Boracay, Philippines – Motag Living Museum - Canceled Port!

 February 20 - Port canceled!

We missed today’s port due to wind conditions and it wasn’t safe to tender. We really were looking forward to the “living museum” and getting a photo on a water buffalo.

So, we had another sea day. We caught another lecture on Japan and their lecturer is very animated and interesting.

This was a tricky port to book. It was hard to find a private guide. The ship was around $150 pp and Viator was around $75 pp. I booked one on Viator and the guide never responded to my question of where we were to meet since their 2 choices of pick-up points didn’t specifically include the port, so I researched some more and saw that some reviewers had booked directly with the Museum. I emailed them and they were very responsive, and they said they would even pick us up at the ship. (only $26 pp which was a fraction of what Viator was charging which already was a huge amount less than the ship’s tour)

Here is the description of what we would have done:

It’s an interactive cultural expo showcasing traditional crafts, local farming methods, folk songs and native delights in a small barangay called Motag. Run by locals, the museum helps to show Boracay’s agricultural heritage and what life in the island’s original villages was like long before the first traveler arrived. Explore traditional homes and the work that goes into farming the surrounding landscapes, from rice milling to plowing.

Experience the traditional local ways of living such as the nipa hut, fetching water from a deep well using bamboo, riding a carabao (type of water buffalo), rice planting, harvesting and threshing using the feet, hand pounding of paddy in a wooden mortar and pestle, shredding of coconut. You can also experience the different kinds of weaving like mat making, nipa hut and our very new cloth weaving. We do also serve local snacks, our very own buko juice and lemon grass with ginger tea to “freshi'n up ur busy day”.

Tonight was a "Dressy Night". Most didn't dress any differently than usual. (fine by us)

The show tonight was called Humanity, and it was a very good dance and the male singer from the band that plays in the Rolling Stone Lounge performed with them.

Tomorrow, we visit Manila, Philippines. Many of the crew are Filipino so they are excited to see family and friends and get some supplies.