Boracay continued :)

Aside from taking pictures, my friends and I went island hopping and we rode the Flying Fish. Island hopping took us to various places around Boracay but one of our friends got sea sick because of the strong current at Crocodile Island (no there are no crocodiles on this island, the island is shaped like a crocodile and thus the name). I had fun snorkeling but the strong current made it difficult for us to go around the area so we simply stayed near the boat.

TIP: Bring a medicine for seasickness in anticipation of strong waves.

Our island hopping costs 2300 pesos for a boat that can carry 20 people and 40 pesos to rent the snorkeling set. The 2300 doesn't include the 200 pesos entrance fee to one of the islands which we opted not to go to because our friend was already sea sick and we wanted to save up on cash.

As for water sports, we tried the Flying Fish as recommended by our friend, Marlowe. All I can say is if you want to try how it feels like to ride a roller coaster on water, then this ride is for you. You can literally feel yourself flying and holding on for dear life (you feel like you're riding a giant kite).

Each ride costs 430 pesos per person. 4 of our friends took the ride while 2 of us decided to ride on the speed boat to take their pictures. 5 minutes into the ride, the boat man asked us if we wanted to ride with our friends since there were 2 more free slots. He said we can pay him anything and its ok. We excitedly rode the flying fish and it was an exhilarating experience. That ride cost us only 100 pesos. :D And the ride was suppose to last only 15 minutes but we were having so much fun that the boat man also didn't realize the time, our whole ride lasted for 45 minutes. My arms ached afterwards but it was all worth it.

We went to drink shake at Jonah's after. Jonah's shake shop has already become a tradition for Boracay goers as the shop has been there as long as anyone could remember. And the shakes are pretty good, I like the mango shake.

After our sea adventures, Darren and I had a lot of other land adventures in Boracay. First up, we rented a tricycle for 250 pesos an hour to take us anywhere in Boracay. We went to Puka beach where its supposed to have lots of puka shells and then we decided to check out the Bat and Crystal Cave.

TIP: Bargain! Bargain! Bargain!

We bargained to hire a guide for 100 pesos from the original offer of 300 pesos. The ride toward the caves was dusty and bumpy. We had to pay 50 pesos each for the entrance fee of both caves. Then we walked for about 15 minutes before reaching the entrance to the bat cave.

I did not expect the entrance to be about 50 ft. down. And to reach the bottom we had to climb huge, slippery rocks down. Our guides were two kids who naturally climbed the rocks as if they were just strolling around the mall. One of the teenage guides who just finished accompanying a Japanese, was even smoking while climbing up (mountain climbing without hands).

TIP: Wear footwear with VERY good traction or walk barefooted and give your footwear to the guide.

After a few steps I realized that going down barefooted was better than using my slippery sandals. I decided to take the rocks step by step without looking down until I finally reached the bottom. It was difficult taking shots at the bottom because the flash gave out too much light and I didn't have a tripod. But it was all worth it, not because of the bats but because of...

SEA SNAKES!

TIP: Walk only when the guide is with you. Sea snakes are VERY poisonous.

One of the guides asked me if I was afraid of snakes and I said no. He then pointed his flashlight towards the sea snake. I was amazed at the sight. I had never seen a sea snake on land, sleeping. The guide told me to not walk unless he was with me because I might accidentally step on a sea snake. He took me to the underwater cave connected to the ocean and there were more snakes there. I had fun taking the pictures of the snakes. I researched more on the Bat Cave and whether diving was allowed in the cave. I found out that diving is allowed but rare due to the strong current within the cave and so the conditions need to be perfect plus the divers need to be skilled with sudden changes in conditions in order to prevent accidents from happening. The bat cave is home to lobsters, sea snakes and certain types of fish.

For a Bat cave, it didn't really have many bats. The largest fruit bat cave in the world located at Samal Island near Davao City is the place to go to if you're interested in bats. (that's for another story) Anyway, we then continued our adventure and headed towards the crystal cave.

The crystal cave wasn't as steep as that of the bat cave. There was only one column with tiny crystals but what I enjoyed doing was climbing through a hole and seeing the best view ever while sitting on a branch of a tree.

After the caves, we played with the giant trunk outside the crystal caves :)

Took us an hour to go through both caves then we headed to the Peak! The peak is where you can see a 360 degree view of Boracay. The entrance fee is 50 pesos per person while children under 6 years of age is free.

The view was awesome! Got to see people parasailing and the wind was really strong. After the peak we went to explore Shangri-la, Boracay.

The service at Shangri-la, Boracay is truly one of the best in the world. They are ready to accommodate your every whim in order to make you feel like royalty. A ride picked us up and took us to the entrance of the resort. We took a map from the concierge and we explored the area. A buggy that's shaped like a golf cart will take you anywhere you want to go to within the resort.

Darren and I were wide-eyed at the pool area. All their pools were infinity pools making you feel as if you're swimming in the ocean. They also had a jacuzzi area along with the many pools the resort had to offer. As for rooms, Shangri-la offered a wide variety of choices from normal hotel type rooms to mountain villas and villas with their own pools. We had fun going around the resort, taking lots of pictures at their beautiful architecture and vowing to stay at Shangri-la next time we go to Boracay.