Dream Run #5: The Other Side of Boracay

This is my second time to be in Boracay.  Last weekend, Quennie and I joined Beauty and the Beach, a second year anniversary celebration of Women’s Health Magazine.  Last year, Quennie and I had an 8K run at the shores of Boracay.  It was our first experience to run in the beach and we realized it was difficult to run on the sand.  Half of the run, we decided to run barefoot and it felt better.  Women’s Health asked us to lead the morning barefoot run in the beach.  They exceeded their target number of attendees and the beach beauties had fun.

While the beach beauties had their barefoot run, I had a runabout at Boracay.  Without a definite route, I got out of our hotel and head straight on for the road.

I remember our ATV ride last year where we had a drive to Mt. Luho whichis the highest peak in the island.  From that point, you can view the other side of Boracay which has a nice strech of the beach.  I hope I can retrace that route and reach the peak and the beach.  But I would behappy to run 6K and head back for a 12K weekend run. It will be my longest run since the Hong Kong Marathon.

The Main Street

Running on the main streets of Boracay was surprisingly quite.  Maybe because the people were still asleep from the revelry of the previous night.  There were few people in the road.  There were few vehicles.

On both sides of the road are just trees.  The beach can’t even be seen because of all the constructions at the beach side.  You need to take a peep on the door to see the famous white sand of Boracay.

Taking a turn

I took a detour to what seems to be a familiar road.  I think, this is the road going to Mt. Luho.  It was going uphill.  This must be it.

From this point, a different Boracay is seen.  It was far from the bustling seaside.  Houses were small and simple.  People are doing theirdaily duties like fetch some water from the well or sell their fresh catch of the day.

The roads were all going up.  I must be near the peak but I am not sure if this is the road to Mt. Luho.  I was able to reach some cliffs and got a good view of the beach.  There was a nipa hut for a viewing deck and took a break for some photos.  It was only 3kms so I continued.

Finally, the sign.  I reached Mt. Luho.  But it was not open yet.  I don’t even think it looks open to public anymore.  I was not able to go up their viewing deck ike last year.  I decided to keep on running.  Thebeach was just below.  I had 4km so far.  I was hoping the beach will be at least 6km so I took the road down and headed for it.

The Beach Less Travelled

I reached the beach.  It was about 6km.  Just perfect.  But the sand here is not as good as the other side.  It was rough with shells and broken corals.  Plenty of seaweeds too.  But the wind was strong for parasailing.  And early in the morning, foreigners are already out in the beach with their sails playing with the wind.

But I can’t resist the beach.  I run a few meters of it.  When I saw a bangka parked near the shore, I placed my camera on it and took some shots of me running.  Yeah.

A Long Run Cut Short

It was 6km already.  I can head back and take the same route for a 12km run.  But what if I don’t turn back?  How much farther do I need to run to reach our hotel again?  Will it be nearer?

I don’t know.  And what makes a runabout exciting is the idea that somewhere, you can discover something new.  The more I don’t know where Iam heading, the more exciting it becomes.  So I asked around which roadcould take me back to the central white beach.

I was expecting a possible long and tiring run going back to the hotel. I imagined myself running around the island, maybe reaching the pier.  That will be a nice long run.

But when I reached the corner, I was shocked to see the familar building.  I was back in our hotel.  All I had was adding a 500m run andthat was it.  Instead of a 12km run if I turned back to the same route,I had a total of 7km for the day.  It was short but it wasn’t bad at all. At least, I discovered something new.

This was my last day at Boracay.  The following day, we have to go back to Manila.  But along the way, we stopped by Sampaguita Gardens in Aklan.  Read more about Sampaguita Gardens at Manokan Express. It’s a nice place for a side trip if ever you go to Boracay.

Maybe next time, I get a map andplot a better course.  Meaning, I love to get back here to Bocaray.  Not to swim but for another runabout.

Check other photos during my runabout here.