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The boatmen knew exactly where to stop. The spot was marked by buoys, the water was clear and the fish (like Nemo) came up to feed on pieces of bread tossed by sightseers.

fish

But the fish weren’t the only attraction in the middle of the sea. There were coconut vendors…

coconut vendors

… and they were splitting the coconut husks as the waves tossed their narrow boats. Amazing! It was a very hot day and we were all thirsty. We ordered a lot of coconuts and enjoyed the sweet juice.

sipping coconut juice

No meat to scoop from inside the husk — there was just juice.

And then, there were the ice cream vendors.

ice cream vendors in the middle of the sea in Boracay

All the kids got excited.

pinipig crunch

It was pinipig crunch for me. I couldn’t resist. Not that I was craving for ice cream but the idea of eating ice cream bought from a vendor in the middle of the sea was simply too irresistible.

Snorkeling time. I wanted underwater photos of the fish and corals.

snorkeling

PJ lent me his goggles. I didn’t want to use them at first as I’ve always swum in the sea sans goggles. But the underwater view was better with goggles on. So, thank you, PJ. But, despite the goggles, taking photos wasn’t easy. The current was strong and the boatmen insisted that we don’t let go of the rope attached to the boat. Then, Sam came down into the water and I figured she’d have a better chance of taking underwater photos. But the girl, taller and with all the muscles I wish I had, took one plunge and two shots then came up, wrapped her legs around my hips and wouldn’t let go. Told you, strong current. And it’s difficult to take clear pictures if you’re too near the surface. It would have been a better idea to really dive with the proper gear. Can’t dive with those life vests. But with that current, it would have been too risky to go into the water without them, so…

By the time we climbed up the boat and took off the life vests, disaster struck. All that buko juice and ice cream, combined with the tossing of the boat and we were ready to barf. I felt the ice cream rising up to my throat. Sam had her head down and Alex looked bad. In fact, no one looked good at that point except the boatmen, Speedy and PJ. Speedy was still playing with his camera, trying to make us envious by holding it by the strap and dipping the camera in the sea.

The boat was untied from the bouys and we were off to Puca Island. The water had calmed considerably a few hundred meters from the snorkeling site but we knew the nauseous feeling wouldn’t be totally gone until our feet were on dry land.

I fell in love with Puca Island.

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