Boracay is one of the holiest places in the world for kiters. On my Hajj, I fasted, prayed, cursed, suffered and sinned. When I created the Google map for the trip two months ago, I called it “The Grand Philippines Kite Odyssey”. I only now realise how accurate that was. 5000 km on bike, trike, jeepney, bus, ferry, on foot and on a plane: I could hardly kite.
There were many trials and adventures. The rest was lugging 40kg of luggage through burning sun, rain and dirt as well as numerous rip-off manoeuvres with weird comments (dead people cost extra). Advantage: much better workout than kiting itself. Disadvantage: lack of joie de vivre. My pilgrimage is now over. I arrive in the kitesurfing mecca of Boracay.
The bus journey from Roxas takes forever because the road to Caticlan is completely blocked for the last 50 kilometres. Stop and go for religion. In the harbour I understand why: apparently half of all tourists in the Philippines really are just horny for this one little island. The boom started in the late 60s when hippies discovered the fishing island for themselves. Only later did the Filipinos themselves realise that Boracay with its white beaches is really beautiful. The Filipino upper class can often be recognised by their T-shirts: “I was in Boracay”.
Today Boracay is the Monaco of the Philippine islands. Nowhere is it more expensive, closer, louder, richer. Boracay is just seven by two kilometres in size. In terms of traffic, the main street is like Times Square. I expect to see a Checker Cab turning round the corner any second. So far I have counted seven petrol stations – certainly not all of them.
Speedboats, bananas, bangkas, sailing boats, parasailers and even swimming Filipinos can be found in the water. Go-karts, zorbing, helicopter tours, Mongolian restaurants and Arabs on a crusade for honour who go crazy on their mobile phones: there’s nothing that Boracay doesn’t have. Including a full-blown cold with a sore head from too many rolling freezers in the last few days.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.