All Girl Getaway to Puerto Galera

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May 4, 2008 - barkada bonding once again as we celebrated one of my closest friend's birthday, MC. It was raining heavily that day and the mini-reunion paved way to a plan...to take an All Girl Getaway trip to one of the famous premier beaches in Asia, Puerto Galera!

Yachts in Puerto Galera 
Puerto Galera is a 3rd Class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. It is only three and a half hour away from Manila first by bus to the port at Batangas City and then by boat. Tourists can also take the tourist service called the Sikat, from the City State Tower Hotel in Manila from the Batangas City port to Puerto Galera or Sabang Beach, Mindoro.

Batangas pier
This 'all girl getaway' didn't come smooth. In fact, we were all in panic mode days before the tour date (May 20) as typhoon Cosme visited the country. But God is good. He heard our prayers...and even though family members were not so positive about us leaving and hitting the sea, we hoped for the best and pushed through with the plan. 

MC and I went to Alabang and waited for Isa who will still be coming from QC. Took an fx ride and headed straight to Batangas Pier, paid a couple of tickets and hopped in a ferry ride via Golden Hawk. Thank God we arrived safe, as the last part of the boat ride was like swaying over a mad sea.

As expected, the place is everything but gorgeous! Puerto Galera is a must see for every beach lover. At White beach, Ava welcomed us with an outfit ready to hit the beach!

Golden Hawk
We checked in at La Solana Suites and Resort. After checking in and before doing any activity, we grab for some food since it was already time for lunch. During the break we hired a bangka we can use for snorkeling. It was my much awaited first underwater adventure!

La Solana's pool
Excited, we rode a tricycle then hopped a hired motorboat. Minutes later, we armed ourselves with vest, mask and snorkel. I can't wait to meet nemo underwater!!!

our way to the dive site

all masked up! ready for snorkeling
longhorn cowfish manong caught during the dive
Seeing the activities underneath lets you feel you're living in a totally different world, sort of fantasy fairy hideaway. Everything swims, so peaceful, the corals and the fishes and the blue water are all enchanting. Truly, it was one of our barkada's firsts.
Puerto Galera Dive Sites
Right after snorkeling, we're ready to hit the beach! I have to put on goggles to protect my contact lens. The waves were outrageous but we really had so much fun.

White beach, Puerto Galera
girl bonding at its best
We laugh our hearts out as we see Isa struggling with the waves (she's so petite that she's easily thrown back to the sandy area). Of course, the adventure wouldn't be complete without us doing something 'not-so-us'. Except for Isa, Mc and I always swim with our one-piece bathing suit or with really light top. But this time, we did one thing that we've never done before...swim in our bikinis!!! Hell yeah! That was crazy! It was wild, cause it's definitely not so me (really!). I think Puerto Galera has something that invites you to do 'something new'.

night life at White Beach, it's a good thing eating your dinner facing a beautiful beach
All four of us had a good talk during dinner as we sort of celebrated my birthday and despedida as well (I'll go back to our province to basically do some "soul searching"). We ate grilled foods, soup, iced teas - candle light setting! We behaved ourselves and did not drink any hard liquor. We don't eat big...except for Isa (Having that slim body, sometimes, life could be so unfair!).

The next activity we did - swum the night out (La Solana boasts a lovely pool). The activity tested Ava's skill of operating her camera's timer so that we could have a complete group picture. All wet and wild, we posed for an updated version 'kuno' of Pantene's most beautiful, this time...Puerto Galera's most beautiful! Lol!

That night, I got 'knocked down' first, still feeling dizzy because of our snorkeling gig. But as the morning sun greeted us, I'm back again and ready for yet another day of adventure...

a simple breakfast
souvenir shop
sunny morning in Puerto Galera
With Fruitas shakes at hand, we searched every shops for that perfect souvenir piece. My 3 girls all bought shirts, and since I have no right to put another piece in my 'enormous' bag, I just contented myself to shop for small items. I ended up buying 9 pieces of fish magnets describing each member of my family! Those were really adorable pieces.

We left La Solana Resort past 11am for a road trip to Calapan where Ava stays. On the way, we saw another great view - the Tamaraw falls. We stopped for a while to take some pictures and went down to see the 'batis'. From below, it was like you're in a different country. Speaking of different country, the topic about going to Hongkong Disneyland for another travel adventure was discussed during the road trip. Can't wait for that to happen...

Tamaraw Falls
Before going to Calapan Pier, we ate our lunch at another beach in Calapan. Their sisig is just heaven and the adobo is a total knock out. Inside the car, we did last minute uploading and sharing of pictures taken from our cameras.

supercat
We road the Supercat back to Batangas Pier. Though it was not as exciting as the Golden Hawk, it was a safe and comfy ride. I felt so thankful to God for this trip as I took my last picture of our very memorable, very crazy and very courageous All Girl Getaway to Puerto Galera!

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