Originally from Bacolod, Don – a rock’n’roll musician turned painter and sculptor – was the first island artist to produce artwork inspired by the gecko or what he calls the “primordial lizard,” a style that is popular everywhere around the island today. Shelley, who was teaching English and Japanese (she grew up in Japan) in Manila, started dyeing and painting sarongs with Don, leading her to discover her own artistic medium – hand-painted batik wearable pieces of art.

Don and Shelley’s artworks were a part of Boracay’s early landscape. Don’s paintings would hang and sell at the island’s artist hubs, Stables and Tao Bar, along where Bom-Bom bar is now located. On the beachfront, Shelley would hang her handcrafted sarongs on trees and driftwood to tempt passing foreign tourists.

Sarongs on the beach

Boracay Beckons to the Good Samaritans
One can say good karma brought Don and Shelley to Boracay. In 1982, they were living in Manila when Don played Good Samaritan to two Canadians who were robbed. The couple gave them a place to stay for 15 days. The Canadians talked of an island in the Visayas and tried to convince the couple to join them in their adventure. Hesitant, Don asked them to report back instead upon their return. They did.

“They told me about this island. They took some photos. After, we kept coming back every three months, every four months. We would eventually stay for several months,” remembers Don.

Their photos were impressive, Shelley remembers. “The photos were like the Blue Lagoon, you could almost drink the water.” The island in real life was even better, Shelley adds. “There were stingrays and turtles over a meter wide, so many colors of birds and miniature monkeys. In the evening, you would hear all sorts of sounds. It was almost scary. It was a jungle.”

In the 80’s, Boracay was a little-known spot, a secret to be kept by those who had the pleasure to experience it. “Mostly, tourists would say, don’t tell anyone! There were a few cottages down south, three or four, and from there on… nothing. You could walk and walk,” shares Don.

Don felt pulled to the island instantly. He remembers, “When I was painting in Manila, I could hear wind, like a calling. And when we started coming, I could hear the waves. The calling was there in the sound of the waves.”

The strongest point for Shelley, however, was the coconut trees. “There were so many coconut trees,” recalls Shelley who was pinaglihi sa (or brought up in the womb with her mother eating) coconut meat.”

Days of White Sands and Nude Beaches
Shelley relates that she could really feel the strength of the island’s spirit, “Especially (in) those years, the sand was so white. It was like someone flashed a light to your face and there’s this glare. It was as white as sugar. Now it’s beige.”

For Don, the sand was also a favorite feature: “The beautiful sand! In the middle of the night, all you can see are the stars and the sand. In the morning, (there’s) this solace as the moon goes down on the water.”

Paradise did have its drawbacks. Don recalls how hard it was to get on the island, having to ride a cargo boat to get here. Unlike today, with ATMs dotting the island, Shelley remembers a time with no banks, “Money was always rolled up in a stretchy cloth. You had to carry your cash with you. You couldn’t just leave it and money was so hard to get here,” Shelley laughs while recalling her own homemade cheese money belt.

Their years on the island have made them privy to Boracay’s early landmark events. In the early 80s, the trend was for mom-and-pop cottages to provide guests with a thermos bottle full of freshly boiled water that nonetheless no one could be sure was safe to drink. It was customary for visitors to bring their own supply of water on their travels to the island. By the period 1985-1987, the first bottled mineral water started to sell on the island, recalls Shelley, who also remembers the advent of electric power and the blender. “Everyone would run over to Jonah’s for a milkshake!”

Shelley lovingly looks back at the island’s history, which is more liberal than it is today. “You could go swimming without clothes on. Everybody would swim in the buff. There was a guy who would windsurf with no clothes on – a European,” Shelley quips, “Locals were shocked and awed. It was a time of freedom.”

The artists’ gallery ( where D’ mall now stands)

Bats Ruled the Sky
One of the things that really stood out for both Shelley and Don were the bats. Bats were once as big an attraction as the sun itself during sunsets, when the large Flying Foxes and fruit bats made their nightly trip to the mainland to feed. Shelley tells of the time when the bats ruled the skies: “Suddenly, it was like someone put a black cloth over your head. You could see their faces. They looked like miniature dogs. They used to be as wide as your outstretched arms. You could be sitting on the beach (and the bats would be flying) for 3 hours continuously. Now they are smaller and fewer.”

In 1984, the couple decided to buy land. Their 800-square meter lot cost them P7,000 – a price you’d be lucky to find these days. A steal for Don, who says assuredly, “I found something here on this beach. I am going to die on this island.” By 1990, Don and Shelley were permanent residents and by 1995, they had built their own home on the island.

The changes that have happened on the island, many in the name of progress, are hardest for long-time residents like Don and Shelley, who knew it as a virgin paradise. Shelley admits willingly, “I miss having Boracay really quiet. Before, five people were already a lot to see on the beach. I miss the serenity and peacefulness.”