Wednesday, June 28, 2006

our aklan adventure

last week was a blast for nelo & me! we went on a 4-day vacation to the island of aklan and it was the best vacation we had this year (well, this was just our first out-of-town trip for the year. lol!).

thanks to the cebu pacific promo, we got a very good deal for this trip. imagine, paying only 3,000++ for a two-way fare for 2 pax. nothing can beat that price, i think.

so anyway, what did we do?

wednesday, june 21

we had an early flight to kalibo and we decided to spend the day there before going to boracay. we booked a room at sampaguita gardens in new washington, aklan. the rate was acceptable at 2,240.00 which already includes air port transfers, buffet breakfast for 2 and tickets for the precious moments gallery and the mansion.

sampaguita gardens is owned by sam butcher, the makers of the famous precious moments figurines/icons, known for their signature tear-drop shaped eyes. it houses a gallery for their precious moments figurines and memorabilias. that is where jojo's christmas village is located. it's a big cottage-type house which is christmas-themed. it contains a lot of the precious moments dolls on display and also available for sale.

garden spa nelo & angel

it was fun seeing this house with all its christmas trimmings and all using precious moments dolls & trinkets. you feel like a child looking at those things. it brought out the child in me knowing how i've admired these precious little dools even when i was a kid.

tayo din ha tabi tayo ha

we also went around the entire grounds of the hotel. it was divided into various areas: there's the thai garden spa, the gallery, the aquarium, the chapel, the butterfly farm, the mansion, the carousel and noah's ark. there was even a boardwalk at the back of the hotel overlooking the sea. it was different seeing the horizon in that position.

thursday, june 22

the following day, after breakfast, we headed off to the van station on our way to caticlan. the trip was almost 1.5 hours including the ferry from the caticlan port to boracay.

a lot has changed since i've last been in that area 5 years ago. there was no concrete port and there was no system to speak off when going inside the terminal. the ferry boats look better although it's still almost the same.

we were both excited when we finally reached the island. it was my 2nd time to be there but years ago already while it was nelo's first time. the sand is still white and the water is very clear that you can almost see the bottom.

sand castle

we stayed in a fairly affordable hotel. it wasn't big or anything and neither was it a beach front but it was quite okay for us. we went to the talipapa for lunch and it was delicious! it was a lunch package worth 285 only which already consists of 2 cups of rice, sinigang na isda, tahong ala pobre and liempo plus softdrinks. wow! it was yummy and all for that much only?! and the seafood was really fresh!

we went around some of the shops first before we headed off to the beach by late afternoon. it was super fun!!! the water's temperature was just right and there were only a few people by the beach. i don't know how to swim still, i enjoyed the water just wading in it. the water was so clear that you can see the small fishes swimming in the bottom of the sea!

friday, june 23

we were up by 8am and immediately headed off to the beach right after breakfast. it was another morning spent in the water and it was a very cool experience. it was already almost 12noon by the time we lft the beach.

we had lunch at d'mall and just went around the area some more. it was also fun to look at the sand castles which they have formed near the beach. there were a number of them there, each was done and managed by different locals. to have a photo op, you must give a small tip in their bins though. they'll take your picture by the sand castle after that, just give them you camera & give directions. click-click!

by late afternoon, we were back again to the beach. this time, we waited for the sunset for some photo op as well. it was such a sight to behold. the setting of the sun seen behind the sailboats and these people on the beach. wow!

we love boracay! nice sunset

the evening was spent eating crepes at st. michel's creperie. after which, we just walked around some more and then headed back to our hotel.

saturday, june 24

it was back to manila already for us. we had to leave early since we'll be travelling back to kalibo from caticlan again. we left the island by 9am. our trip back to manila was scheduled at 2pm.

it was a vacation we can never forget. we were able to relax and enjoy the place. and most definitely, we enjoyed our time together and our bonding moments.

4 comments:

  1. liza, inggit ako! gusto ko talaga mapuntahan yung christmas village! kakaaliw no? ;D

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  2. wow, sarap!
    thanks for this. i'll definitely visit din sampaguita this sept. =)

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  3. inggit ako! alam mo naman, precious moments fanatic ako :) kukulitin ko na nga si marlon. hehehehe!

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  4. alpha / apple / cez,
    thanks for the comments! super aliw talaga ako sa aming vacation na yan. you guys should really vist sampaguita gardens with your kiddies. :D

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