Rotary Ann Lifestyle:
Blue Waters Indeed
by:Tessa Prieto Valdes

     And white sand, green fairways and colorful shopping! For a local vacation spot, I must say it was quite enjoyable and more exciting than I expected. To think I wasn't planning on going due to the standing rule I have on vacation sites that DOV had been to with one of his ex's. It is my rule (and now DOV's too) that if either of us was once in that part of the world with a previous lover, we scratch that location out. And since Boracay is part of that list, we've never been there together. We have Rotary to thank for bringing us both back to the beautiful island of Boracay.

    My fear of flying was heightened when I saw the small aircraft of Asian Spirit. After DOV and Tom interviewed the stewardess who sat right next to them, the short, one-hour flight landed safely in Caticlan airport, where the 357 Boracay staff escorted us to the bus and then the boat transfer to the hotel.

    As we settled in with the warm welcome of Dong and Linda, my daughter Annika soon found a friend in their daughter, Nikki. With our welcome drink and room keys cleverly attached to a puka shell necklace, all was arranged and the golfers of the group soon got ready to troop to Fairways and Bluewater golf course. The first day was warm-up day so people could get a feel for the course. As soon as Philip and Sandy arrived, we were off in the island's specialized mode of transport - the tricycle. (After four days of riding in that, I told my regular masseuse to work on me extra hard the day after we arrived home.)

    The course itself was just breathtaking. My drives were just rolling to the greens. I had to use my Mom's driver coz DOV removed my driver from my golf bag (thinking it was my 5-wood) in order to lighten the bag for the trip. As it turned out, I drove the ball better with my Mom's driver, so DOV ended up buying one for me after we got back to Manila.

    The front nine is flatter, but with a lot of bunkers guarding the greens and water hazards all over. The hilly back nine has panoramic views of the ocean and lush green forests. Although the wind factor dramatically changes your clubbing, the course is tourist friendly.
    But golf wasn't the highlight of the trip for me. Instead the highlight was ... you guessed it! The shopping. I soon found the market, which was a quaint and serpentine row of shops which begins off the main road and ends alongside the beach. Despite DOV's persistence, I convinced him to detour to the market after our golf game. I quickly got souvenir shirts, key chains, bags, friendship bands, tie-dyed pants, sarongs and decorative lamps. And I only had 20 minutes before DOV was bickering about my overspending again.

    Dinner was my father's birthday treat at an Indian restaurant with the most unusual, un-Indian name of True Food, where the ambience was free (in case Erap complained about the expense). My mouth was steaming after a couple of dishes. But I didn't mind coz I didn't eat that much.

    Afterwards, we walked to Cocomanga's where several RCMA'ers have their name on the board for finishing the 15-drink challenge. Can you guess who has his name more than once on the board? DOV and I were too sleepy to be up to the challenge, but one of the RCMA'ers got his name up there that night.

    The next two days were more of the fun-filled activities of beach and golf. Sunday Golf turned out ok, I guess, although I don't really care as long as my own game was great. The important thing was getting to the market immediately after the golf. Just before dinner on Sunday evening, I got a tattoo on my ankle. Dinner was c/o our excellent hosts, Dong and Linda, and featured a buffet of the freshest seafood this side of the island. For dessert, we had games and prizes, featuring a quiz on everything you never knew about Alex P.

    The tattoo must have made an impression because the following evening, after an intoxicating dinner of Thai food, I convinced the Rotary boys to get their own tattoos. Glenda wanted a tattoo on her ass, but Louie showed his conservative side and put his foot down (not on her).

    For Alvin's sake, I would like to say that we didn't have any fun at all. In fact, on the third day, the weather was so bad that we had to sit and wait on some holes just for the wind to die down a bit. The wind was almost Hawaiian in its intensity, but again that just made it terrible, Al. And every dinner was such a heavy and bountiful feast that we really suffered. And our henna tattoos are terrible looking and just don't match our sun tans. And the sand is just too fine that it's too powdery and gets into too many unmentionable places. So Alvin, we really missed you... and Becky, of course.

    Well, this will be all for this year! It's my final article and I'm so glad DOV and I have only half a year left. See you all at our smashing Christmas party next week - we're having extra excellent games and prizes to make up for the corny location. So don't any of you 64 guys and Anns miss this! Have a great holiday and see you next year.