Philippines

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8 Getting There & Away all sides, was a favoured anchorage well be-
fore the Spanish arrived in 1572, and today it
You can fly into San José but most people arrive remains a favoured anchorage for long-term
by boat. yachties and short-term vacationers.

BOAT Puerto Galera typically refers to the town
of Puerto Galera and the resort areas sur-
LUZON The usual tourist route to Mindoro is by rounding it – namely Sabang, 7km to the
fast bangka from Batangas to Puerto Galera, but east, and White Beach, 7km to the west.
there’s also a fleet of fast- and slow-craft con- Each has its own distinct character, span-
necting Batangas with Calapan in Mindoro Ori- ning the range from sleaze to sophistication;
ental. Car ferries link Batangas with Abra de Ilog, you’d be well advised to choose carefully.
the gateway to Sablayan in Mindoro Occidental.
MARINDUQUE One or two daily bangkas leave 1 Sights
around 11am from Pinamalayan (P200, 2½ Tamaraw Falls
hours) on Mindoro’s southeast coast to Gasan. WATERFALL
PANAY & ROMBLON Roxas in southern Mind-
oro Oriental is linked by frequent car ferries to (admission P10; h7am-4pm) This waterfall
Caticlan (for Boracay) and less frequent boats to
Odiongon, Romblon. drops from a forested ravine into pools
PALAWAN At the time of research, the only
boats to Palawan were sporadic bangkas from off the main Puerto Galera–Calapan road,
San José to Coron and the Cuyo Islands.
about 14km out of town. It gets busy at
BUS
weekends, but otherwise you’ll be just about
If travelling from Manila, it’s common to travel
by bus straight through to Calapan or Abra de the only person here – take a picnic and chill
Ilog and points south, with your bus rolling onto
a car ferry for the Batangas–Mindoro leg. out. Jeepneys headed for Calapan will drop

8 Getting Around you here (P25, 30 minutes).

The road around Mindoro is mostly paved and Talipanan Falls WATERFALL
traversed by a sizeable fleet of buses and jeep-
neys. However, there is still no road link between (Map p184) From Talipanan beach you can
Puerto Galera and Abra de Ilog in the north of
the island; travel between the two is by boat. A hike to Talipanan Falls. Walk out on the
new road here has long been in the works, but
had not been started at research time. beach access road and across the tiny bridge;

just opposite the Sari-Sari store is a small MINDORO MPS UIIGNEHDRTOTSOR OG AOLREI ERNATA L

concrete road heading right. Walk 500m or

so to the (authentic and interesting) Iraya

Mangyan village, where a track behind the

school winds for about 40 minutes uphill

and through forest to the swimmable falls.

Villagers don’t get much chance for extra

income, so hire a guide (P200) if you can.

MINDORO ORIENTAL Excavation Museum MUSEUM

Of the two provinces on the island, Mindoro (P Concepcion St, Puerto Galera town; admission
Oriental is by far the wealthier and more
populous. Calapan is its administrative by donation; h8-11.30am & 1.30-5pm) The tiny,
capital, but of most interest to visitors is the
northern group of resort towns collectively sweltering one-room museum displays
known as Puerto Galera (‘PG’, or ‘Puerto’).
On the southern tip of the island, Bulalacao some burial jars and ancient Chinese pot-
may just have the makings of a beach-and-
diving resort, especially if direct boat trips tery mostly recovered from shipwrecks. It’s
to/from Palawan materialise from its new
ferry pier. in the grounds of the church.

Puerto Galera 2 Activities

%043 / POP 28,035 Around Puerto Galera, diving is king (with
drinking coming a close second). Nondiving
Just a few hours’ travel time from Manila, companions will find enough to do on land
this gorgeous collection of bays and islands for a few days, and most dive operators offer
is one of the country’s top dive destinations. a snorkel option if you prefer to stay afloat.
Puerto Galera is Spanish for ‘port of the gal- Still, the lack of ‘real’ resort-style white-sand
leons’. Its deep natural harbour, sheltered on beaches around Puerto Galera town and
Sabang limits the sun, sea and sand activ-
ity somewhat; head beyond White Beach
to either Aninuan or Talipanan if you’re a
beach junkie.

Keen or even novice sailors can head over
to the Puerto Galera Yacht Club (Map p184;

MINDORO MINDORO ORIENTAL 184

Puerto Galera Beaches CD 0 F 5 km
To Batangas 0 To Batangas 3 miles
AB E
G
To Batangas

1 Coco Big La 1
To Abra de Ilog Beach
9 Laguna Small La Hole in
Beach Laguna the Wall
Beach
Manila Channel Medio Monkey The Canyons
Beach
Island 6

Batangas 7 Sabang Beach Lighthouse
11 Escarceo Point
Channel Daluruan

Halige Beach Sabang

Boquete Coral
Island Cove

2 16 Sinandigan Wall 2

Talipanan White San Isidro Minolo Muelle
Point Beach 2 Bay
Minolo Balatero Pier Bay Markoe Cove
Aninuan 13 Balatero 15 Muelle Pier Encenada
Beach

14 Talipanan 8 Puerto Galera 4 Beach
Aninuan Palm Medical Clinic
Beach
12 5 Balete
Beach
10
3 Cockpit 3

1

Varadero Bay

MINDORO ORIENTAL Tabinay Beach
3 Python Cave

4 Dulangan Beach 4

To Calapan (50km) Dulangan

A B C D E FG

185

%442 0136; www.pgyc.org; Puerto Galera town), Diving & Snorkelling
which will team you with an experienced
sailor for its ‘Wet Wednesday’ afternoon fun The Philippines sits in a hot spot of marine
races (P450). Start time is 1pm. diversity, and Puerto Galera offers some of
the country’s prime underwater real estate.
Golfers can take their hacks at one of Special critters that live among the coral
the quirkiest courses you’ll find anywhere, include frogfish and mandarin fish, pygmy
the Ponderosa Golf & Country Club (Map sea horses, ghost pipefish and nudibranches,
p184; %0915 507 6348; 9 holes incl gear & caddy and there’s diving to suit all levels of expe-
P1200). The diminutive track is cut into a rience. Some of the best diving is around
steep mountain 300m above PG town, with Verde Island, a few kilometres offshore.
dramatic views. Expect some odd lies.
Dive prices vary wildly so shop around.
Every Saturday at 3.30pm, the local Blue Ribbon and Dive VIP charge P1000 per
branch of the Hash House Harriers meets dive, including equipment; others charge up
at Capt’n Gregg’s for a fun run usually fol- to P1800. An open-water course will set you
lowed by a drinking session. back P15,000 to P20,000, with the best rates
once again at Blue Ribbon and Dive VIP.
Puerto Galera Beaches
Snorkellers shouldn’t feel excluded as
æ Sights many of the top dive sites are well-suited for
1 Talipanan Falls ......................................A3 snorkelling. P1200 is the going rate for a
three-hour snorkelling tour.
Ø Activities, Courses & Tours
Asia Divers .................................... (see 11) Dive operators abound, offering a range
Badladz .......................................... (see 4) of dive and accommodation packages. The
Blue Ribbon Divers ...................... (see 11) following dive operators are recommended
for having a good reputation and/or being
2 Pacific Divers.........................................B2 good value:
3 Ponderosa Golf & Country Club .........B4
NORTHEASTERN BEACHES
Puerto Galera Yacht Club ...........(see 15)
Asia Divers DIVING
ÿ Sleeping
4 Badladz ..................................................E3 (Map p184; %287 3320; www.asiadivers.com; MINDORO MPAUCI NTEDRI VOTIOTRIOGE SAOLREI ERNATA L
5 Bahay Pilipino........................................E3
Blue Ribbon .................................. (see 11) Small La Laguna)
6 Campbell's..............................................E1
7 Cataqui's .................................................E1 Blue Ribbon Divers DIVING
8 Coco Aroma...........................................B2
9 Coco Beach Island Resort ....................E1 (Map p184; %0920 823 5452; www.blueribbondiv
10 El Canonero ...........................................A3
11 El Galleon Beach Resort .......................F1 ers.com; Small La Laguna)
Luca's ........................................... (see 14)
12 Mountain Beach Resort .......................A3 Capt’n Gregg’s Dive Shop DIVING
Sha-Che ........................................ (see 11)
13 Tamaraw Beach Resort .......................A2 (Map p189; %287 3070; www.captngreggs.com;

ú Eating Sabang)
Full Moon....................................... (see 11)
Hangout Bar .................................. (see 4) Dive VIP DIVING
Le Bistro......................................... (see 4) (Map p189; %287 3140; www.divevip.com;
Sabang)
14 Luca's Cucina Italiana ..........................A3
15 Puerto Galera Yacht Club ....................D2 PUERTO GALERA TOWN & WEST BEACHES

û Drinking Badladz DIVING
16 View Point ..............................................E2
Point Bar ....................................... (see 11) (Map p184; %0927 268 9095; www.badladz

ï Information -adventure-divers.com; Muelle Pier)
Bureau of Immigration................. (see 5)
Tourist Information Center ......... (see 4) Pacific Divers DIVING

(Map p184; %0919 888 6763; www.philippines

-diving.com; White Beach)

A few resorts and tour operators offer day
tours taking in the Talipanan Falls, Tama-
raw Falls, Mangyan villages and/or island-
hopping. Tours are usually for a minimum
of six people and cost around P1200 per
head; put your name on a list and be pre-
pared to wait a day or so if there are few
takers (or pay extra for a smaller group).