I know this is a very late post… but I want to share you my rated “PG” Summer 2008. Rated “PG” as in rated as - Puerto Galera! My vacation t
here happened last March and its one of the most unforgettable summer I had… If you want tips on how to spend a budget summer here, feel free to email me or leave a comment. I am glad to make a reply.
Below is the 3-day chronicle of my whole stay in the one of the top tourist destination in our country that popularly dubs itself as “simply paradise…”
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March 28 - A Rated-PG Summer
It’s a great start of summer adventure to head in one of the top 10 summer destination of the country - Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. It is one hell of a plan to make this summer vacation 
happen because we’ve been planning this trip since December with my friends. Now, everything comes in fruition. Waking up two in the morning, we catch a shuttle to Batangas pier to ride the earliest ferry trip to WhiteBeach , Puerto Galera. White Beach it is, as the sand is ivory white and clean! We arrived their, 8 in the morning together with a whole bunch of other summer lovers. The place is easy on access. Hotels are near the beach front likewise also the bars and restaurants around. And with my wackiest friends around what do you expect? Frolicking under the sun and water with our shades and never-ending creating memories through the lens of my newest Canon IXUS (actually I bought it last December but this is the first travel capture of my cam). One of my favorite pictures was an accidental silhouette shot of my whole body shadowing against the sun. We did sun bathing just like any other tourist who wants a relaxing feel of the sea. And of course swim by the beach! It’s amazing how hot the place is yet the water is cold.
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| Approaching White Beach, Puerto Galera. |
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| Sun, sea, sand... and shades! |
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| Enjoying White Beach at Puerto Galera. |
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| Puerto Galera experience is an awesome trip with your friends. |
By the afternoon, we started our next water activity – riding the Banana Boat! There is a thrill feeling with few scariness of anticipation before riding it knowing stories from my friends 
(they’ve been there before) how this banana shape floating boat goes to the middle of the sea and plunges you in the open water once it goes in action. It is being tug by a speed boat as it goes in the open water. And to add thrill of excitement we were tug and plunge two times in the sea! It was my first experience! And it is only me who is virgin in that experience as my friends have rode it in their past visit. I felt scared and panicked on the first plunge because I felt I was plunged so deep in the water that I might drown. I panicked once we were in the open water! Though we have a vest you have to imagine we are in the open water. It is deep and a shark might be choosing his dinner for that day! Good thing my friends calm me down. And though the vest is there I still kept on threading so as not to drown. It is also hard to climbed back to the boat once you are in the water. But you will float even you don’t do threading. On the third attempt the speedboat driver did not succeed to plunge us. They really intend to do it! We also got around the island – seeing caves and other landscapes of Puerto Galera. For twenty minutes, it was over and we headed to the shore – exhausted but happy.
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| Ray of summer... |
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| Jump! |
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| The fun and exhilarating banana boat ride! |
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| Our first fall from Banana boat ride! |
Beach party is next! After we had an enough rest from the exhausting water activity at 10pm, we headed out of our room to join the beach party. It is the start of nightlife on Puerto Galera as we go clubbing and drink around. What makes this nightlife a unique experience is you can lay a blanket on the beach sand and now you can either lounge, drink, share stories with your friends, groove to sounds of the bar or lay on the blanket and wonder in the star studded sky. It is there I got a first taste of Galera’s famous drink – Mindoro sling. It tastes a strong gin with the sweetness of a pomelo and pineapple juice and hints of rhum and lambanog which every island clubbers will like. Most of the crowd stays in the beach sand to drink and party rather than be in the bars’ area. Whenever the bar plays a wild disco song, the bars’ friendly, attentive and transvestite waitresses dances together in a choreograph manner which drew the crowds attention. Some groups goes dancing in the music. I can’t remember how many glasses I’ve drink but we stayed until 2 am when everyone started to go back to their rooms.
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| My first taste of the famous Mindoro sling. |
March 29 – One with nature.
I woke up at 10 am. We quickly dressed ourselves as today we go on an island hopping. The trip on a hired pump boat is quite far from White Beach as we go 
hopping around the island. We explore the natural sites of Puerto Galera including seeing a cave and palm groove picnic ground. Capturing moments never stop. I am in awe in the breathtaking sceneries of the island while feeling the relaxing breeze of sea air. We headed our way on the Coral Garden where we did snorkeling. This is my summer of all first! It is my first time to go snorkeling as my friends have try it before. Again there are was thrill feeling! Because the first time I submerged my face on the water the view of the fishes and corals are very near! It seems you can hold it by any chance but yet we are told that is 10 feet deep. Katuy, one of my friends threw breads on the water that made fish feed and swam around us. Its amazing that they were not afraid in near human contact! Then we hired a smaller pump boat to tug us around the coral garden. It is one with nature experience as I marvel to the colorful corals, fishes and other sea creatures that I saw in that coral garden. Fishes were green and violet. Corals of different kinds were there – there is even an egg-shaped coral that is big as a dinosaur egg! There are also group of sea urchins with their black stinging thorns and its watchful single orange eye. I also saw what the books says the threat to corals the - crown-of-thorns – a kind of starfish. But the best remembered under the sea creature I saw is the big blue starfish that lies in the coral seabed. The only thing I can do after seeing that since I can’t talk with the air tube in my mouth is a hand sign of “OK” to my friend, Katuy whose beside me during the snorkel. I am amaze by the beauty under the sea! That was one of the best experience I had in Puerto Galera. It cemented my summer vacation as one that I won’t forget. I don’t want to be sound religious but the experience made me thank God for creating this wonderful world. It was really an unforgettable experience to see the beauty of the marine world.
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| My first time to experience snorkeling. |
After that we were bought to a secluded cove that can only be reach via outrigger boat. Though there are few people around (they also tourist visiting the islands), 
it still looks secluded as the cove of white sand beach stretch to a 1 kilometer I think. Despite the heat of the sun, we walk towards west end of the cove. I let some of friends go ahead so I can take pictures around. It’s the perfect place to take pictures as there are almost no people around and makes you think that you own the beach. On western end there are coral stone formations that some were partly submerge to the sea. It was also another perfect spot to get take pictures. The coral stones are perfectly place to get pictures some were tall that friends even climb up just to have a photo with it. There is also one snap shot that were all looking at the sea – a reminiscent of one scene in a hit TV series “Lost”. After resting and admiring the seascape we went back to the boat and bought us back to the White Beach.
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| Our feets in Sarong... |
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| Last night party at Puerto Galera. |
Our last night started on another sand party. It was also our last happy hour in the island. We made the most out of it (we went back at 4am in our room!). Aside from drinking and clubbing in our last nightlife in the island we added fun when one of my friend, Kisses, make a dare to get to know other people by approaching them intently make that person introduce to us as if to make friends in our circle. It was a “nakakahiya” at first but it was fun getting to know other people right?
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| Its definitely fun if you spend a summer with barkada in Puerto Galera. |
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| Sun-worshippers! |
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| Last splash of summer in PG. |
March 30 – Last summer hurray!
We plan to get out of the island by 12noon, but there is an instinct says to us to extend our stay for a while as if we don’t want to leave Puerto Galrera right away. We had a long discussions with my friends like if we were gonna visit a falls there and leave later, we have to pay additional fees for hotel extension coz check out is at 12nn, etc.. But we ended up leaving for the last trip to Batangas pier at 4pm.
In the morning we end went to our last swimming and take more pictures in the island. We savor our last hours there by relaxing under the shades of palm trees while eating halo-halo. I also get the chance to buy souvenirs around as the place around is flock by numerous stores of souvenir items. From shirts, accessories, shades, key chains, pouches… most of them are cheap so you can have the best item memoirs of Puerto Galera.
By 3pm we get ready for a long return trip to Batangas pier and another long trip to our hometown in Cavite City. After surfing the souvenir stores I headed to the outrigger ferry and bid goodbye to Puerto Galera. 
The ocean waves were strong and our ferry had a battle with the currents. It was one unforgettable because its kinda wild ride like turbulence where everything is moving - a reminiscent of the Banana Boat we had. I think we arrive at the pier around pass 5pm. Our van was waiting there and we had a long travel ride to Cavite City for 3 hours (that includes the shortcut). I am exhausted from the whole long trip. We arrive at 9pm. There are things I regret to do but overall I am satisfied that so much memories happened to me this summer. Sharing it with my friends is a plus. I won’t forget this summer. I think I’m going to return there but for that time I slept that night with smile on my face.
