Looking for a beach summer getaway near Manila? Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro is a great choice. Puerto Galera (PG) boasts a great list of tourist destinations. Great beaches with amazing water sports activities, romantic sunset, captivating waterfalls can all be enjoyed in this place. What more could you ask for? Join me and my colleagues as we explore the beauty of Puerto Galera.
Summer simply means beach destinations. Since, Carille and Arvin, have been to Boracay, I invited them to visit another beach destination. I always think of Puerto Galera as the best option for a weekend getaway.
We booked a room good for 4pax at Sea Jewel Beach Resort in White Beach, Puerto Galera for a 2D1N stay for only Php 2,600.00. It has been a couple of years since I last visited PG and that made me very excited to visit the place again. My colleagues are even more excited to visit the place because it was their first time to explore PG.
We arrived almost at the same time in Batangas Port. We bought round trip tickets from Father and Sons Shipping Lines to secure a seat in going back to Manila the following day. After an almost one-hour boat ride, we arrived at our summer destination. We arrived at the resort a lot earlier than expected, luckily, our room was already available so we were allowed by the courteous staffs to checked-in earlier.
We took our late breakfast in one of the restaurants along White Beach before we headed to our first destination, Tamaraw Falls. To know more about the captivating water falls, CLICK HERE! From White Beach, we took a tricycle ride going to the town proper and headed for the jeep terminal bound for Calapan City, the capital of Oriental Mindoro. The jeep ride took about more or less 45 minutes that costs Php 40.00-50.00.
We spent more or less than 2 hours in the area. We took a lot of pictures, definitely. Tamaraw Falls is along the highway so it is accessible to local and foreign tourists. It is really captivating. We even have "buco juice" to freshen up ourselves from a long bus-boat-tricycle-jeep ride before we went back to the town proper.
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| Stolen short by Arvin |
We took the time to visit Immaculate Conception Parish Church in the town proper. We strolled the area and took couple of minutes of rest. Luckily, we saw a grotto near the church where numbers of yachts were docked. It was such a great picture background.
Our next destination, Iraya-Mangyan Village of Talipanan, Oriental Mindoro. From the town proper, we took another more or less than 1 hour tricycle ride to reach our next destination. That special trip costs us around Php 200.00 for about 9 kilometers away from the town proper.
The village is situated at the foot of Mt. Malasimbo that offers a glimpse of the indigenous people's heritage, slowly catching up to the modern times. The village boasts well-made handicrafts by the Mangyans. These baskets woven at the village were bought and sold to Manila. Tourists who visits the village may also purchase products and the sales will go directly to the families who weaved the product. I even had a chance to chill with the kids in the village.
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| Chilling with the Mangyan kids! |
While taking rest, we were able observe the Mangyans while weaving. After few minutes of taking rest, we went back to White Beach to catch the romantic sunset of Puerto Galera. Tourists at this time were fleeing to the shore to witness a wonderful sunset. You can really feel that every tourist in the area is enjoying their vacation. There are many activities you can enjoy along White Beach. See the picture below and caption it.
The sun already sets so we went back to the resort to freshen up and prepared ourselves for a beach night life.We took our dinner at the Terminal. Simple dinner which can make you eat using bare hands. That's I am after if I do have my vacation. I just love eating with my bare hands. Who wouldn't?
Night life in White Beach will never be the same without experiencing the very famous "Mindoro Sling". We have enjoyed our night singing, dancing and watching stand-up comedians. We even witnessed fire dancers along the shore. Too bad, I wasn't able to took pictures while they were performing. Their performance were amazing. The night was great! Definitely my colleagues enjoyed the night.
Our first day in Puerto Galera was a bomb! We enjoyed a lot. On our second day, we spent most of the time strolling along the beach, swimming and buying "pasalubongs'. I always find time to have an early stroll at the beach. Early morning stroll at the beach will always be great because it's not yet crowded. You can feel the serenity of the place. It will only be you, sand, sky and the beach. What a great moment to spend time alone, right?
We enjoyed swimming a lot. When the sun was up and it was totally unhealthy because it's hot, we went back to the resort to prepare our things. At this time our weekend getaway was coming to an end. Last day of vacation is what I do not like because you need to prepare things in going back home. Going back home means going back to the reality of life. I always keep in mind to spend time wisely and cherish every moment for we do not know when will we experience again such another great moment of our lives.
Our weekend getaway was simple but surely a memorable for the three of us. I will definitely go back here in Puerto Galera. Same destination but with great memories to remember. So if you are looking for a beach weekend getaway, try visit Puerto Galera so you will experience the reason why me and other people keep going back to the wonderful tourist destination in Oriental Mindoro.
