Puerto Galera 2019 - Day 3

April 8, 2019 (Monday)

¡Hasta la próxima, Puerto Galera!

My alarm sounded off at 6:00 AM. Ernesto cooked breakfast while Venus and I went to Muelle Port to reserve tickets for our trip back to Batangas Port. Our original plan was to reserve tickets for the 12:30 PM trip, but when we arrived at the ticket booth, we saw that it was already fully booked! The tickets can be reserved on the day of the trip, not earlier, so we were surprised because we went there early. It could be that others did the reservation through their accommodation which had connections at the ticketing office. Ours didn't have that's why we had to personally go to Muelle Port that morning. The closest times to the 12:30 PM trip were 11:15 AM and 2:30 PM. We chose the earlier schedule.

Minolo Shipping Lines schedule (between Muelle and Batangas Ports)

RDI Genesis schedule (between Muelle and Batangas Ports)

Back at the hotel, we feasted on scrambled eggs with tomatoes, left over stir-fried vegetables spruced up with pancit canton, corned beef and garlic fried rice. Venus and I had instant coffee, while Ernesto enjoyed his cup of Milo.

Since it was still early, Venus and I went for a quick dip at the beachfront. Ernesto opted to chill on one of the sun beds. The weather was favorable that morning because of the scattered clouds blocking the sun's ray so it wasn't hot. The water was cold but we got used to it.

We went back up at our apartment unit around 9:00 AM to take a shower, change clothes and pack our stuff. We checked out from the hotel at 10:30 AM and went to the port by tricycle. When we go to Muelle Port, there was already a large crowd of people waiting to board the fast craft. Venus secured our tickets from the booth, that time it had seat numbers written on it. Since we still had time to spare, we snacked on halo-halo at a nearby food stall.

Ticket back to reality

It was almost our boarding time when we went back to the departure area and lined up to board the fast craft. Upon ticket checking, we learned that the parked fast craft was for the delayed 10:30 AM trip. I wish the local officials could improve Muelle Port in terms of accommodating waiting passengers and their boarding system. The place is a bit small so passengers waiting for boarding are cramped in it.

Once we boarded the right ferry, Venus and I were seated at the same row, while Ernesto was behind us. We left Muelle Port around 11:30 AM. I was planning on continue watching Insatiable on Netflix but when I opened the app, it said my downloads were already expired. The movie "A Quite Place" was shown inside but it had Korean subtitles. I listened to Spotify instead. Besides, I already know the ending of the movie.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

We reached Batangas Port by 1:00 PM. Before heading to the buses going back to Metro Manila, we ate lunch at a nearby turo-turo just outside/beside the main port area. It was only then that I learned that "Goto Batangas" was utterly different from the regular Filipino "Goto" (rice porridge) because Ernesto had it for lunch (you can google both to know what I mean). I ordered Adobong Pusit and Pinakbet while Venus had something like Kaldereta or Menudo.

After eating our late lunch, we went to the bus loading area where we bid each other farewell. Venus stays in Boni, Mandaluyong so she rode the bus going to Cubao. Ernesto lives somewhere in Parañaque and I live in Makati, so we both hopped on the bus going to LRT Buendia. There was only one seat available at the back of the bus when we got on it. Since we wanted to go home already so we can rest early, we still went with it. Ernesto sat at the last available passenger seat while I sat on the conductor's chair which both the bus driver and conductor graciously offered.

The traffic wasn't bad that day considering it was a Monday and a holiday the next day. I got off at Dela Rosa Street (near PNR Buendia station), then rode the Guadalupe bound jeepney in Buendia just in front of Cityland Makati.

I was home before 5:00 PM.

Puerto Galera 2019 - Day 2

April 7, 2019 (Sunday)

Island Hopping!

Ernesto woke up at 5:00 AM to cook breakfast: scrambled eggs, Chorizo and garlic rice (before our trip, I was on my 7-day streak of Intermittent Fasting [16:8], but had to skip doing it since we're doing three full meals with snacks a day). We ate breakfast at 6:00 AM, then by seven, a tricycle fetched us from the resort to head on to our Island Tour. We first had a quick stop at the tour agency office to settle our payment. The Island Tour package was priced at P799/pax for three persons (price varies depending on how many people in the group are availing the package; more people, lesser price per head). The tour included visit to three sites: snorkeling at the Giant Clams, snorkeling at the Coral Garden, and San Antonio Island underwater cave. It was similar to the tour I had back in November 2017 except we visited four sites, the aforementioned three and another island/beach.

Mishaps and Bounce-backs

At the starting location, there were aqua shoes for rent (P100/pair) because the rocks at San Antonio Island had rugged edges, similar to the ones you see in Palawan. I didn't rent a pair because I thought my slippers were just fine.

Venus was already in the boat, Ernesto and I walked beside it on opposite sides (we were in between the outriggers and the body of the boat), while the boatmen pushed the boat toward a slightly deeper part of the water. When we were about to ride the boat, I tore both my plastic slippers apart while walking beside hurriedly. Those slippers were the only footwear I brought for the vacation, and I went barefoot the entire island hopping tour.

I didn't want to ruin anyone's mood by moping, so I just shrugged off what happened and thought that I could just buy another pair of slippers later on our way back to the hotel.

First stop, snorkeling at the Giant Clams. The way you do snorkeling for this tour is you have to hold on tightly to the ropes tied at the front of the boat, relax while you float making sure your body is flat straight especially on shallow waters, while the boatman maneuvers the small motor boat through the snorkeling area. It's crucial that you don't let go of the rope while the boat is slowly in transit because once you do you might get hurt with the boat's propeller.

Ernesto hanging on for his dear life :P

Super Boy and Super Girl. :P

Ernesto isn't really fond of snorkeling but I assured him that the view underwater was worth it and he didn't have to exert much effort in paddling unlike free style snorkeling. He was hesitant at first, still he tried. On the other hand, Venus somewhat struggled. She had a hard time biting onto the protruded parts of the mouth piece making it hard for hear to breath underwater.

Lucky for me, I saw a laid back turtle munching on sea grass/weed for breakfast. Too bad Ernesto and Venus didn't see it.

Snorkeling Buddies

Before going to Coral Garden, Venus changed her snorkeling gear. Finally, we all leisurely enjoyed our snorkel at Coral Garden. Ernesto admitted he became comfortable in the water, and Venus' snorkel was then water proof. The downside, we were only there for several minutes.

Ernesto finally enjoying snorkeling

At San Antonio island, I encouraged Ernesto and Venus to trek the part where the underwater cave was at since it's both their first time doing the tour. Besides, I couldn't join them because I was bare feet and stingy to pay P50 for aqua shoes rental at the island. But both of them didn't want to go, see and have pictures taken at the underwater cave. So we just hanged out at one of the stores and chatted for a bit.

Halo-Halo Break

Pak Ganern! :P

Happy Tourists

We were back at the starting location past 9:00 AM. While waiting for our tricycle service, we saw a kitten aimlessly wandering bye paved the road. A jeepney just finished unloading its passengers, was on its way back to the main road when suddenly the poor kitty was run over by it. It was very unsightly.

Siesta

Before heading back to the hotel, we asked our tricycle driver to stop over somewhere that sells slippers. We were several meters to our hotel when we stopped by the road side at a line of stalls which sold souvenir items. I bought a new pair of slippers for P100.

We had an early lunch back at the hotel. Ernesto cooked Chicken Adobo and Stir-Fried Vegetables. The morning activities sure made us hungry and we ate lunch with much gusto. We even had chilled watermelon as fruity after-meal dessert.

Initially we thought of swimming at the beachfront after having lunch but it was already midday and the sun was high and mighty. Ernesto and Venus each took a turn to shower then had an afternoon nap. I didn't immediately showered and changed because I'd like to swim at the beachfront. I thought I could wait for a time where it would be overcast. I didn't realize soon I also fell asleep.

I woke up around three in the afternoon. I took a shower and changed clothes. Around 4:00 PM, we decided to go to White Beach by tricycle. On our way, we had a quick stop at PNB ATM near the port. Ernesto withdrew some cash. (From what I've seen, there are three ATMs in town: PNB, Landbank and I'm not sure if the third one was a rural bank).

Stroll at White Beach

As expected, there were plenty of people at the White Beach. I acted as their tour guide pointing to several landmarks. We watched people chillin' by the beach, kids playing, and group of friends enjoying water activities. There were even teens playing beach volleyball.

Welcome to White Beach!

We walked along the elevated paved path side of the beach lined with restaurants and shops looking for BBQ (Ernesto was craving it). Until we reached the end of White Beach (left most part facing the sea), we decided to have an early supper at the Italian restaurant Casa Mia. We dined al fresco at the second level of the restaurant offering us a beautiful view of White Beach. We ordered and shared pizza and pasta for dinner.

At the cozy Casa Mia Italian restaurant in White Beach, Puerto Galera

View of White Beach from our table

Pizza and Pasta for Dinner

White Beach Night Life

By 7:00 PM, it was already dark and the fire dancers started their mesmerizing show. We asked for the check, left Casa Mia and walked toward where spectators were huddled around the fire dancers. We also saw the drag queens show and their comedy acts.

Obligatory Sand Castle Group Pic (happy lang, achieved! :D)

And since it's Ernesto and Venus' first time in White Beach, they had to try Puerto Galera's famous cocktail "Mindoro Sling". We opted to have drinks at an acoustic bar where we ordered a pitcher of Mindoro Sling and some pica-pica.

A few hours of listening to some acoustic jam, more chitchats (Venus was busy reading her Harry Potter e-book on her phone) and an empty cocktail pitcher, we decided to call it a night. That was around 9:30 PM. We knew it's a bit early for a night out but we were concerned with our ride back to the hotel since there weren't much tricycles that would be willing to take us. Our trike ride went up from P120 when we went to White Beach to P250 back to Square Beachfront Apartments in Tabinay.

Back at our apartment unit, Venus slept early. Ernesto and I had more chitchats and finished the what remained of the chilled watermelon (it was mostly him, I only had one slice that night hahaha) before settling to turn in.

Next day, it was "Goodbye, Puerto Galera" and "Hello again, Reality".

Puerto Galera 2019 - Day 1

April 6, 2019 (Saturday)

Pre-departure

Our call time was 6:00 AM, meeting place was at the terminal of JAM Bus Liner in Buendia. Ernesto was the first in our group to arrive at the bus terminal. He was there at around five in the morning, while I arrived a couple minutes to 6:00 AM. There was already a long line that snaked in and out of the terminal for the bus going to Batangas Port. It was no surprise since our planned getaway was on a long weekend. On the other hand, Venus arrived fashionably late, almost an hour. But it was okay because when she arrived, the next bus going Batangas Port has also just arrived and we were in front of the line (we just let one bus pass while waiting for Venus), and so we were comfortably seated at the rows just behind the PWD and Senior seats.

Screenshot of our early morning chat in facebook messenger

The bus ride from Buendia to Batangas Port took two hours. We were at the Port few minutes past 9:00 AM.

Go or No Go?

Once we alighted the bus, we hurriedly walked toward the port entrance into the shipping lines ticketing offices. Lo and behold, there was a huuuge crowd inside. It was my first time to see such number of people in Batangas Pier, so I can't imagine the situation during Christmas or New Year, more so during the Holy Week!

The earliest next trip posted on the windows of the ticket booths was at one in the afternoon. But there was a long queue for the shipping line that offered that schedule. Then, we saw that no one lined up at Minolo Shipines lines because their next trip for that day was at 2:30 PM. Eager to push through with our plan, we bought our tickets for the 2:30 PM trip and decided to just wait it over and have brunch somewhere. We went to a nearby turo-turo just outside/beside the port and ate pancit guisado and pancit canton. I was craving for Batangas Lomi but they didn't serve it yet at that time of the day.

Since we had plenty of time, and the heat of the summer was beating us even when were were under shade, we thought of going somewhere that has A/C. We ended up having a quick city tour of Batangas and hopped on not just one but two jeepney rides from port to SM Batangas. I enjoyed it. Even though it was hot, I really felt I was on vacation. The sky was clear and the air was relatively fresh compared to in Metro Manila. #ProvinceVibe

After reaching SM Batangas, we went straight to Starbucks. We stayed there for more than an hour, chatting, while Ernesto did some last minute work (he had his work laptop with him). We went back to the port at 12:30 PM, but that time, we rode a tricycle instead. As advised by the lady we bought the tickets from, we needed to be at the passengers' waiting area at around 1:30 PM.

Kape... Kape..

When we got back to the port, the number of people waiting outside by the ticket offices was considerably reduced. There were plenty of passengers inside the waiting/pre-boarding area but we managed to get hold of seats. While waiting to board, I watched two episodes of Insatiable in NetFlix.

Batangas Port Passengers' Waiting Area

Unlike before, there were no seat assignments when we boarded the fast craft. Probably because they didn't bother assigning seats due to the high volume of passengers. Travel time from Batangas Port to Muelle Port in Puerto Galera, Mindoro was one and a half hours.

Ferry Ride!

Land, ho!

We arrived at Muelle Port at around 4:00 PM, but before we exited the port area, Ernesto had a quick photo-op at the gorgeous bay.

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Ernesto posing in front of the fast craft we rode

Puerto Galera freshies having their photo-op at the beautiful Muelle Bay

[Blurry] Groufie!

Before exiting, we paid the tourist fee of P50 per person. Right outside the port were shuttles that would transport passengers to their respective hotels/accommodation. It's free, just present your ticket and tell the driver the name of the hotel your staying at so they know where to drop you off. But I learned just that time that only guests staying at the White Beach or somewhere between the port and White Beach could avail those free shuttle services. As for my friends and I, we were staying at the Squares Beachfront Apartments in Tabinay which was opposite of the way going to White Beach so we had to ride a tricycle. Muelle Port to Squares Beachfront Apartment travel time by trike was more or less 10 minutes.

Home Away From Home

Venus made the booking and reservation of our accommodation through Agoda a week before our trip. In both my two previous visits to Puerto Galera, I stayed at White Beach, so it was a nice surprise for me to experience staying at another part of Puerto Galera. Although it is a bit far to White Beach where most "happenings" are at, the chill vibe in our hotel was a very much welcome trade-off. We were also relatively closer to the the port and town center. It felt a legit weekend summer vacation.

Welcome to Sqaures Beachfront Apartments

Our apartment unit was located at their main building on the second floor. We were all surprised how spacious it was; it had three areas, kitchen and bathroom area, bedroom with A/C, and combined living/dining room area with a balcony overlooking the beachfront.

Ernesto chillin' at the hotel's lovely patio

Venus checking out books

Since we didn't request and pay for an additional mattress (the bed was good for two), I volunteered to sleep in the couch, but Ernesto also offered to do the same. So, Venus ended up having all the room to herself, and Ernesto and I slept at the living room. We had no complains because it was a good thing that their sofa was made of two three-seater couches so we each had one couch to sleep in. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hot and humid the two nights we stayed at the hotel so the electric fan we had was enough to circulate the air in the room. It was also probably because we left the balcony door open so the cool sea breeze gently blew inside and the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore was ambient noise that lullabied us to sleep.

Beachfront (Ernesto staring blankly at the sea lost in his thoughts)

Meal Plan

Upon check-in, we made reservations and paid P1000 downpayment for the Island Tour the next day, left our bags in the unit and went straight to the market.

Shopping at the Public Market

The kitchen in our unit had gas stove with cooking and dining utensils (wok, rice cooker, kettle, plates, cups, spoons, forks, etc.) free to use. That's why we planned to cook most of our meals during our stay in Puerto Galera. Ernesto was in charge of cooking while Venus and I washed the dishes. It brought memories back when we were still reviewing for our board exams and we lived together in a boarding house in Sampaloc, Manila.

Chef Estong prepping dinner

We bought most of the ingredients from the market at the town center. And to make things extra special, Ernesto brought pasalubong from Cebu, Lechon and Chorizo! That night, we ate Sinigang na Lechon and Fried Galunggong with white rice and ice-cold cola (we cooked all our ulam using just one wok!). The three of us sat together at the dining table, shared laughters and reminisced stories of our fun college days while we enjoyed our sumptuous dinner. 

Dinner is served!

Groufie before digging in

Content with our hearts' desire and tummies full, we each took a refreshing shower before retiring to our own beds.

Awed in disbelief that our not-so-perfectly planned weekend summer getaway still pushed through despite the fact that we almost backed out, we drifted off peacefully to sleep.

Next day, Island Tour!

Puerto Galera 2019 - Prologue

Last month, on a fine Sunday morning, my college friends and I had a wonderful brunch here in Makati. Ernesto, Venus and I were fondly sharing our catch up stories until one of us (I can't remember who) interjected and expressd his/her desire to go on a summer escapade (it was probably me hehehe). So we checked our availability and found out that the next holiday was April 9 (Day of Valor) which was a Tuesday. It was a good opportunity for a long weekend. But since I already volunteered to do holiday work on that day, we decided to have a 3 days, 2 nights trip from April 6 (Saturday) to April 8 (Monday) as long as all of us would take a time-off on April 8 (which we did). The next question was where?

We wanted to go to the beach that wasn't far from Metro Manila. Our options were somewhere in Batangas, Quezon or Bataan. Ernesto, who has a car, didn't want to drive so we narrowed down our selection to somewhere where we could easily commute. Until we all finally settled to go to Puerto Galera. It would be Ernesto and Venus' first time, and my third time to visit the place. I was okay with it because I really wanted to go snorkelling and Puerto Galera has a couple of incredibly good spots with captivating underwater scenery.

We did very little planning but we all enjoyed our recent Puerto Galera getaway. In many ways, it was different from my first two visits. I first went to Puerto Galera in 2014, and it was an impulsive decision to go on a solo adventure to celebrate my birthday. I stayed there for just one night. My second visit was last year. Again, I went there to celebrate my birthday, but that time, my friend Steve accompanied me. We stayed there for three days and two nights, and it was my first time to experience their Island Tour.

I'll be posting the details of our trip in my next posts. Hopefully, I can finish it soon before the month ends. Stay tuned!

The Ocean at The End of the Lane : A Novel by Neil Gaiman

It's been a while since I picked up a book and finished reading it. Lucky for me, an office colleague gave me this book as her parting gift (she's gone to the US to work). She gave me two books actually, but I decided to read this one first because it was thin and I thought I could easily finish it (I finshed it in four readings, lazy me). Plus, when I read the synopsis at the back of the front cover, I was excited to dive into it since it told of an intriguing magical adventure.

The Ocean at The End of the Lane book front cover

The book is about a man, reminiscing his childhood. He had an odd and horrifying but incredibly fascinating experience in the place where he grew up and at the home of his childhood friend where the pond, but was actually "The Ocean" in the title, was located.

It was super fun and exciting to read. Since it wasn't that long (Gaiman initially thought to write it as a short story but it was long enough to be a novel), I enjoyed the pace of its storytelling. I won't go into the details of the story (tamad lang hahaha) but it had thrilling and magical elements to it that both young and young-at-heart readers will surely appreciate and would spark their vivid imagination.

I also read the author's acknowledgments and I was surprised to see one of my favorite authors' name, Stephen King, mentioned in it. It was also a clever touch to include a Reading Group Guide section listing questions for group discussions perhaps in a book club or classroom recitation. And I truly loved that they included a snippet of an interview with the author at the end of the book because the Q&A gave me realizations which I wouldn't have thought of if I haven't re-read the whole book or I unconsciously overlooked because I was deeply absored into the story, eager to know what would happen next or how the story would end.

My officemate's dedication (sweet!)

Lastly, if this book is in your readling list, which I highly encourage you to grab a copy, make sure to have something to munch on while reading it. There are parts where you'll definitely drool over imagining it making you miss your mother or grandmother's home-cooked meals.

If this novel were made into a movie, I'm sure to be one of the millions who'll see it. It's that good!