….continued from Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
Another lazy day had been unplanned. The only planning as usual were the meal spots. For breakfast, D had identified a crepes joint called Ti Braz nearby, which also had other breakfast options. Though the beach view was awesome, we chose to sit inside, and were served a pretty mediocre breakfast for 820 pesos. Back at the hotel, we asked for a spa session, which had been advertised in the room in the form of a brochure. That was confirmed for later in the day. Since we were to leave early the next day, we also asked them to check with the guys who were supposed to drop us at the airport on when we’d have to leave. We wandered about all morning, tasting a Boracay version of a breezer, (chocolate flavour dominated) shopping, and as per plan dropped in at Mesa (part of the Boracay Regency) which had a ‘modern Filipino’ cuisine….and WiFi 🙂 After sadly learning that the Ostrich meat wasn’t available, we had a Tilapia simmered with mustasa and gata (mustard and coconut) that seemed like a stew, beef cooked two ways (crispy and saucy) and a laing fried rice. The fish was almost like a stew with mustard leaves and quite good. The crispy beef was bland but the saucy one made up for it. The Laing fried rice has pork in it. Enough said. Washed down with Rum-Coke. A fine meal at 1275 pesos.
We slowly walked back to the hotel, a short walk away, and got to know that the spa appointment was at 4, and we’d be picked up the next day at 5! :O A nap later, we learnt that the spa would be coming to us! The mobile massage squad did their job in the room itself! Cost us 700 pesos (for two) and worth it! Massage services are the only ones giving food outlets a run for their money in Boracay. Across the beach front, you will be accosted by those advertising massages, or adventure stuff. I slept off and missed the sunset but D managed to catch it, though she said it wasn’t as beautiful as the previous day.
Dinner was planned at Jony’s, in the extended Station 1 section. We had actually thought of having lunch here, but then flipped the plan. That turned out to be a good idea. This was a quieter area, and we could watch the sea peacefully. We had catfish, a chicken preparation inspired by the Chinese, and plain rice. D ordered a Mango-Pineapple shake that turned out to be better than her ex-favourite Jonah’s! Inspired me to try a mango shake as well, and it was really good. A perfect last meal at Boracay – 1129 pesos. We talked about the shops we’d seen that seemed to have been started in the 80s, and wondered what kind of adventurers had made their way to Philippines then. I remembered reading Alexander Frater’s “Chasing the monsoon” and the feel of India in the late 80s it gave. That’s one of the reasons I blog – years later, I hope someone, from all of this, would be able to get a glimpse of how the world was, and how a life was lived. A page across time. 🙂
We slowly walked back to the hotel, and received a message that the pick up was at 5.30. I hoped I’d be able to keep a promise to myself to avoid early morning adventures during vacations! Thus ended Day 5.