Writing about the second part of our trip now makes it more apparent to me how time flies. Has it been more than 3 weeks since? It’s funny how days before our vacation, I couldn’t wait to hop on the ferry already and head to Boracay. I felt the time to be moving slow. But when we’re already there, the days seemed to suddenly speed up! I guess unless we’re excitedly waiting for a special event, time moves fast.

But before we eventually welcome and look forward to another month (ohh, February’s making itself felt already with all those hearts and flowers in establishments), let me share here how the second day of our trip went.

I was really happy about Day 2. Not only was it our anniversary that day, but we also had pretty awesome experiences that we’re sure to remember for a long time. As mentioned in my previous post, Day 2 was for the ATV and parasailing adventures. So Marco and I were up and about early in the morning, excited to take on these activities.

Feeling Like Toughie Riders on All-Terrain Vehicles

We had the ATV tour as our first activity. The ride was what we expected and more! Marco and I, and with a tour guide to escort us, drove an ATV each from Happy Dream Land to Ocean Tower.

Happy Dream Land is an amusement park where all the ATVs are parked and is the starting point of the trip. We arrived there at 9:30 AM and were briefly oriented by the tour guide. After explaining how the activity would go about, we were assigned with an ATV each. Mine’s a cool bumblebee yellow. 

I initially thought we’d be spending 30 minutes or more learning to drive it. But its transmission was automatic so we didn’t need to worry about taking much time. We just circled the track once to practice, then with the tour guide in front of us and Marco behind me, we all exited the gates and hit the road ahead.

I was already getting the hang of operating the ATV when the first slope came into sight. I initially got unnerved but once I was sure that my brakes were working perfectly fine and I wouldn’t go over the edge of the cliff (lol), I started to relax and enjoy the ride. It was actually exhilarating! I had fun revving up the engine every chance I got.

That whole trip, Marco was always a bit far behind me. He later told me that he’d been deliberately putting a distance between our ATVs so he could suddenly speed up. The kiddo definitely had fun, too. 

After about 15 minutes, we reached Ocean Tower. The ride was in itself already thrilling but we’re still in for some visual treat. We climbed the concrete steps to Ocean Tower’s viewing deck, one of Boracay’s highest points. And there we saw a panoramic view of the island. Wow. I could see the ocean’s strong and soft waves, the beaches, houses and hotels and people parasailing from up there.

The experience from driving the ATV was enjoyable and probably the only downside was, considering its automatic transmission, my engine died 3 times in total during our trip. The staff got some checking up to do. But overall, it had been a great start to our day.

Yes, I Love Backyard BBQ

For our parasailing activity, we were advised by the agency to have it early in the afternoon so there wouldn’t be too many people doing it yet and the wind wouldn’t be at its strongest. So we decided to have our lunch first then go parasailing at around 3 PM.

We headed to D’Mall to look for a dining place and saw I Love Backyard BBQ. My family and I had eaten here before a few years back and although I couldn’t remember much about what we ate, I knew I was overall satisfied with their food. And Marco, seeing that there were people lining up to eat here the night before, wanted to try their food too. So we proceeded to step into the dining place.

We were there at around 12 NN and it wasn’t that packed yet so we easily found ourselves a table.

The place has nice interiors and its walls were covered with picture frames and quirky sayings that made the overall ambiance fun and chill.

I Love Backyard BBQ mostly offers baby back ribs and steaks. I ordered their Worcestershire Steak and Marco picked BBQ Fish Belly. When the food was served, I first delightfully noticed that the servings were big. The food occupied our whole plates. I had to ask for two more plates for the both of us so we could devour our food without bits of rice and veggies tumbling out.

The baby back ribs were satisfyingly tender and tasty. The fish, which was paired with bbq sauce, was good too. Our meals were so heavy that I was really full by the time I finished my dish. We were pleased with the food and I’m going to remember that now since I have the experience written here. Hehe.

Up, Up, Here We Go!

This is it. We’re finally gonna parasail! We’d been looking forward so much for this and it’s probably the highlight of our trip. I actually didn’t know what to expect with parasailing, only that we would be towed by a boat while we’re a hundred meters or so high up in the sky and attached to a parachute (parasail). I wasn’t sure whether I’d find that scary or enjoyable. But I would soon find out.

The agency that TravelLog coordinated with for our parasailing adventure was Diamond Water Sports. They accommodated us from the time we left the shore up until we came back.

At 3:30 PM, we, along with another group of four people, hopped on a speedboat. It would take us to a large pontoon about a kilometer off the shore.

As we took off, I realized why speedboats are called as such. It runs really fast! We were speeding our way to our destination, our boat bouncing each time it hit larger waves (tip: stand up and hold on tight! it’s much more enjoyable). All of us were “woohoo-ing” and “woah -ing” at every bump and sharp turn. 

Minutes later, we reached the pontoon. It’s the starting point of some other water activities like banana boat, fly fish and jet skiing so there were plenty of people having their own adventures. Marco and I hopped aboard another boat which would take us farther out to sea for our parasailing activity.

Can I just mention how nice-looking the boat from Diamond Water Sports is? It’s clean and it looked new. The seats were cushioned and made up of leather. I also like it that upbeat songs were being played to add up to the excitement.

Time for the adventure! Marco and I positioned ourselves at the boat’s platform. Two guys strapped our harness to the parasail which was already suspended in the air. When everything was snug and fit, kuya told us that in case we didn’t want to finish the whole 15-minute ride, we should just make circling motions with our arms. We kept that in mind just in case.

And we’re set! With the parasail behind us and with the help of the strong wind, we were whisked off backwards and we started to ascend into the air, 5 meters above the boat first, then 10, 15…we went higher and higher. I remember waving at the people below, enjoying the process.

Then we went higher. And higher still.

“Are we still moving up?”, I asked Marco. I observed the boat to be getting smaller and smaller. At that moment, both my hands were already tightly holding the straps and I started to feel uneasy. We’re going waaay up.

When the lifting finally stopped, I looked straight down. And shiz, we’re high. Too high. The boat was now but a tiny speck from the distance. The excitement I felt earlier faded and was instantly replaced with panic as fear of heights kicked in.

Suddenly, my mind raced with thoughts of things that might go wrong. Like if the straps were to go loose and I fell, would I survive the impact? I also feared that the wind, which was so strong at that time, would rip our parachute apart. And is the rope attached to our harness that thin? Boy, was I freaked out.

Marco assured me that we’re safe and that no untoward incident had ever happened from Diamond Water Sports’ parasailing activity. I tried to relax and started to look around. I saw the island, with its beautiful beaches and hills, then the calm waves in the ocean and other boats scattered below. My mind slowly calmed down as I focused on the sights rather than how high up we were. It slightly worked and Marco and I were soon conversing about the view and stuff (while my hands were still tightly wrapped around the straps).

You can see that our pictures were all taken from the boat. We’re supposed to bring a camera phone up with us but we changed our minds at the last minute. We got scared it might slip out of the monopod or something. Or maybe deep down we knew we wouldn’t be able to handle taking pictures mid-air. Haha.

Minutes later, we heard some clanking noise from our straps and we started swaying sidewards. I got nervous again but we realized the swaying was because we’re being pulled back to the boat. The 15-minute ride was up!

Whew, that was one heck of an experience! I had a roller coaster of emotions the whole time we were up. After the initial excitement, my feelings were alternating between fear and calm. After that adventure though, I sure felt fulfilled.

With that, I’d say parasailing is definitely a must-try if it’s totally okay or thrilling for you to be suspended in the air, feet dangling, a hundred meters above the sea. But if you’re like me who’s semi-adventurous and who gets scared at a certain point, it’s worth a try if you wouldn’t think too much of the altitude and if the equipment is safe enough (which I think is positively safe). You may even find it enjoyable. 

All Things Mellow

After parasailing, we spent the next hours winding down. Paddleboarding and getting ourselves Jonah’s shakes had been good ways to start.

We then found ourselves a good spot near Willy’s Rock to watch the sunset. Just like the day before, people gathered to watch and take pictures of the spectacle. 

We were able to see much of the sun’s beautiful glow this time. It was so nice to just sit and gaze at the view in front of us.  And just look at that sky shifting from one color to another. It was lovely.

As the sky darkened, the lights from the restaurants and hotels came alive. Along with it, sounds of music and bands playing started to fill the air and tables outside were set up. Boracay’s nightlife had begun. Marco and I joined the hustle and bustle as we scouted for a resto to try for dinner. This time, we wanted to dine al fresco while sitting on bean bags. Also, we haven’t eaten any dish with soup yet so we considered that too when we looked for a dining place.

We found both of that in Tribal Cafe and Chill Out Lounge. We had sinigang na tuna belly and squid sisig while sitting on low couches on the sand. 

Until Then

The two whole days we spent in Boracay were well spent. Marco and I got to spend meaningful time together and we also got to relax.

Our flight back to Manila was scheduled in the afternoon the next day. I wanted to stay longer, to extend our vacation for a little while just so I could see more of Boracay’s other beaches. But our visit had come to an end and we could always come back. And when we do, I would look forward to more wonderful experiences and adventures, and I would gaze again at the beautiful sunset and bask on the island’s fine white sand.