In the morning, we walked over to Talipapas, and on the way through the shops, I shared a camote que (yams I think) with Christine, and Chris and I each got our own banana que. It was so good, but I think it was a little heavy for me, and just seemed to sit in my stomach. We were going to buy some breaded good, but the amount of flies in the case turned us off to it. We did buy another buko shake.
We ran into a small stand (if you’d call it that) that had transportation to the airport, which we needed. Our plane left early enough that we knew it could be tricky getting to the airport. We decided to go with Arnel, the guy who seemed to be the business, and he assured us for 400p each he could get us there on time.
The group of us walked out to try to decide on food, but we ended up splitting. Chris and I returned to Nigi’s thinking that since dinner was good, their breakfast would be good. I was having a hard time deciding what I would eat for breakfast since I felt full already, but went with the beef tapa again. Wrong. It really wasn’t too bad, but not barely okay. Chris said it was just all way to Americanized. At least the coffee was real and the location was nice. I did like the longanisa that Chris had better than I had in Davao.
Chris and I returned to the Talipapa stalls and decided to purchase a few gifts for my nieces and nephew that were personalized. The young man who wrote the names did it so perfectly and quickly, I was impressed. He did have one incredibly long thumb nail that was filed to a point. While waiting for it to dry, we looked and thought about some other items. There was a lamp we really wanted that was a coconut tree with the coconuts on them having holes in them which was where the light shown through. We were concerned about packing it and the voltage back at home, so we decided to wait on that.
My clothes were a big concern to me because they were not drying fast enough. I had worn a few items that were damp since I knew that would dry them by wearing them, but the rest inside were dry on the upper half, still to damp on the lower half.
I went for a massage, since they were so inexpensive there. 250p for a half hour is what I was charged…so around $5. I had her focus on only my neck and back. The ladies doing these were right on the sand under a grove of trees. There were beds lined up and I didn’t think about it until too late to do anything about it, so I laid down on the sheet that everyone else had laid on too. I made sure to not put my face directly on it, but it certainly made me think about the hygiene expectations in the states. Although really…how bad can it be for you? Maybe ignorance is bliss…The massage was nice, not great, not bad, but worth $5 for sure.
After that, Chris and I went in search of finding a henna artist to draw my temporary tattoo. Along the way Chris enjoyed some roadside stand delectables. The first hanna stand we stopped at to ask was busy, but they seemed good. 300 p for the traditional Indian design I wanted on my foot up to my lower leg. In California a small one costs at least $10. We moved on scouting out prices and designs. The next stop was a young boy who was really excited to do it and was willing to for 150p. I was a little concerned, but he seemed to need the money. We left and found one last place where the guy seemed very good and quoted us 200p. We walked a little farther, and my heart was wanting to take my business to the young man who probably needed it the most, but then I didn’t want an ugly messed up henna tattoo, and I wasn’t so sure of his work. We eventually turned back, found the kid and he found us seats. He sat down on the dirt to do it, pulled out his little bottle and was trying to squeeze out the liquid but his bottle wasn't working well. He kept shaking it, squeezing it, taking a small blade of some woody weed to try to clear out the tip, then was trying to put water in it...all the while I'm thinking my tattoo is not going to end up well. I felt even worse for this kid, but by this time two other people had come in and were sitting down, so I figured he had business, I looked at Chris and I gathered the nerve to tell the kid we might try coming back later. He was disappointed, but more concerned with trying to get his bottle to work. 
We walked back to the third guy, and waiting a few minutes as he wrote silly single words on the back of some giggly girls necks. He sat down, tried to rub off any oils on my leg (I had used some hand sanitizer already thinking maybe the alcohol in it would take care of the oils figuring they would do no prep). He took out his henna bottle and started just above my ankle. Quickly and so adeptly, he drew flowers and swirling vines, added dots and ore flowers in just the right places stretching down my foot and up the side of my calf. When all was said and done (in a matter of a few minutes - he may be the fastest I've ever had give me a detailed henna tattoo), it was perfectly what I wanted. Chris and I waited about ten minutes, and then went on our way back to the hotel, with just one more stop at the Talipapa for some wooden bracelets I had seen. 
On our walk we had seen a monkey that was leashed to a tree on a connecting road just off the main walkway. The monkey seemed to be healthy and happy enough, but I felt bad he was tied up. He used the ropes to his advantage by jumping off the tree limb and swinging back and forth. He would push off from the trunk, do little gymnastic moves around the limbs as if he was on the bars. I think he knew how cute he was when he did that. People had left him food as well, you could tell by the pile of leftovers under his little tree.
The sunsets were very beautiful in Boracay, so when we arrived back to the hotel, we hung out outside for a little while snapping some pictures of the beautiful view. The sailboats were making their way back in as well, and I love the graceful view of it gliding through the water.
We had made reservations for dinner at Mesa, which is a nice Filipino restaurant. We walked back down the beachfront with the family and arrived, but true to our experience here, it took awhile to have our orders taken. Chris and I ordered beef two ways and a plate of pork skewers. They were both so delicious. With the beef, one was cooked crispy with coconut, and the other was cooked in a yellow coconut curry. They were so delicious. The pork skewers were flavored just right as well. It was absolutely mouthwatering.
On our walk back, we passed again the dinner being served on the beach by one of the resorts. There were a few rows of servers and chefs dressed in white with tall cooks caps. Music was playing and they were dancing! It was quite a sight to see, and a lot of people on the walkway, like us, stopped to watch and record. Some of the servers were totally into it and enjoying themselves, some were not so excited and you could tell by the looks on their faces and lack of passion in their moves (I don't blame them...it must be awkward). Still, it was fun to watch and they went through at least 2-3 songs.
One of the items several street peddlers were selling was a laser pen. This laser pen came with five different designs to cap the pen, or you could point the laser light beam on it's own. Chris stopped and bought one for 800p, even though his mom told him another lady was selling it for 500p. The kid selling convinced Chris his was better because he was selling it with the different designs, in the case, where as the other sellers were not. So, he bought it and we went on our way to join his parents, who had just bought two for 500p - the exact same product. So, we decided to go back and see if the kid would sell us a second one for 200p, to have the same deal his parents got. The kid would not. Then he kept trying to convince us that his product was better. First, the beam on his was stronger...which it wasn't when we compared. Then, he said that his batteries were way better, they were rechargeable (which they weren't). But, the batteries were better and would last longer, so Chris asked to buy it without the batteries....he said no. Ours would work under water, but in ten minutes, theirs would not...we were not going to compare. Our would last, and if there was a problem we could come back to him as he had a warranty, but the others he said would not last two days. We gave up trying to convince the kid and walked back to the hotel.
Among one of the tree groves was a group of beggars. They had been stationed there the two days we had been there. They did not look like the other Filipinos we had seen, so my guess is they had immigrated from somewhere, but where I could not pin point. I had no idea what their story was, but what made me saddest was that the little girls were out, right in the middle of the walkway, holding out a cup. The oldest one was probably no more than 5 years old. One her lap, asleep was another little sister, probably around 3. A few feet away sitting up, scooping the sand toward her completely ignoring the many feet and legs walking on all sides around her was a little baby, probably around a year. The older women were among the grove of trees, either sleeping or preoccupied while their children were strategically placed where all the people passing would either see them or step on them or kick them. Luckily I did not see that happen to any of them, but I so wanted to pick them up and take them home. This is certainly no life for these children. I don't know their story, and this may be a better life then from where they originally where from, but I pray to the Lord that somehow these little children will get better opportunities in life than what they currently have.
Near our hotel was a few older men also selling the pointers. Chris was curious and asked them their price. They said 800p. He asked if they would go down to 500p, telling them someone else was selling it for that. They looked at each other, the guy went down to 700p, but Chris heard one say that 500 was no profit. They seemed genuinely surprised at that price. We didn't purchase. Part of me really feels bag haggling. I know these people need to make a living and some of them may have families to support. What is a few American dollars to me and will not make one difference, may make a big difference to them. I know people often see it as a game or a challenge as to what the lowest price they can get (and maybe are looking for a good deal for their budget), but I have the hardest time doing it.
We walked in past our gross mildewy curtain hanging in front of the door and told the family about the boy and the laser. We decided to get another laser as a gift, and Chris' mom wanted another for a gift, so we walked back out to the lady who was selling them for 500p and Chris heard in a dialect of Tagalog to get them ones with a certain battery. We could tell that the battery on one was dim, but it worked just as well when we switched batteries, so we took two and went back to the room to prepare for our early morning departure.
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