crispy bacons of puerto galera

February 15th, 2005

i’m back from my weekend vacation in puerto galera, and my sunburn’s really getting itchy *heh*. it’s unusual for me to go out of town in the middle of february (and valentine’s, for that matter); but since my sister is leaving the philippines early next month i decided that this would be my treat. (aawww)

we drove upto the batangas port where we paid P300 for the 3-day parking fee. purchased tickets for M/B brian to take us directly to white beach; P140 per head. when choosing a boat ride to puerto galera (especially if you’re prone to get seasick), i suggest that you do not take the airconiditioned ones unless you want to barf away during the 1 hour travel. besides, it’s more fun when you get splashed on and start to smell like sea water *heh*

when we arrived at white beach, there were lots of greeters holding up plackards with names on it. mine was so big that i have to hurry approach him so he could take it down already. the room we rented have air condition and a bathroom. there’s also cable tv but i don’t think we’re gonna need it. the room’s good for 3-4 persons, probably two on each bed. P1500 per overnight stay. if you want cheaper roomrates, you can walk on further to find fan rooms.

the coast is lined with bars, restaurants and souvenir shops; so if ever you fancy something, don’t buy it first. try looking around for similars, it’s always bound to get cheaper somewhere. AND ALWAYS BARGAIN BARGAIN BARGAIN. if you’re the kind who loves tribal art, i suggest you look for the GECKO TRIBE stall. they also offer henna tatoos; the owner’s nice and he gives great henna picks for you. henna costs P100-P300 depending on art size.

food at fernando’s was yummy! BUT BUT BUT!!! they have awful service, AND I MEAN AWFUL. the first time we ate there, it took around 30 minutes before the food arrived– sizzling dishes, no rice. following night, we decided to give it a second chance. and boy, did they blew it. we learned that all of their sizzling platters include rice, which we didn’t get the other night. our sisig arrived at our table cold and half empty because some foreigners thought it was what they’ve ordered when the waitress delivered it to them by mistake. (i should’ve walked right up, tell them they’ve just eaten half a plate of sizzling pig ears and see how’d they react *heh*) damn, you guys really blew it. i’m never recommending fernando’s for starving visitors.

what’s a visit to puerto galera if you didn’t get to see the underwater environment?? so we hired boatmen to take us to the coral garden. when we got there, the corals were close to the surface making it hard for us to float around and avoid getting stung by HUGE sea urchins. yeah, i’ve seen a lot but never THAT HUGE. its body is as big as a coconut, i think the spikes were a foot long. i was starting to imagine how it would feel if ever i get stung; i’d probably start panicking and step on more urchins *heh*

we transferred to bayanan because of that. it’s a private beach, but you can do some snorkeling there if you want. just three feet away from the shore and it’s already a coral haven. don’t ever try to get in the water WALKING hehe.. you’d probably slip into deep water and start seeing a school of tropical fishes. this spot is better: the waves are calmer, it’s closer to shore, corals are not brittle (we stepped on a lot earlier, we’re horribly sorry >_:)