Boracay... beyond the hype

from: http://hubpages.com/hub/Boracay_beyond_the_hype_




I just got back from a three-week vacation in the Philippines. One of the first things I did was visit Boracay. I had heard of the island so much, especially from friends and relatives, there was no way my wife and I would forgo the side trip this time around. It was the best decision we made for that trip.

My 8-year-old son, Paul, now thinks of the Philippines as his second home. Prior to the trip, he thought the country was a cluster of nipa huts on an island somewhere. My 18-year-old daughter and her cousin got to hang around with a group of European divers and thoroughly enjoyed the Boracay sidetrip.

We here in northeastern U.S. have been spoiled by the Caribbean, Florida, Mexico and, for the truly lucky ones, Hawaii. The Europeans, the Japanese, Koreans, Taiwanese and Chinese don't have a Caribbean, or even a Florida, so they are all flocking to the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Philippines is being overrun by Koreans right now, which is great for the country.

Boracay is a favorite international destination. My first day on the island, however, was a bit disappointing. I was face-to-face with reality now, no more hype. The first time I waded into Boracay bay, I smelled the strong fish odor in the water. I have been to Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, the Bahamas, etc. and there never was the smell of fish in the deep green waters that splashed on the powdery white sand. So I was taken aback when I noticed the odor.

The water was light lime green, not the healthy aquamarine that one finds in the Caribbean, or even on Marco Island and Sarasota, Florida.

The next day, the fish odor was noticeably gone. And the water was as calm as a wading pool. I was about a hundred feet from the shore, and the water was still only up to my waist. When I looked back at the shore, I could see the water dip into the sand. The water was so still I could see the curvature of the earth, with the surface rising and falling gradually into the sand. I turned around and saw that behind me, the open sea also followed the curvature of the earth - the horizon rose and dipped. I had never experienced this phenomenon before.

The long line of resorts in station three - my wife had booked us in 3-5-7 Boracay, a resort owned by her high school classmate - were a subdued celebration of lights and music that seemingly came from coconut trees. It was past the summer rush, so we only had to share the beaches with tourists from temperate countries. There was no crush of Manila crowds in holiday mood.

I looked up Boracay in wikipedia, thinking I could read up on the island's history. To my surprise, there is not much history written about the island. I asked the locals, which is the best way to learn something about the island.

Prior to the 1970s, Boracay was just an island off Aklan populated by Aetas, or Itas. Aetas owned the choice beachfront properties. Some mainland (Aklan) families saw the potential in the island and started befriending the Aetas. They gave the aetas rice, sardines, canned goods, soft drinks, etc. and introduced the natives to modern civilization. Instead of foraging for tubers, like gabe, kamote, kamoteng kahoy, etc. the Aetas were now eating fried rice, eggs and spam. A few of the Christian families decided to give the Aetas a steady supply of food and clothing in exchange for Aeta land. That was how the transfer of choice beachfront Boracay land came to pass.

The few Christian families who owned beachfront land in Boracay turned their land into resorts that caught the eye of some Europeans. German, French and Scandinavian tourists frolicked on the pristine and serene beaches in their bikinis, while Israeli women tanned in the nude. A lot of the local kids espied on the Israeli women and sprayed the local vegetation with their seed.

Ever on the lookout for playgrounds in the Philippines and other southeast Asian island chains, the Japanese took interest in Boracay. A Japanese electric company was hired by the local government - the Boracay barangay in the town of Malay, province of Aklan - to supply electricity to the island. In 1995, the project was completed, consisting of laying cables on the seabed between Calictan, Aklan and the island of Boracay. Inside the cables pass through the electricity that powers the whole Boracay island.

With electricity, tourism boomed. There was a rush to build more and more resorts. Even now, a huge 5-star resort complex is being completed by Shangri-La on the opposite end of the island, away from stations two and three, where the young tourists and European divers commune.

Boracay has one of the safest beaches to take a midnight stroll. If you are observant, though, you will notice that people sleep under coconut trees. You can hear people's conversations as you take your leisurely walk at two in the morning.

Those are the Aetas who have been displaced by the businesses along the beach. There are lots of Aeta kids who will sell you magnets for a hundred pesos. There are tall and lean Aeta men who walk on the beaches looking for items being discarded by tourists. There are not too many of them, but they are noticeable because they have very dark skin and curly hair. They are not tanned, they are dark.

Sometimes, the Aeta men get drunk and point to some of the resorts. "You see that land?" they ask. "I own that land." Which may be true. The beachfront properties on Boracay were never officially transferred to the resort owners. There is no land title system on Boracay. Instead, the government administers the land, and whoever pays the taxes on the land gets to use it indefinitely. Resort owners pay property taxes to the government and the government in turn protects the "owner's" rights to own and operate resorts that sit on the land.

Meanwhile, the Aetas get to live the rest of their lives under the canopy of the coconut trees.