It is amazing that in the twenty-first century there are still places that await discovery, but Boracay Island is such a place. Oh, it is by no means a deserted island, but when tourism does not find such a paradise until the 1970s, one may safely consider that it remains to be discovered by millions of people.
People who have already made the pilgrimage write about the island in much the same way as the early Spaniards wrote about their own discoveries of paradise. The name, Boracay, is said to be derived from the local words of Bora, for bubbles, and Bocay, for white. Indeed, watching the white bubbles frothing amid the crashing blue waters in Crystal Bay will evoke many other striking images for the visitor who is viewing this island paradise for the first time.
Boracay Island rests in the Philippines and lies off the coast of Manila by about 200 miles. In 1900, Sofia and Lamberto Tirol were the primary owners of the island. They began to populate it with coconuts and various other fruit trees and vegetation, and soon after that, everybody else followed suit until the island teemed with lush greenery. However, the white sands and calm blue water of Boracay Island remain its top drawing card. In fact, in the 1990s, it was with confidence that the Philippine Board of Tourism named Boracay Island among the best beaches in the world. In 2012, Travel and Leisure Magazine went a step further and declared Boracay to be the best island in the world.
Anyone visiting the island for the first time will find the charm in the fact that despite all of the modern hotels and world-class restaurants, the island manages to retain a sense of being rustic and untouched. Yes, there is a nightlife, and yes, the beaches may be crowded. However, the locals are a casual, friendly people, and there are no pushy vendors hawking wares at the beaches. White Beach is the main beach, but Bulabog is where the windsurfers will want to stay. For the golfers, there is even a championship golf course. It’s a par-22 course that was designed by professional golfer and course designer Graham Marsh. Anybody who wants to know what it feels like to step back in time, while still seeing the future of tourism, would have to visit Boracay Island in order to understand that unique feeling.
Anickaworld 