Boracay is an island located at the northwest tip of Panay Island in the Western Visayan region, off the Sibuyan Sea. It is a 35-minute flight from Metro Manila. They say that the name Boracay came from the local word “borac,” which means “white cotton”. True enough, Boracay’s soft powdery white sand can be compared to a cotton.It has a long stretch of powdery white sand that you will surely love. It is a veritable tropical haven with crystal clear blue waters, diverse marine life, and vast forests. The forests contain palms, flowering plants and tropical trees.Local and international cuisine like native Filipino dishes, spicy Thai curries, Italian pizzas, Mongolian barbecues, and Iranian Caviars are some of the food served around the island. You can go swimming, kayaking, wind surfing, sailing, parasailing, and do a lot more recreational activities here. Henna tattoos and hair braids are genuine proofs that you’ve gone to Boracay. Boracay Freshwater Lake can be found at the inner part of the island; it is the home of some natives. Water cannot go in and out of the lake, so the lake cleaning has to be done by natural fauna and flora. Around it, the lands are used for vegetation and you can see fruit-bearing trees, vegetables, and other plants. Beautiful butterflies, hummingbirds, frogs and fish are thriving joyfully in this place. I really can’t believe how peaceful and beautiful it is.” June Vino is calling from one of Boracay’s sandy white beaches on a Tuesday afternoon, with his friends chatting and laughing in the background. Originally from Manila, 32-year-old Vino has been a resident of the Philippine island for eleven years, but his daily routine has changed drastically in recent days. He has been forced to halt business at his popular rooftop and beach lounge restaurants after President Rodrigo Duterte closed the entire island in an unprecedented move after branding it a “cesspool” earlier this year. The 7-km-wide haven of Boracay, nestled in the Aklan province of the Philippines, is a perennial feature on ‘World’s Best Island‘ lists for its white sands and azure blue shorelines. Yet since April 26, the ‘paradise of the Philippines‘ hasn’t played host to the usual legions of tourists, bewitched by the Instagrammable images of its stunning vistas. For the next six months, Boracay will be closed to tourists and non-residents following Duterte’s presidential proclamation declaring a “state of calamity” on the island, attributed to waste management problems and environmental concerns.
Travel Marino 