Nerve-wracking trip to Bora

BORACAY— Last year, when my friend Jack Ruby invited me for an overnight stay here in one of the world’s top tourist destinations, I vowed it would be my first and last visit.
The flight from Manila to Caticlan took only 45 minutes but all told, the entire trip lasted five hours.
We traveled via three modes of transportation:  Air, sea and land.
By the time I got to the hotel, I was too tired to do anything but sleep.
I never had the chance to unpack because we had to leave for the airport early the following day.
From the hotel we took a tricycle to where we had to take another long circuitous ride to the jetty port. We took another trip by ferry, then another trip by land to the airport for our flight back to Manila. It was a harrowing experience, although to the younger set it may be an adventure.
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But I must have a short memory because earlier this week, I found myself aboard a PAL flight bound for Boracay, this time via Kalibo, for the PBA All-Stars.
The route turned out to be even more nerve-wracking because we had to drive for two hours on a narrow, steep road with sharp curves.
PBA chair Rene Pardo said he had to take several tablets of Bonamine on his way to AltaVista, the sprawling  3.8-hectare hotel where the entire PBA delegation was booked.
By the time we arrived at our final destination, it was 6:30 p.m. PBA media bureau Dave Coros said we had to be at the reception area in 15 minutes.
I decided to skip the trip through the hilly terrains of Puka beach and dined at the hotel café instead. I’m sure I made the right decision because later in the evening, I learned that commissioner Chito Salud and Willie Marcial, on their way to Puka beach, had to get down from the mini cab where they were riding, roll up their sleeves, and push the vehicle that was starting to slide down, because it had more passengers than it could carry.
The commissioner and Willie agreed they got a good workout that night.
And I got a good native dinner compliments of Arie Sena, plus entertainment that included song numbers, fire dancing, hula dancing and folk dancing.
Sales chief Stephen Delumen said all the talents in the show are employees of AltaVista.
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Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid wore a snorkel and mimicked a diver on his way to the hoop for his slam dunk, but it was Kelly Williams’ act that caught the attention of the crowd and the nod of the judges.
In tandem with his TNT teammate Jimmy Alapag, who passed the ball to from the upper level of the convention center, Kelly had to make three attempts before he successfully made the winning dunk in the final round.
The media engaged in a friendly bet during the All-Stars shoot out.
Majority of the scribes placed their money on TNT’s Jimmy Alapag this time but it was defending champion Mark Macapagal who turned out to be the most prolific.
Tonight,  PBA legends Alvin Patrimonio and Ato Agustin and Allan Caidic shoot it out with the younger stars.