Tropical Paradise

We went to Puerto Galera this weekend to spend some time at the beach. I've been to several beaches and resorts in the Philippines before but I must say this is the first time I truly enjoyed it.

The previous times I been to some Philippine resort like Mt. Makiling, Matabungkay, Hidden Valley, Monte Mar, etc. I've never truly enjoyed them since there's either too many people or the beaches are not that great. Since most of the resorts I've been to is too commercialized, people have been throwing their trash around and spoiled the beauty of the area. This time it's different.

Puerto Galera is located in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. To get to Puerto Galera, you take South Luzon Expressway all the way to Batangas. It's about a 2 to 2 and a half hour drive from Manila depending on the traffic. You go to Port of Batangas and leave your car at the covered parking. It cost about P200 a day to park. Then you take about an hour boat ride to Sabang which is the main dock to Puerto Gallera for those on foot.

If bring your car you have to take the Super Cat and you dock at a different location which is much father than the main beaches. It cost about P170 per person for a round trip ticket from Batangas to Sabang.

The boat from Batangas leaves early from 7am I believe until about 3pm. But the last boat from Sabang to Batangas leaves at 1pm.

At Sabang, we took smaller boat ride to La Laguna beach which is one of the small coves around Puerto Galera. Here's a list of resorts in Puerto Galera. It is a small beach surrounded by two cliffs on the left and the right side of the beach. Which gives you a stunning view and seclusion.

At La Laguna, we immediately checked in and changed to our swim clothes where our kids enjoyed the pool. After lunch, we hired a banca to to take us snorkelling around the dive sites. We dove at the Coral Gardens where we saw live corals and fishes all around us. There are a lot of sea urchins and some corals rise up to about 2 feet from the water surface so it is best to wear water shoes or fins to protect your feet.

As this is my first time to snorkel, I had a hard time the first time I went in the water. But after about 15 mins, I got a hang of it and started enjoying it. Except for being careful not to touch the sea urchins, it was a very excellent experience.

While the waves wasn't really that strong, we did have a bit of a hard time since we all didn't have fins. But thankfully, a couple of banca came and we were able to hang on for a while to rest.

Next, we went to go see the giant clams. We went looking for about 2o mins but never saw one. We could have stayed a little longer but it was beginning to rain and the winds were picking up so we decided to head back. The water started getting rough but it was still managable and was able to get back to the resort safely.

It only rained for about 15 mins and the sun started shining again. Shortly after, there was a low tide and you can see the washed up corals around the beach. You can actually walk about 100 feet from shore where the water level only goes up to your waist. We went snorkeling again this time near the shore and saw lots of corals. We learned later that you don't really need to go far to see corals and fishes. Of course, there's a lot more to see in the middle than near the shore.

It is the best experience I had in a long time with regards to enjoying the Philippines. I have never really enjoyed anything the Philippines has to offer until I went snorkeling and I now know what they mean by the beauty of the Philippines.

The only complaint I have with regards to Puerto Galera is that I really wish Filipinos learn how to take care of nature and their surroundings. They throw their trash like plastic bags, cigarette butts and bottles in the water. If only they learn how to keep their country clean, it would be the best tourist spot in the world.

I'll post some pictures on my next entry.