Day 12: massage, pearls, and paradise!

Other than getting cheap manicures and pedicures while traveling south east Asia, I love, love, love getting massages!  Hey, when they're only $7.00 and fabulous, wouldn't you?!  Aaron unfortunately got really burnt yesterday snorkeling, so he wasn't all that interested, so I went by myself this time!  It takes about 45 minutes to walk from Spider House to D'mall, so I usually take a tuk tuk for between 20 pesos (.50 cents) to 100 pesos ($2.50) depending on how many other people get picked up along the way.

*** My camera stayed in my room all day today.  So, these are all iphone pics, hence the subpar quality.

This is Lilia and boy did I luck out by having her as my masseuse!  She really knew her craft!  I've had a LOT of massages in my traveling days, but hers was probably THE BEST to date!

I got her card as I was leaving in case anyone comes to Boracay and is looking for a great masseuse! 

My massage was done right here on White Beach and was only 300 pesos ($7.02) plus a tip of course!

Before heading back, I picked out a freshwater pearl necklace and bracelet set, which Aaron bought for me to commemorate our speical trip!  It's my first set of real pearls, which is REALLY exciting for me and super special that they're from this trip! 

I was feeling nice and relaxed on my way back to Spider House and was happy to see this guy when I got there!  He'd been sitting on the deck all day, reading!

 Signe (pronounced Zena) is one of the servers here at Spider House and we've become quite close over the past 11 days!  She's from Denmark and this is her darling boyfriend Oriole (sp?) from Spain, who had never snorkeled before.  I gave him mine to snorkel with...

...and the two of them set off on an adventure!

I used my photosynth app on my iphone to capture this panorama of the sunset tonight from my room!

I'm definitely going to miss seeing this everyday!

We had dinner at Microtel again tonight!  Other than Spider House,

the atmosphere and relaxation factor at Microtel is hard to beat here in Boracay! 

I could get used to the whole eating dinner while sifting my toes through the white sand beneath me!

One more full day and a half left in paradise... I really wish it didn't have to come to and end, but when I get back to Korea I'll have 1 day of school and then Aaron and I are going back up to the snowboarding cabin (Elf Pension) for a weekend with Jess and Carlos in the snow!

Day 11: Starfish, sea snakes, and a Greek party!

According to snorkeling reviews online, the only place to see anything worth while or fish bigger than 5 inches is if you pay to go island hopping away from Boracay!  Apparently those reviewers have never been snorkeling in front of Spider House!  We found all kinds of good stuff today!

Aaron dove down to pick up this beautiful shell off the ocean floor. When he picked it up he found that it was a happy home to a very big and hairy looking crab!

We ran into ANOTHER banded seasnake!  This one was about 3 feet long!  The locals here call it a Walu Walu seasnake and apparently if you're bitten you'll die within 5 minutes!  It's the most venomous snake in the world!  We kept our distance, but stuck around to watch it slither between the rocks for a minute or so. 

These are probably the most commonly seen fishies near Spider House!  They're beautiful! :)

We stuck around Spider House the entire day today, played a little pool with the locals and staff...

... and enjoyed the delicious smells coming from the kitchen all afternoon and night! 

A greek Guy named Sam, has been staying in Boracay for the past 30 days and is at chef at his own restaurant back in Greece, so he offered to cook for all of the Spider House staff and some friends tonight!  Dinner was scheduled for 6:00pm, but we didn't actually eat until after 8:00. 

I guess Greek time is a lot like Philippino time!  haha.  

(Sam and Heidi: one of the Spider House cooks)

Aaron and I sat on the deck and played some dominoes with our new cardboard travel set and drank some fun tropical drinks while we waited! 

We were so happy and hungry by the time dinner was served!  Sam made chicken salad...

and spaghetti with meatballs!

It was such a nice treat and so fun to lounge around with all of our "Spider House family" and new friends from around the world! 

Day 10: The long walk, White Beach, and Manny Pacquiao!

We've been here long enough now to know when the tides come in and go out, and believe it or not there are about 3 feet of difference between the lowest and the highest!  We headed out at low tide today so we didn't have to tread water the whole time!

We brought the underwater camera out to play with!  Here's proof of my one handed handstand!  Look at those straight legs and pointed toes... my old gymnastic coaches would be so proud!

Aaron and I almost always rent scooters whenever we travel in south east Asia, but we're used to paying $5.00 a day, not $55.00!  Yep, that's right, in Boracay, it's 2,500 pesos for a full day.  That's $55! 

We'll walk, thank you... So, we did. 

We decided to head out and do a little photography walk around the area. :)

An easy way to remember where you put your flip flops!

Can you say, adorable?!

This is a typical Philippino home on the island...

The men are ALWAYS playing pool around here, and are REALLY good at it!

We walked from the beach to the main road and were dead tired...

...so we caught a tuk tuk from here into town.

I had had breakfast here last time I was in Boracay and it was really good,

so we headed back for some blueberry pancakes!

Aaron has become quite the coffee conoseiur in the last year.  He drinks at least a cup a day, and since they only have instant packets at Spider House, he's been frequenting Starbucks on White Beach where a coffee is 100 pesos ($2.20!)

We walked White Beach a little bit.  It's a gorgeous beach, but a bit more built up and touristy than we care for.  I will say, if you're looking to shop, get cheap massages, or eat fresh grilled fish on the sand, this is the place to go!

We decided to check out Bulabog beach, on the East side of the island, where all of the kiteboarders hang out.  We had met a lot of kitboarders in the past week and were interested to see what it was all about. 

I came to this beach last time I was in Boracay and it DID NOT LOOK LIKE THIS! 

It was actually pretty dirty and only the locals hung out here, but since the kiteboarding shops have moved in and taken over, it's been cleaned up and is now filled with beautiful and brightly colored kites!

*** If you remember my story from my last trip here, you remember I was invited to stay the night at Dolly's home, which is on the hill in the background.

After being out for most of the afternoon, we decided to head back to Spider House... do you blame me?  Who wouldn't want to spend the rest of the day cuddled up on this comfy hammock?

Manny Pacquiao is the Philippines pride and joy when it comes to world class athletes!  He is arguably one of the best, pound for pound, fighters (boxing) of all time!  His own private residence and resort are actually right next to Spider House (West Cove). Philippino's love him, so all day long, banana boats, filled with young Philippino women, come by Spider House screaming his name!  It's quite comical actually... especially considering Aaron just read that Manny's currently in New York, promoting his next fight!  haha.

I saw this guy at Spider House, sporting a Pacquiao shirt and was reminded that I should walk over and check out the resort.

There's a little guard gate you have to pass through in order to get into the resort.  Apparently only guest are allowed in, or blonde American girls with big smiles! :) haha

I gave myself the grand tour of the place and ran into one of the employees who offerred to take my photo next to the rail here.  I swear she did a full photo shoot of me.  I have about 15 pictures of me standing here.  She was so nice, I didn't wanna tell her to stop, because she felt like she was really helping!  I just walked away thinking, geez, what would I ever do with 15 pictures in the same spot!  haha 

I walked back to meet Aaron for dinner and stopped to say hello to Diniwid in the bar.  He frowned and said, "Jill, I have something for you," and held up this handwritten sign that says,

 "SORRY I FORGOT UR DIET COKE."  Spider House doesn't sell Diet Coke, so Diniwid said he would pick some up for me before his next shift.  Oops, he forgot!  :)  Lucky for me I had picked up a 6 pack earlier in the day!  Whew!

We headed over to Microtel (On Diniwid Beach) for dinner.  It's a resort on the beach with fabulous food!  We ordered a hamburger and some spaghetti and split both!  We are gonna be in SERIOUS diet mode when we get back to Korea!! lol. 

While we were eating, the sun set over the water, and Aaron found and saved a little crab who was traveling in his shell across the sand near our table.  He apparently was looking for the water, but walking in the wrong direction.  Good thing Aaron was around!  

We are loving it here, and are not sure how we're actually going to get ourselves on that plane next Thursday to go back home... Someone might have to carry me while I kick and scream the whole way!