Any isolated bunk-in is a steep exercise in Brotherhood: from the common toilet & bath, to the cramped sleeping spaces, to the dirty dishes (sound familiar?). But when 15 out of 16 of a MU Batch somehow end up 200 miles from dusty Manila in a spanking white island, the plot brews thick and thicker - fraternal toasts from ΜΣΦ 2013 in Boracay!

It started as a February joke among med-weary sophomores, but in an instant, the plane tickets booked and the itinerary taking shape, we 2013 had something to look forward to beyond the great wall of Finals.

We were set to depart noon of May 19. The Hut a perpetually convenient meeting place, less than half made it to the appointed call-time, true to our spirit of adventure. One carried the adventure so far as to board a different plane 3 hours later. But we got to our destination, and by Happy Hour (which we pleasantly learned to span the 60 minutes of 5 to 8 pm), all was forgotten: our feet kicked back and our beers a delicious cool, all we had was the beach before us.

With 4 days to burn, we found our Boracay "Orchid" soon enough. Jony's milkshakes by day, Jony's two-for-the-price-of-one Happy Hour by night. By 8, we'd have enough drink in our system to perform aseptic, 8-man surgery. A simple dinner usually followed before we'd troop off to... sleep (true to our adage, what happens in Bora did not happen at all). When we found the time, we helmet-dove to feed fish, dance, and duckwalk by the ocean floor. We island-hopped alongside an all-female tour boat. We buried a batchmate in sand and left him under a recliner. We clicked coins against bottles of beer-below-zero and ducked as fire dancers threw flaming orbs this way and that.

With MU's impressive roster, it was only a matter of time before we ran into some other vacationing brod. We photo-ambushed Rambo '09 along the shore, and on our departure date, Jay Pee '09 and Bots '12 joined breakfast at our Station Zero beach house.

Nearing the end of our retreat, we took a bumpy, winding bus ride across Panay Island to get to Iloilo, home of batchmate and getaway planner Miko Daquilanea. Here we were greeted by a sumptuous and extensive seafood buffet, which included a variety of crustaceans and the rare and decadent diwal. To cap off the night, Miko's eager father Marven brought out good friends Chivas and Johnnie Walker to keep San Mig company.

Determined to make the most of our Iloilo stay, we spent our last day's sunlight in Guimaras, infamous for the Philippine's sweetest export quality mangoes and Bora-alternative beaches. By nighttime back in Iloilo, we joined the charming Daquilanea Family for a filling send-off dinner at Breakthrough, THE spot to bask in the flavors of Iloilo, with its trademark aligue rice and oysters.

On the day of our return to Manila, Tito Marven and Tita Daisy (Miko's parents) just had to share with us the dizzying delights of original La Paz Batchoy, followed by an insider's fast-track tour of historic Iloilo. As most of us agree, this will hopefully be the start of many foodtrips and explorations of the charismatic Iloilo area.

Returning to Manila several shades darker (sunburnt to the viscera, according to a batchmate), several pounds heavier (from pasalubong, maybe?), and with livers hard-pressed against adamant ribcages, our MU Panay Adventure certainly was one for the books. Batch 2013 extends thanks to the Daquilanea Family and their gold-standard hospitality, and to MU for teaching our batch, among others, that patience for batchmates exists in a space-time continuum, and that truly, in all the shores, hills, and valleys, Mu Sigma Phi we'll acclaim.

They say the test of Friendship is travel. But c'mon, we're talking about hardcore Brotherhood here.

AFTG, Brothers...

RenPingMikDanArgPoChUlyAndYuMaxJoLoyRolBrentJed

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