Bantayan island, Cebu is Boracay without party animals. Sugar Beach, the island’s longest stretch of beach, is the place to be when soul-searching.
When I went here with a friend, we met another backpacker–a flight attendant from the Philippine Airlines–who took her leave and went to Cebu alone.
In a postmodern world where strangers roam the earth, ties can easily be knotted with a cold bottle of beer under a night sky dotted with billions of stars. That night, all three of us ladies spread our sarong over the cool white sand while listening to the secrets of the sea, hummed by the waves.
Nearby, a dog was watching over us, like a reserved gentleman, following us, ready to attack creatures of the night.
While the world seemed to be sleeping, we took turns telling the most romantic and heart-breaking stories, as if we’re cast away–the last survivors of this planet gone mad and forgetful of simple pleasures in life. That time I was a child once more, worry-free in an adult’s body. Why does everything become complicated when maturity has supposedly refined a person’s perspective of things, I ask.
In the morning, we went island hopping, snorkeling, swimming, strolling, and everything Adam and Eve must’ve done in paradise.