The Rain In Boracay Stays Mainly In The…

Ok, for the life of me I can’t get that to rhyme. But my tragic language deficiency can only lead to a post on surviving rain-soaked Boracay!

Storm schworm. Let’s go fly a kite!!!

Despite the wetness, I still found little pockets of niceties about this island in the Philippines. It was my very first trip to this country and I was excited beyond words. When a close friend of mine invited me along to join in her family vacation to Boracay, I jumped at the chance. In all the excitement, we made a rookie mistake and failed to check the weather. Oh dear, indeed.

A few days leading up to the trip, a huge typhoon swept through Manila and its surrounding areas. Sadly, locals were terribly affected and there was much damage to the city. We were rather worried about how Boracay would be affected and whether it would be safe to fly there given the magnitude of the storm. Thankfully, the hotel we booked re-assured us that all was fine. With that (and my mother in tow), we headed out to the island with hope, laughter and an eye on the weather report.

It would be easy for me to complain about my time there in Boracay given the weather. But, it would serve no purpose. And to be fair, it’s no fault of the island either. It is what it is. In a more positive light, this is what I took away from my time there.

Being grateful for the sun

The sun is out and the pool is OURS!

When the sun decided to grace us with its presence on the last few days of our trip, we rejoiced by heading to the beach, going island hopping and jumping into the sea. I think we pretty much took over the pool at the hotel too! The initial rainy days may have brought about some general gloominess, but we accepted the situation and just got on with it. And hey, we were rewarded in the end with some sunny weather.

Time for some island hopping. The weather gods were kind that morning.

Getting caught in the rain leads to food

The weather changed pretty quickly – just when you think it would be a beautiful day, it starts to pour like mad! And what does one do when that happens? Run to the nearest restaurant or cafe for some good eats, of course. While waiting out the rain, we thought we might as well try something or, in my case, eat my 10th gelato. Funnily enough, torrential rain did not prevent me from getting my chocolate biscuit gelato fix!

Experiencing the wet market while er, wet

It was pouring rain when we headed to the highly-recommended seafood haven at D’Talipapa. The idea is for you to buy (and haggle) for your seafood of choice at the wet market*, take it over to any restaurant around the market and have them cook it for you for a certain fee. It would have been a much better experience if I wasn’t splashed in the face with fish water (thank you, Mr. Fishmonger!) I may have gotten wet from the rain and icky fish water, but the delicious dinner we had certainly made up for it.

Ahhh! The water was perfect. Have I mentioned the weather gods were kind to us?

Boracay is a beautiful island that needs some time to get used to. Obviously, my views on it are wholly-based on the weather and the huge number of tourists. The longer you stay and bask in the lovely sunshine, you can learn to love it for the beauty it possesses. Much patience is needed to get to that point obviously, but it is worth it in the end. I’m not sure if I will go back any time soon, but I’m willing to give it another chance. After all, that’s the beauty of travel – things (and people) may never be the same the next time around.

*Caution : Try not to get trampled on by other tourists hell-bent on getting the prawns of their dreams! Well, they seemed like it anyway. Also, as it IS a wet market, dress in your most casual of outfits. And bring some wet wipes. Trust me on this one.