My Boracay trip in Instagram

Yes, I have been neglecting this blog again. But I have a very, very good reason: I was in Boracay.

And as much as I could’ve used the downtime to blog, I couldn’t. Any motivation I could muster to open my computer  had to be reserved for work. Yes, I worked a little bit in Boracay. How sad.

So anyway. My trip did not start off well. I got a message that my 7:50 am flight was moved to an earlier time, 7:35 am. But at the airport, both times came and went and we were still stuck on land. Alas, our flight was delayed by 2 hours due to mist that prevented the Caticlan flight from leaving. Naturally, that made me cranky.

But the crankiness just melts away at the sight of this from the plane:

I know, I’ve said it before, but, really.  That shoreline is just. too. beautiful.

I really can’t think of a better, more stunning place to get lost in a book. One of my favorite things to do in Boracay is walk along the beach while reading, as horribly Nicholas Spark heroine-ish as it sounds. I get so caught up in the book, and soothed by the water lapping at my ankles (sorry, again, for the cheesiness) that by the time I look up from the page, I’m a looooong way from where I started walking. And here’s the book the kept me absorbed this time around:

And what’s a Boracay photo post without one of the sunset?

I’m not really the stare-at-the-sunset type of girl (or am I?) but even cynical, sarcastic old me can’t really help but stop and stare at this:

Because, you know, WOW. There are no words, really.

My trip in Instagram/iPhone

I think I’ve been converted. I used to own a Blackberry but switched to an iPhone when I lost my Bold. And I’m loving it.

One of the biggest surprises about the iPhone was its camera. I used it during my trip when my camera battery conked out or when I left my memory card in my laptop (stupid, I know). It’s pretty good, no, considering it’s a phone camera? And one of the photos that convinced me that it was a good camera was this:

From the garden at the Carmelite monastery in Lisieux, France (where St. Therese’s remains lay): the Million Flower (that’s what I was told it was called), uh, flower. It was one of those days (yes, it happened more than once) when I left my memory card in my computer. But the flowers in the garden were so pretty, I had to take photos. And these flowers and this photo are my favorite of the lot. I was really surprised how the iPhone camera captured the detail: the veins on the leaves, the teeny-tiny blossoms and the even tinier specks on the bigger flowers. The photo’s so good, it doesn’t look like it was taken from real life.

And here’s another photo of other flowers in the same garden. I love the contrast of the bright yellow against the deep fuchsia:

And although I know some real artists and photography enthusiasts scoff at the app Instagram, I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s real easy to use and is a great help for those of us who want to tinker with the look and feel of our photos but don’t have the time/money/skill/patience to take photos on film or edit digital ones themselves.

And here are some of my favorite Instagram photos from my trip:

The macaron display case at the la Grande Épicerie. I had to take this stolen shot with my iPhone because photos aren’t allowed inside the store.

And the same is true with this shot:

Another stolen shot of another pastry case, this time, Ladurée at Rue Royale.

I didn’t just take prohibited photos of sugary things, of course. I also took photos of the touristy stuff from my iPhone, including one of my favorite photos from my trip:

And proof that throwing a coin into it works:

I threw a 5-peso coin into the Trevi Fountain the first time I was in Rome. And ta-da! I got to go back. But I forgot to throw another one in this time around. Oooops.

Obviously I had fun with my iPhone and tinkering with Instagram during my trip. Instagram, I think, is great way to sort of have a different version a memory of a moment or place , to give a photo a feel that an un-Instagrammed photo can’t capture.

And besides, when the photos are as yummy-looking as this one, don’t you want as many versions of it as possible?

PS: You can follow me on Instagram: tightsarntpants.

PPS: You can see more of the photos from my trip by clicking on the link to my Flickr account, which could be found on the right sidebar.