Boracay to Manila (January 12, 2026)
I purposefully scheduled my flight form Boracay to Manila at 2pm. Rather than rush, I wanted a leisurely completion of my time here. After my normal morning routine (starting with Meditation and Exercise as part of MEDS-RX), I decided to take one last 3 mile walk down and back along the white sandy beach. What a beautiful way to get my 10,000 steps in early in the morning.
3-mile morning walk on the Boracay beach. Stunning.
Notice the shadows on the beach. At 7am, the sun is up, but it’s pre-sunscreen time of the day. That’s my favorite because I can enjoy the walk and beauty without lathering up. I also love the color contrasts. White clouds, blue sky, aqua ocean, green trees, white sand, black rock, and colorful boats floating on the water. It’s almost too much to take in. My eyes don’t know where to focus.
Just a couple of things to note from my morning walk. First, check this out:
Yes, this is real. You can hire a scuba dive shop to dive as a mermaid!
I know the primary purpose of dressing up like a mermaid is for the pictures. I get it. I just didn’t know it was so popular, scuba diving shops have the gear to rent and take out on a dive. Beyond the costume elements, the tail are two fins combined. That is, both your feet enter a single large tail fin that actually works! I’d love to see someone do this.
Apparently, the sand artists do their work between 5am and 9am
And right off the beach front is this sign (which, as a foodie, I love):
Way to promote Filipino food! I’m IN!!!
The flight to Manila was uneventful, which I’m grateful for. The Boracay airport is relatively small and is split between two counties. That’s why the arrivals are on the opposite end of the departures portion of the airport and busses are required to move passengers around.
At baggage claim in Manila, I was met with this sign:
I do indeed LOVE The Philippines. Great reminder all the same.
By the way, tomorrow is my wife’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Elena! What she doesn’t (yet) know is that I wrapped presents and wrote out a long note on her birthday card and hid all of it in a drawer where I’ll instruct her to find tomorrow. Much easier to take care of this while I was in New York for the holidays. Just glad I had the foresight to do it.
