Pleasure seeker

No shortage of things to do on Boracay, or ways to spend your money. Of course, it's easy enough to do absolutely nothing as well. Down on the boardwalk, the locals are constantly offering their goods and services to any foreigner who walks by:



You want go sailing, sir? We go snorkeling, sir?
You want oil massage, sir?
You want try jet ski, sir? How about banana boat, sir?
You need new sunglasses, sir? I have Rolexes sir.
Please come in for some lunch sir.
Have you tried kite boarding, sir?
Horseback riding, sir? ATV, you try sir?



I wouldn't say the guys are pushy, politely determined perhaps. I noticed no matter how many times I said "yes" (massages, sailing/snorkeling, sunglasses) or "no" (Rolexes, jet skis, ATVs, kite boarding), each day the same guys, though recognizing me, proceeded as if I was a new customer, as if we had no exchange yesterday or the day before. Every single day I was there, one guy offered his jet ski, and every time I told him I would rather go sailing--yet it never phased him, the next day he just came back with "How about today sir? You try jet ski today, sir?"




I got hooked on sailing while I was there, though I didnt learn much about operating the boat. I was content to sit on the webbing between the hull and the outrigger with my feet splashing in the 85 degree water. One afternoon we went to a shallow lagoon with a nice reef an snorkelled for a couple hours. While playing near the boat, a a guy in a small row boat paddled up, hawking ice cream from his on-board cooler. I wasn't really hungry, but was so impressed with his gumption to make a few pesos that I bought a few anyway.