Puerto Galera Travelogue

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Puerto Galera is just a few hours south on the island of Mindoro, reached easily by bus and a short banca ride. White Beach (not to be confused with White Beach, Boracay), although quite an attractive looking place has been somewhat spoiled by locals being overly pushy trying to sell you things you just dont need.

If you do however decide to go for a massage or buy a bracelet, you will instantly regret it because alot more hawkers being even more pushy will swarm around you giving you guilt trips for not buying their goods. All in all its pretty harmless though.

But fear not, a few other beaches within walking distance have mysteriously not been discovered by anyone at all. Talipanan Beach is much nicer and home to just one small lazy restaurant - you can lie here all day without seeing a soul. Just behind this beach you can walk up to a nice waterfall and you will pass through a Mangyan village, home to a people who are famous for their weaving skills and live solely on Mindanao. They were driven back into the jungle when the Spanish arrived and they still live somewhat in seclusion amongst themselves.

The Mangyans are actually a group of 8 different tribes, with the only common factor being the island they live on - they all have their own customs and language. They have an intresting looking alphabet which predates the Spanish one in use now. There are estimated to be around 100,000 Mangyans living on the island, making up 10% of its population. The Mangyan Heritage centre has quite alot of information. The products they weave (pots and baskets etc.) are very nice and extremely sturdy - this is not your typical tourist rip-off produce. The ones we bought were admired by locals all over the Philippines who were seemingly unaware these things were being made in their own country. For the right price and a few days time they will custom make you whatever you want.

From Puerto and the surrounding beaches you can go on snorkelling trips to Coral Gardens, a spot off a nearby uninhabited beach. The coral and abundance of fish make this a sweet place to get away from the main beach. We then travelled a few hours by jeepney to Roxas (enjoying a lot of nice views along the way), from where you take a boat to Caticlan (on Panay island). This is the jump off point to the tiny island of Boracay - home to what has been voted one of the nicest beaches in the world.

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