When visiting the Philippines, Boracay is usually one on every tourist’s to-do list. It has been known for it’s beautiful white sands, blue waters and gorgeous corals. Unfortunately, it no longer lives up to its name, it hasn’t for quite some time… and there really isn’t anyone to blame but ourselves.
This photo was sent to us by one of our readers. Truly, a picture paints a thousand words…
Boracay Then and Now…
When I first visited Boracay around 15 years ago, I was in awe with its beauty. I’ve never seen sand so white! Being a young girl then, I was just busy frolicking and building sand castles with the pretty white sand – today, that sand is covered in moss and every time you try and dig deeper, you’d get more and more buried garbage like candy wrappers and cigarette buts.
15 years ago, I remember being able to sit down in one of the few restaurants there and just enjoying the sound of the sea and the wind blowing in my face – today, there are restaurants in every single corner that are jam packed with guests, you could barely hear each other. Serene sound of the sea? What sound? Today all you’d hear are the sounds of people screaming at the top of their lungs. And that cool gentle breeze? It’s been replaced by the stench of cigarette smoke.
15 years ago, I remember climbing the hills/mountains to get to the other side of the island, I remember the locals even giving us garlic ‘coz there might be aswangs (local vampires). It was slightly scarey but part of the reason why this island was amazing. Today, there are barely and hills to climb and no aswang would be able to live there with all that noise!
15 years ago, I remember chasing the tiny crabs along the shore! My cousins and I would run for hours just catching these crabs (and putting them back again unharmed.). Today…. what crabs? The crabs barely come out with the island being overpopulated. 15 years ago, I remember watching the FIREFLIES light up the front of the house. It was my first time to ever see these gorgeous insects! Today, you wouldn’t even know they existed.
Boracay – Highly Endangered
These are just SOME of the many things that have changed in Boracay after it’s been taken over by businesses and establishments. Don’t get me wrong, restaurants and even the night life are okay, but there’s a limit to everything. We should never abuse what nature has given us.
For the past years, more and more news of Boracay’s slow demise has been spreading all over the world wide web. How many more stories do we need to hear before we finally do something about it? We’re slowly losing our beautiful island along with its marine and coastal ecosystems. Time for Boracay to take a break. Allow yourselves to enjoy the beauty I saw 15 years ago. Allow your children and their children to experience its grandeur.
So what do YOU plan to do about it?
