DETOUR - 2GO Travel

Are We There Yet?Does it matter if we’re there yet? The different scenes andactivities onboard make for the perfect cruise experience!regrets. “I Iike it. It’s more relaxed and I get to socializewith others,” he said.As the clock neared midnight, I saw some of the shipstaff busy preparing something. “It’s a birthday cake,”Ervin Andaya revealed. A guest, Juana Sulit Santos, wascelebrating her 80th birthday on board and as the ship’sEvents Director, Ervin decided to make this particularbirthday memorable by giving her an asalto. I joined themas they trooped to her cabin for the surprise.Lola Juana was all ready for bed. “Ay! Sana sinabiniyong may surprise! Hindi ako nakaayos!” Shecomplained with a smile.Lola, kaya nga surprise eh!That was enough excitement for one night out on thesea so I decided to tuck into bed in my bunk as well.I woke up to the P.A. system announcing that we werearriving in Caticlan in a few minutes. It seemed as though Islept through half of the eight-hour trip. I prepared my stuffand went out of the cabin to see the lobby and the deckfilled with people. Some guests were already dressed andready to disembark. Others were still languorously havingtheir coffee. Meanwhile, the hotel staff were ready for thecheck-out process and assist the guests in disembarking.We docked at the Caticlan port. Like the boarding,alighting the ship was also unhurried and smooth. Wefiled into the Caticlan terminal and boarded the oysterferry which took us to Boracay Island. Owned by EdwardPacheco, the ferry had a well-appointed air-conditionedsitting room below deck. But since the ride would last allof seven minutes, we decided to just stand by the rails ofthe open deck and enjoy the breeze, the sunlight, the view,and of course, the photo opportunity.We docked at the Boracay jetty, and from there, itwas a quick ride to La Carmela de Boracay, the beachfrontresort owned by Boy So, and a favoritehideaway for many celebrities including BoyAbunda.No less than Boy So was on hand towelcome us and didn’t skimp on the lunchbuffet he laid for us. Salad greens, cornchowder, steamed lapu-lapu, butter-fried tuna,garlic fried prawns, steamed red crabs, and thepiece de resistance, a whole lobster on everytable! Talk about luxury!The whole day was spent languidlywalking up and down the beach, takingpictures, buying knick-knacks along Station 2’sD’Mall, sipping banana peanut shake at Jona’salong Station 1, and nearing sunset, goingunderwater among the fishes for Boracay’salready iconic helmet dive.Evening fell unbidden and for dinner,Stephen took us to True Food, such anondescript name for an unpretentious butapril - june 2012 travel time 73