after the one-hour trip, we arrived in Caticlan. from there, we rode the hotel's shuttle service to the Jetty Port where you take a 5-10 minute boat ride to get to boracay. there are absolutely no pictures in my camera nor in my phone during the boat ride. this is the only part i hated about the trip because of what happened in shanghai.

the sign that greets you at the Caticlan Airport...

at last when both my feet were on land, we took a 5-10 minute tricycle ride to Patio Pacific. unfortunately, we couldn't check-in yet because there wasn't any room available. well, it was only 8:00 a.m. so, rose and i decided to get a headstart on getting to know bora. after we left our bags at reception, we crossed the street and went through patio's back entrance to the beach. it's a walkway approx. 300 meters bounded by walls on either side. it's like a marker to the beach ...



and once you've reached the end....




and that is the view in bad weather... wow... (as i'm writing this, i realize how much i miss the place...)

after rose and i came back to our senses, we decided to walk down towards station 2. patio pacific is on station 1 but not beachfront. i find it's location very ideal because it's between stns 1 & 2 where most of the action is. we were there really early and most of the shops were still setting up so we decided to have breakfast. our first meal on the island. aria, famous for its pizza, was open but they weren't serving food yet. their cafe, cafe del sol, was so we ordered from there. rose had the breakfast set while i had panini and latte.

we stayed at cafe del sol until some shops in d' mall were open. now, the mall rat in me was super excited at the prospect of going from stall to stall looking at all the merchandise they had to offer. for those who haven't been there, d' mall is not the kind of shopping mall that we're used to in manila. i'd describe it as a high-end tiangge where the stores carry an assortment of charming boracay items. and this kind of mall is well-maintained, very clean and "charming"...i wouldn't mind going through all the shops everyday :))

well, rose and i went through 2 or 3 alleys remembering which stores to go back to later that evening. we also started buying things as pasalubong for friends and family in manila. our stroll went on until after lunch. after d' mall, we walked along the beachfront in station 2 to probably the beginning of station 3. nothing special, we just walked checking out the stores and restos, occasionally stopping to appreciate the beautiful beach and then it's back to walking. before 2 p.m., we decided to go back to Patio and check-in. they promised to text us as soon as a room became available . unfortunately, no text so it was check-in time anyway so back to the hotel. wise decision. because as soon as we reached the hotel, it started to rain. we were a tad hungry so we headed for Garden Cafe and asked if they could ring front desk and ask if there was a room ready for us. shortly thereafter, an attendant came with our bags and showed us to our room. we placed our orders and informed the dining staff that we'd be back after a couple of minutes. we returned and "devoured" their delicious Egg Drop Soup, Mango Crepe and I had a Mega Banana Milkshake. Now the milkshakes in Patio are amazing. They are so delicious and "super-sized"! i'd say a milkshake is at least 750 ml...750 ml of divine ________ shake (fill in the blank with whatever fruit shake you're having :)) )! the soup calmed my grumbling stomach, the crepe filled it and the shake satisfied it....wow...by this time, it wasn't drizzling anymore it was really raining so we retreated to our room. we planned to go out in the evening once it stopped raining but to our dismay, the rains didn't let up. so we were relegated to the room...thank god for cable tv...