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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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 |
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| Puerto Galera freshies having their photo-op at the beautiful Muelle Bay |
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| [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.
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| 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.
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| Ernesto chillin' at the hotel's lovely patio |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Content with our hearts' desire and tummies full, we each took a refreshing shower before retiring to our own beds.
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| Dinner is served! |
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| 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!
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