White beach
After the experience in Palawan I went over to the small island of Boracay. In order to get there, I opted to take a flight. The airport at El Nido is possibly the smallest I’ve ever been to, and I would’ve mistaken it for a resort of some kind if it wasn’t for the taxi driver. After about an hour in the air I landed at Caticlan, and from there I took a tricycle to the port. It had cost more than I initially thought, I still had to pay a bunch of additional fees when I got to the port, and by that time it all started to feel like one big scam.
Nevertheless, I managed to check in to the hostel, got some cheap dinner and went to bed. The plan was to just relax by the beach for a few days without spending too much money, but that is when things took a turn for the worse.
In the morning I started to feel unwell, a feeling that got stronger and more painful as the day went on. By the time the evening came along, I was screaming with pain and was carried away to a nearby clinic, where after doing some tests it turned out I had an infection.
I was given some medicine at the clinic to help me relax and ease the pain, and in addition to that I was handed a list of pills I need to take at regular intervals. It was inconvenient, but it obviously could’ve been so much worse, so I tried not to complain too much.
I wish I could’ve said the following days were a blur, that I was too medicated to really pay attention to anything, but it was quite the opposite. While my brain did feel blurry and fuzzy, I was conscious and aware of what was going on. Both the staff and the other people staying in the hostel dorm room were checking in on me, making sure I took my medicine so that I could get better.
And getting better I did. Gradually, I felt myself getting better. My head stopped spinning, my stomach was calm, and I didn’t have to hold onto the handrail everytime I went up and down the stairs.
When I could get out, I’d go to sit on the beach, which was a few minutes away by foot and quite challenging at first. I’d go slowly and carefully, buy some juice, and sit down to drink it under the hot sun with the calm and beautiful view of the ocean right in front of me.
For a while, that was all I could do, but when I got stronger I got the urge to go in the water, not just looking at it.
There were a few activities to do in the area, and I tried the crystal kayak, which was on the cheaper side. The kayak was transparent, so it was possible to get a good look at everything underneath. The problem was, there wasn’t anything to really look at. There were no fish, or coral reefs, at least not in that depth, and the whole thing was a bit boring. It was the challenge of trying to steer the kayak that made it interesting. I wasn’t sure if it was designed for two people or just one, but it felt wide and heavy. Along with the wind that started to pick up in the afternoon hours, I struggled to make it move, quite a few times I was blown away by the wind, and I lost count of how many times I yelled at people to watch out. Everyone seemed to be quite amused by the situation, and so was I. It was not the experience I expected to have, but I’m glad I did it. I was smiling for most of the time, I enjoyed being active after those long days of recovery, and by the time I got out of the Kayak I was covered in seawater.
As that was the situation, I stayed on the beach for a little bit longer, this time for good old swimming. The water was warm, while swimming around I also got to see boats come and go (and nearly got hit by one), and I could finally relax like I wanted to since I got off the ferry.