It was on June 15, 2013 when my friend (who were supposedly having a sleep over in my apartment) and I decided to go on a week end get away to Puerto Galera. Lucky of us, my roommate lives there, so when her brother asked us if we want come, we did not hesitate and packed our things within 5 minutes.
White Beach is one of the famous beaches in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. It is known for its blueish water, active nightlife, all kinds of bars and restaurants,and lots of activities anyone could enjoy in the beach.
After almost 1 1/2 hour ferry ride, we finally reached the shore of White Beach, Puerto Galera! My roommate owns a lodge in White Beach, we were warmly welcomed by her family and their place is really accommodating. On the first day, since we are sleepless, both of us decided to sleep in our comfortable room, equipped with two big beds, air-conditioned, a television set, and Wi-Fi. All the basic facilities and amenities were available and the place is clean and spacious.
It was already dinner time when we woke up and we firstly witnessed the night life in the white beach. Of course, my roommate’s mom cooked dinner for us, everything she prepared were so delicious. After dinner, my friend and I wandered around the beach. The night has been lighten up by the bars and the music made the beach more alive. Each bar has its publicity stunt. Some offers cheaper price of drinks than the others, some of them have live shows like to comedy bars with gay impersonators, and there were also the poi dancers. It was very entertaining to watch, me and my friend grab a drink in one of the bar, called Hiyas Bar.
Next morning, we woke up early to do all the activities we can do within the day. Since we went unprepared, we firstly went to the nearest market in the “bayan” to get ourselves some swimsuits. The local people there were very accommodating and always smiling. We easily mingled with the store owners and had a short talk with them, plus we were able to get discounts in our swimsuits.
Around 9AM, we went to the white beach to take photos. Of course we took a dip in the cold sea. The sand is indeed white and the water was blue-green. It was beautiful! We went to the end of the white beach where there were huge rocks, we really tried hard to take our selfies because we barely see tourists or passers by that time.
Around 11 AM, we negotiated with the boatman who will give us the tour. My friend and I decided to do island hopping, snorkeling and Tamaraw falls. We then ate lunch at Manalo’s Lodge and waited there for our tourist guide, our tour started at 12 PM.
Our first stop is the island wherein small bangka (boats) await. This small bangka will take you to the underwater cave (additional 200 pesos/pax), giant clam shell snorkeling area (additional 200 pesos/pax) and to the corals snorkeling area (additional 200 pesos/pax). We were diffident at first because it was too pricey. But we decided to go for it since we were there already and really wanted to go snorkeling. We used our charm to get discount and somehow used my dearly roommate’s name, thank God because we got the 3 activities for 800 pesos for the two of us.
One island in Oriental Mindoro has this underwater cave. The cave is too small that it can be explored by a few minutes. Though the entrance and exit of this cave are small, beneath it was the cave and it’s bigger that can be fit up to no more than 20 persons. The water inside the cave can get shoulder deep/high and it’s very cold.
Next stops were the 2 snorkeling areas, first visited the area where giant clam shells are being cultivated and protected. The 2nd snorkeling area was stunning, the boatman advised us to buy a slice of bread on our way. There, the boatman told us to hold on the rope placed on the side of the boat and set our heads into the water. The boat run slowly and then we watch what's underneath, we saw different kinds of fishes, corals, sea urchins, water plants! All we can say that moment was WOW! We found out that Mindoro Oriental's water is wealthy with many varieties sea creatures.
We went to another 2 beaches. One was the Bayanan Beach and the other was the Aplayang Munti, where a statue of St. Mary was situated on a huge rock. We bathed for a while in this island, it was like we rented the whole island because we were the only tourists there that moment.
Our last stop was the Tamaraw Falls. It was around 4PM when we went back to the port area where a tricycle awaits us to bring us to the falls. It took us 45 minutes, good thing it was still open when we got there. The falls is a true beauty! Of course we took pictures there. We went down in an area where the falls run trough. The water was not that clear, there were many green moss and it was slippery. The tricycle driver told us it’s because it just rained few days ago. We did not enjoyed our swim there because of this, but nonetheless, the view there was spectacular.
Souvenirs stores are also all over White Beach. From t-shirts, bracelets, anklets, key-chains, magnets, mugs, name it! I brought my Puerto Galera designed shirt at 90 pesos and my friend got a Henna tattoo, 50 pesos for that starry design.
Overall, Puerto Galera is indeed a Paradise. People going here cannot only go to night parties, bond with friends and loved ones but can also connect to Mother Nature. Lots of natural resources that are not only good for your eyes, but activities that will help you see how blessed we are with these heavenly-made environment.
Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!
Really beautiful... Have marked this place for planning my next holiday
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