Boracay

This was the best sail-in so far. The Silver Shadow approached along a waterway between two islands. On the starboard side, the land looked uninhabited, except for the modern windmills on top of the rounded tree-covered hills. On the port side was a busy holiday resort, with a very long white sandy beach. All kinds of water sports could be seen, the most spectacular being the para sailing. How do they stop the lines being tangled between one boat and another?

Once more it was a tender transfer, and fortunately this one was a normal one with no difficulty. The journey into town, which (unusually for Silversea) had to be paid for, was supplied by the local tourist authority and was in a new air conditioned minivan. The roads are unbelievably congested, mostly with minivans, vans and trikshaws. Some of these vehicles carry out 3-point turns in the midst of all the chaos in two-way traffic on a road not much wider than one carriageway would be in the UK. The hot and tiring wait for the return journey, about 30 minutes for TSH and Diva, was attributed to ‘congestion’. The petrol engine has done no favours for this part of the world.

The resort itself is hot, noisy and busy. There are many street traders offering souvenirs such as cheap imitation pearls and many offers of massages to be carried out on sunbeds on the beach.

The Filippino crew are very excited about visiting their own country and are delighted if you say anything good about it. Those whose friends and family are from this region are going ashore with huge amounts of goods purchased in bargain spots from their journey so far. It was sale time when they were in Alaska a couple of months ago and a large television and a sofa were spotted on the tender for delivery ashore.