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A first dive and a night as bar hosts in Boracay (2019)

A few days in Boracay with colleagues and former colleagues, my first time scuba diving, and an evening when we jokingly became the hosts of Bom Bom Bar.

By Thawaio1 min read16–19 August 2019 · Boracay

Wind-bent coconut palms on a white sand beach, with turquoise water, small breaking waves and blue-sailed outrigger boats on the sea beyond under a bright sky.
White Beach, 16 August.

In August 2019, I went to Boracay with a group of colleagues and former colleagues. We landed on the morning of 16 August, and before ten o’clock we were on a boat across to the island.

A view from an aircraft window over a long beach lined with palm trees, many outrigger boats moored in clear turquoise water and small islands on the horizon, with the tip of the wing at the right.
Coming in to land, 16 August.
An airport runway with a grass verge and a rock sea wall beyond, the sea and a low green island on the horizon, and part of the aircraft’s wing at the right.
On the runway, 16 August.
Choppy blue sea with outrigger boats and a low green coastline, seen from a boat with a rope crossing the frame.
Crossing to the island, 16 August.
Bright turquoise water with small breaking waves, blue-sailed outrigger boats and a long hilly island on the horizon under white clouds.
White Beach, 16 August.

My first scuba dive

This trip was my first time scuba diving. We had about 30 minutes of training, and then we were going underwater, into the sea. It was a memorable first experience.

Three people in wetsuits, masks and air tanks standing waist-deep in clear green water beside the outrigger of a boat, one of them holding a regulator to the mouth, with hillside villas behind.
Scuba training in the shallows.
A white sand beach curving away beside turquoise water, with tall leaning palm trees, people walking along the shore and a rock formation offshore in the distance.
Along White Beach.

Out on the water

A white sand beach with people walking towards a long floating pier, boats moored at its end and a wooded hillside with villas at the left.
The beach and the floating pier, 17 August.
Calm blue water crowded with outrigger and tour boats, with a few people standing in the shallows near the shore.
Boats offshore, 17 August.
Two tour boats on the sea in front of a small wooded island with a rocky base, seen past the ropes and outrigger of a boat.
From the boat, 17 August.
A steep green island with rocky cliffs at the waterline, seen past the sail and ropes of a boat in the evening light.
Passing a wooded island, 17 August.
A towering rock formation overgrown with plants, its base undercut by the sea, with another rocky islet beyond.
Rocks at the water's edge, 17 August.
People in silhouette on a boat under its canopy, with the sun setting over the sea and a path of light on the water.
Sunset from the boat, 17 August.
A hilly island with lights coming on under a pale evening sky, seen across the water past the outrigger of a boat.
Heading back at dusk, 17 August.

A night as Bom Bom Bar’s hosts

On one of the days, we managed to get a very good table right beside the sea at Bom Bom Bar, on the beach. We stayed there until late at night.

We were having beer, getting a little tipsy, jumping into the ocean, coming back to the table and doing it all again.

At some point, we started jokingly acting as the bar’s hosts. Whenever tourists walked past, we encouraged them to come in, and we helped fill the place up with customers. We weren’t working there, of course. We were just having great fun pretending.

The owner even rewarded us with a free bucket of beer for bringing in the customers. It is still one of the funniest and most enjoyable memories of the trip.

The inside of a beach bar at night, with blue chairs and wooden tables, a small stage with speakers and a music stand, and a carved Bom Bom Bar sign lit in green and pink.
Bom Bom Bar at night.

Along White Beach

Leaning coconut palms on white sand, with turquoise water and swimmers beyond and a man in a blue T-shirt walking along the beach.
Palms along White Beach, 18 August.
Coconuts and a juice cart under a stall’s awning, framing the beach, people at the water’s edge and turquoise sea.
A coconut juice stall on the beach, 18 August.
White sand and gentle waves along a curving shore, with leaning palms and shops at the right, people walking and a rock formation offshore.
White Beach, 18 August.
A narrow strip of beach along a sea wall of bamboo and sandbags, with a leaning palm, a lamp post and rocks offshore in the distance.
A bamboo and sandbag wall along the beach, 18 August.
Turquoise sea and a sandy shore seen between the dark trunks of coconut palms, with a man carrying a striped towel at the right.
Between the palms, 19 August.
A single coconut palm leaning over a sandy beach, with turquoise water and blue sky behind.
A palm on the beach, 19 August.
Colourful outrigger passenger boats moored in clear turquoise water below a wooded headland with a few buildings.
Boats below the headland, 19 August.
An outrigger boat heading out across turquoise water past a small wooded island, with another boat moored at the left.
Boats heading out, 19 August.

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