Ahoy!
Simplifying Darwin’s theory of evolution as well as the entire field of taxonomy, all of the Earth’s inhabitants can be classified into three main groups: those who walk (or to be more correct, those who travel and live in dry land), those who can fly (and also live in dry land), and those who can swim (and either live underwater and/or on land). Humans are primarily land based animals, and no matter how much technology, training or innovation man can cook up, he or she will have better chances of surviving on dry land, unless we can wait for another billion of years where I guess we can then survive submerged partially or wholly in water.I have lived my entire life in dry land, with the occasional trip to the beach, resort or the bay. I am most familiar with the urban concrete jungle of Parañaque and Manila, yet take great pleasure in seeing, touching, and basically experiencing the ocean or any water body. But to actually be surrounded by water in all sides except for the open sky, I have only experienced it last week, via my cruise trip to the far off island of Boracay (thanks to Abet and the Aqua Fortis Team, who have been most accommodating). It is both an exciting and frightening experience at the same time, and it is with this piece I would like to introduce my great Boracay adventure (or misadventure, which we shall see later on).
Prior to the cruise trip (cruise nga ba?), the only water based vehicle I have ever ridden where rafts, small boats and katigs. I have yet to experience riding a technologically advanced, post-Industrial Age metal craft. And I have yet to go beyond maybe 50 kilometers from the beach.
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The First Trip
The first trip was mostly uneventful, except for the fact that it was my first time to step on a cruise ship, and also my first time to leave dry land. I did not face any difficulty in adjusting to the rocking of the vessel in all directions, nor did I have any fright of losing sight of dry land. I enjoyed waiting for the black waters of Manila Bay to turn blue-green then finally blue upon reaching Batangas, and I enjoyed strolling around the deck and sneaking up on the upper decks and going around the big chimney-thingie.
Sleeping and lying around was all we did most of the time, except for the occasional chit-chat and getting to know each other. Maybe we were just dead tired from waiting and preparing our luggage for the trip. So tired that even though I woke up in the middle of the night (I guess it was around one in the morning or so) due to intensive vibrations and rumbling sounds from the vessel itself, I just had to sleep through the whole experience. It did cross my mind that the ship was like shuddering in such as a way that the hull was breaking apart, but I just had to sleep it off, and no amount of excitement can get me to wake up.
And by five in the morning, the receptionist at the main lobby gladly announced that we have finally arrived at the province of Aklan and will dock at the island of Caticlan, where a five minute ferry ride will take us to paradise (or so we thought) island. Yehey!
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The Return Trip
The return trip to Manila was the most memorable one for me, because even before boarding the cruise ship that will take us home, we already had funny and memorable experiences from Boracay to Caticlan Island.
We departed from Boracay Island via the mandatory ferry ride, yet prior to the ferry boat itself we had to use a transfer boat to get to the ferry because the low tide won’t allow the larger boat to dock at the shore. The boat can carry around twenty people maximum, and it will take around one minute to get to the ferry. The catch? The boat costs five pesos per head, for a one minute boat ride. So that’s twenty heads multiplied by five pesos, so that’s around a hundred pesos. So you can imagine how much these people collect and earn for a measly one minute boat ride. And also, there is the terminal fee to worry about, which costs twenty pesos, while the ferry ride costs another twenty. Hmmm, not bad for the boating business huh?
The funny thing with the whole ferry boat story is that upon reaching Caticlan Island, we have to again use another transfer boat, which, you guessed it right, costs five pesos per head for a measly one minute ride. Good thing I still have patience. And upon reaching dry land, we again had to pay twenty pesos for another terminal fee! Wait a minute, isn’t the Caticlan and Boracay ferry terminals from the same province? I know we have to support the tourism industry and all, but having to pay so many small fees is in a way…disturbing.
Upon reaching the waiting area, which looks like a prison camp because of the interlink fences on three sides of the whole area, we just had to laugh it off because there are limited chairs for all waiting passengers, and there is no entertainment and inadequate lighting for the whole area. We had to exclaim “Siguro me bayad din para sa upuan at ilaw…” or something similar. We got to sit down a little later, but can’t help but be disappointed. And the adventure hasn’t even started yet.
The rowing team borrowed my guitar to pass up the time, playing the usual numbers including pinoy rock music. We, along with other waiting passengers, just had to laugh at one of the songs improvised by the singing group. It was Magasin by the Eraserheads, but the last few lines went:
“Sana’y sa susunod na Boracay, ay Super Ferry…ka na….”
And finally it was off to the docking area.
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To Board or Not to Board
The interesting part of the trip home came upon reaching the docking area. Again due to the low tide, we were again forced to use a ferry boat (the heavier, motorized kind) to transfer to the cruise ship. Because of the extended jamming sessions at the waiting area, we were to came in as the second batch. Excitement came when the first batch reported to us via mobile phone in an exaggerated manner that the ship is already overloaded, but it really turned out that the entire group was displaced within the vessel, and no reservations were done for us. Frustrated, our group already made drastic plans, which includes waiting for the second boat to arrive (which will arrive, after two more days!), and also considering boarding the nearby RORO vessel as an alternative mode of transport home. Our excitement fueled much panic for the other people waiting in line, and they followed suite in rushing to the terminal’s field office to really see what was going on.
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Run for Your Lives!
The most memorable part of my entire ocean trip adventure came when our ferry boat finally docked with the cruise ship, via a small ramp tied together with sturdy rope. Due to the large and strong waves which caused the two ships to rock upward, downward, towards and away from each other, it became a very exciting and frightening at the same time. Here we are, with our luggage strapped on to us, and all heavy hand held items at one hand, we were made to dash for our lives in order to reach the portal leading to the cruise ship. At the other end of the ramp where a dozen marines and ship crew who stand ready to assist and jump overboard in case somebody falls off. The sight was like the scene from Air Force One where Harrison Ford was being assisted towards the cargo plane by a dozen airforce men, all shouting and waiting to grab him the minute he finally reaches the ship home.
And after that, it was sleep and nauseating travel all the way. It was a welcome and saddening sight to be heading back to the urban concrete jungle of Metro Manila.
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And now it’s time to talk about the great Boracay misadventures….
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