The year is almost over and summer is still far away. But nothing can stop us from searching for our own summer adventure during the "ber-months". To celebrate our friend's birthday, we thought of going to the beach. And one of the finest beach near Manila can be found in the province of Oriental Mindoro. Puerto Galera is famous among foreign tourist because of its beautiful beaches and magnificent diving spots. And the most popular beach in Puerto Galera is the White Beach. It prides itself with its long white sand and clear water.
I've been there before and I've had a lot of fun at that time. Now I'm excited on what changes and surprises awaits us.
I've been there before and I've had a lot of fun at that time. Now I'm excited on what changes and surprises awaits us.
As we step down the bus, a sudden flow of people offering boat trips to Puerto Galera emerged. We hurriedly walk straight to the ticketing office and there we chose to buy boat tickets at Father & Son Shipping Lines.
Lighters and knives are not allowed inside the port so we left those things on one of the ticket sellers of the shipping lines, they said we can get it all back once we come back the next day. (We went back to their office the next day and with worse luck, none of their staff knows where our things are.)
We took the first trip which is at 6:30am. The boat smoothly sailed through Batanggas Bay and passed by Maricaban Island (Tingloy, Batangas) then straight to Puerto Galera. The boat took a stopover at Muelle port before going to the White Beach
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| Sailboats at Muelle port |
It was already noon when we arrived so we decided to have our lunch. Although we are allowed to cook at the place where we stayed, we decided to look for some place to eat. Anyway, there are a lot of restaurants lined up by the beach. From seafood to grilled dishes, Filipino dishes and American sandwiches; there is so much to choose from. Some of them even have unlimited rice.
We ate at Foodtrip for most of the time. I enjoyed their Hungarian Sausage with fried eggs and unlimited rice. Their goto lugaw is a must-try too. From the looks of it, this is the most popular restaurant in this place. We also tried eating at a carinderia, located along the souvenir shops, where the food is very affordable.
It's been three years since I stepped into the fine white sand of this well-known beach. And since then, a lot has changed. The shore has a lot of stones than before; Swimmers are now prohibited to climb up the cliff at the right side of the beach; And there are now more water sports amenities offered along the beach.
But some things hasn't change. The magnificent view of Mount Maculot from a far, the towering Mount Malasimbo that overshadows the whole beach every morning, the amber sky during sunset and the clear water of the beach. Those things really got me to go back there again and again.
Luckily, it was less crowded at the time when we got there. During summer, lots of people covered up the whole beach. It was the beach's busiest time of the year.
There are a lot of things to do in White Beach. New water sports amenities are offered by the beach. One would experience the adrenaline rush riding the UFO, Para-sailing and the Banana Boat. Jet skis are available too.
Several volleyball nets are also situated along the shore. Building sand castles and flying kites are the most popular games for the children.
One could also visit different islands around Puerto Galera by availing the island hopping packages offered by some people along the beach. Tours going to the Tamaraw Falls, Tukuran Falls and Virgin Beach are also offered.
The popular attraction for the foreigners are snorkeling and scuba diving.
Services such as massage, henna tattoos, hair braids and cornrows are also available in the area.
Aside from those said amenities, there were also some eager vendors selling souvenir shirts, bracelets and food delicacies.
For those who want to isolate themselves away from the busy crowd or just want to be in a serene surrounding, they might enjoy staying at the right side of the beach past the drop-off point of the passenger boats.
On the opposite side of the beach are some rock formations where the beautiful sunset awaits in the afternoon.
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| White beach in the afternoon |
The sea is now free from all the jet skis, UFOs and banana boats that sailed on it during the day. Restaurants and bars started to fill up the beach with mono-block tables and chairs. And loud music can be heard from everywhere.
Stand-up comedy, live bands and videokes are favored entertainment on every restaurants and bars that are lined up by the beach. But the main attraction and the much awaited feat of the night are the fire dancers. After every performance, visitors took the opportunity to take pictures with the fire dancers.
Our group also enjoyed a few shots of the island's famous cocktail called Mindoro Sling. I must warn you that you'll gonna enjoy drinking that sweet booze without noticing that you're already getting drunk!
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| A solo performance of a fire dancer |
I woke up early the next morning to witness the sunrise. Unfortunately, clouds covered the whole sky. It also rained for a few hours.
After breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning buying some souvenirs and packing up. Then after lunch, we head on to the port where the boat going back to Batanggas is waiting.
As I hop into the boat, I looked back and observed. The beach is pretty much cleaner than what some people say. Though there were some plastic wrappers and other small trash that can be seen around, I think the authorities are doing something about it.
Beachfront commercial establishments are mindful of their surroundings too. Tourists are advised to keep the beach garbage-free.
It was my second time at Puerto Galera but it seems like there's still a lot of things to experience and discover. Two days aren't enough, maybe even a week isn't either. Surely I will never run out of reasons to come back there again.
Killed Bills
This budget covers our whole Puerto Galera trip.
(White Beach, Tamaraw Falls, Virgin Beach)
175.00 - Bus fare Cubao - Batanggas Port
160.00 - Bus fare Batanggas Port - Ortigas
500.00 - Boat fare Roundtrip Batanggas - Puerto Galera
60.00 - Puerto Galera Environmental Fee
(50 upon arrival / 10 before departing)
200.00 - Tamaraw Falls, Virgin Island Tour
10.00 - Entrance fee at Virgin Beach
30.00 - Entrance fee at Tamaraw Falls
200.00 - Souvenir shirt budget
400.00 - Food Budget (2 days)
363.00 - Lenly's Cottages [2 x 2000 per room for 11 persons]
TOTAL = 2098.00 Php
* Thanks to Christie Estampador for sharing some photos :)
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