.schedule.ph

cge happy trip.. just remember who cares about whitening.. when everyone else is tanning! deee va?  bwahahahaha!

With over 150 resorts, restaurants and bars cheek-by-jowl on the sands, tourists are spoilt for choice.

Here are some recommendations by Reuters correspondents with local knowledge on how to make the most of a weekend on Boracay:

Saturday

8 a.m. – Get as early a flight as you can out of Manila to Caticlan, a small town on the island of Panay, about 300 km (186 miles) to the south. Only small planes operated by Air Philippines, Asian Spirit and SEA Air land there, but it’s only a short 40-minute flight.

If you are checking into one of the upmarket resorts, transfers will be arranged. Otherwise stroll down to the pier about 500 yards (meters) away and get into one of the many pump-boats that will take you to Boracay in a short 15-minutes.

11 a.m. – Check in, dump your bags in the room and make your way to the beach. No shoes, and wear little besides your trunks or bikini and suntan lotion. There’s no dress code on Boracay.

1 p.m. – Walk barefoot along the beach to Lemon Cafe inside D’Mall, a grouping of shops, restaurants and bars. It offers an excellent lunch — pizzas, sandwiches, juices and light mains.

3 p.m. – Time for a massage. The top-of-the-line Mandala Spa, on a hill in the centre of the island and at the Discovery Shores resort on the beach, offers several treatments, including the traditional Philippine hilot massage. There’s a vegetarian restaurant at the hillside location, and also rooms to stay.

5:30 p.m. – Get back to the beach for the best time of day. Boracay’s sunsets are legendary, and almost the entire island seems to be on the beach as the sun sinks and the boats are brought in. It’s also the best time of the day for a swim.

7:30 p.m. – A quick shower and then decide on dinner. Choices are manifold along the beach — grilled seafood at Gasthaus, steaks and sausages at the Steakhouse Boracay or fine French food with a bottle of wine at La Reserve, complete with a mini-Eiffel Tower at the entrance.

10 p.m. – On weekend nights, the beach throbs to music from several impromptu discos set up near the water. Places to be seen include Cocomangas bar or the nearby Club Paraw and partying continues into the wee hours.

Sunday

6 a.m. – If you can do it, a walk and a swim in the morning can be a tonic after the previous night’s excesses. Later, make you way to Cafe del Sol for a pep-me-up breakfast of omelettes, pancakes, fresh juice and coffee.

9 a.m. – A sailboat around the island is an extremely relaxing way of spending the morning. If you are more actively inclined, there are excellent dive sites within a kilometer (a half-mile) or so of the shore, and also snorkelling spots. Talk to your hotel’s front desk or to one of the operators strung out on the beach.

12 noon – Walk through D’Mall for knick-knacks, stone necklaces, pearls and beachwear. Or get a henna tattoo on the beach.

1 p.m. – Lunch is good at Aria, an Italian restaurant at the corner of D’Mall and White Beach. Or pick up something to go at Heidiland Deli within the mall.

3 p.m. – The Fairways & Bluewater Golf & Country Club is an 18-hole par 72 course set across the northern part of the island, from coast to coast.

If golf is not your thing, try a ride on an all-terrain buggy over mud tracks in the interior of the island.

Back in the water, there is kite-boarding and windsurfing at the Bulabog Beach, on the opposite side of the island to White Beach. Both sports require prior training, but a number of shops will offer beginners’ courses.

7 p.m. – To round off a memorable visit, try dinner at Friday’s resort. Staff there will place a table on the beach and serve a four-course candle-lit meal with wine.

It was a sunny Friday when we left Manila Domestic Airport via South East Asian Airlines at around 8:30am. I was with a group of travel bloggers for a Boracay familiarization tour organized by Abe which was made possible by Microtel Boracay, Seair and Zuzuni Boutique Hotel and Restaurant.

Me and Gail Villanueva (www.kutitots.com ) Boracay Arrival (photo courtesy of Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet)

After almost 35 minutes of Air Travel, I’m already seeing the Tropical Paradise Island of Boracay on a bird’s eye view from the Aircraft’s window which made me more excited.

Boracay Welcomes Abe, Marc, Gail, Ferdz and Anton

After almost 30 minutes of boat ride, Pinoy Travel Bloggers finally invaded Boracay, The Worlds most beautiful Island Paradise.

Ferdz Decena, the author and Carla Redor ( photos courtesy of Eric Dee of Byahilo)

From Boracay Port, we headed to Diniwid Beach where Microtel is located. We immediately unpacked our things and went straight to their in house restaurant “al fresco” (fronting the pristine Diniwid Beach) to have our first meal of the day. Diniwid Beach is a 200-meter long stretch of powdery white sand Beach located on a secluded cove which is perfect for people who loves quiet and relaxing place to stay in Boracay.

( Eric Dee, Gail De la Cruz Villanueva and Karla Redor in Diniwid Beach)

After our power lunch, we decided to go to white beach by walking the beach trail which involves crossing a rocky cliff, a few nice bamboo inspired resorts and restaurants until we reached the boat station 1.

(Some of the Pinoy Travel Bloggers in Boracay’s biggest sand castle)

While walking along the beach shore from Microtel resort, we often stop to take photos of some interesting things our camera can focus on.

Gail Villanueva of www.Kutitots.com with Boracay’s friendliest Dog

On a regular walk, you can actually reach boat station one for about 15-20 minutes but since we are enjoying the sceneries and several pit stops, it took us around an hour to reach the Willy’s Rock.

Beachcombers in search for the best Fruit Shake in Boracay (photos courtesy of Eric Dee of www.byahilo.com )

While walking, I invited them to try my favorite fruit shake at Jonah’s. Most of their ever popular flavors like strawberry, pineapple rum and yes banana choco peanut can be grabbed for only Php75 to Php150 each for a large 16oz glass. Unfortunately we were not able to locate Jonah’s Fruit shake and we ended up buying our shakes at a cozy restaurant near station 2.

After the fruit shake fever, we headed back to the hotel to have a power snap to prepare for our afternoon fun games hosted by Norsan of Microtel. While having fun, we stopped to capture Boracay’s beautiful sunset. Before our dinner started, Ted of Microtel showed us some of Microtel Prime Properties through a PowerPoint presentation.

Microtel Inn & Suites Boracay
Diniwid Beach, Malay, Aklan
Tel No. +63 36 2884311
Fax +63 36 2884312
Mobile +63 917 7165004
E-mail: boracay@microtelphilippines.com

Travel Bloggers who joined the Boracay Weekend Getaway:

• Abe Olandres of Yugatech
• Noemi Dado of About My Recovery
• Laureen Dado of Flail at Life
• Ivan Henares of Ivan About Town
• Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet
• Ferdz Decena of Ironwulf
• Gail Villanueva of Kutitots
• Marc Villanueva of SheeroMedia
• Eric Dee of Byahilo
• Eugene Villar of Lakbayan
• Karla Redor of RockersWorld
• Fernando Martinez of ShutterBox

Oh wait there’s more!

Read Continuation here – Microtel Boracay Inns and Suites: Perfect Weekend Hideaway..