Puerto Galera Beach Getaway {Deetour}

My friend Roni was in Manila for a vacation and begged for an out of town trip so when my officemate Liza mentioned that she and her hubby and some friends of theirs were planning on going to Puerto Galera, I asked if we can hitch along and she said yes.

She also invited our other friends and Yen decided to come along with her boyfriend. While we were finalizing this in the elevator, I saw my old teacher who also now works for P&G, Ryan, and I invited him to come too. That was how a mixed bunch of 10 people and a baby (Liza’s) ended up together for a summer beach outing last May 5.

Rex, Liza’s hubby, drove us to Batangas pier in their car where we road a ferry to the white beach island itself. First thing we did upon getting there was scout ourselves a room. The boys found a house that rented a couple of air-conditioned rooms for P4,500. We were happy to take those and rested awhile before Roni, Ryan and I headed out to see the scenery.

Ryan was the first to go out and we found him chatting with a guy who was locked up behind bars next door. Later he told us that the guy was insane. (Note how this will become relevant later on) We trekked through lots of people-filled sand and I directed them towards the rocks on the left side of the island.

Once we had crossed the boulders, they were happy to note that there were fewer people in Tamaraw beach. After pictures and halo-halo (Ryan had a especially made one with all the other ingredients taken out except the beans), Roni and I swam in the waters then decided to rent a kayak. It was a tiring experience, and we headed back to shore without making it to our planned destination, the white cottages in a faraway shore. Ryan also had a go at it after us.

great view in tamaraw beach

kayaking – one more thing off my hundred-things-to-do-before-i-die list

We decided to head back to the white beach when Yen called to ask for the key. We found the rest of the group on the right part of the beach, and Ryan chatted with them while Roni and I had massages on the sand. It would have been perfect I had not been stupid enough to leave my bag open, causing my cellphone to get picked out or fall out. Yes, I lost my cellphone again. Argh.

massage on the sand, where i lost my beloved nokia flip phone

We had dinner with the rest of the group at an ihaw-ihaw place, after which Ryan insisted on trying to find the cellphone where I had it last. I went along even though I knew that an attempt to find a cellphone in the sands in the dark was as futile as the idea of me ever finding the right guy for me.

When we turned up empty, I told them I would rather move on and drown my loss in a pitcher of Mindoro’s sling. So we walked up to one of the bars and did just that. Then Ryan said he wanted to watch Bamboo’s concert, which was going on at the left part of the island. So off we went, and while there, Roni, who was beginning to feel warm due to the drink, wanted to go for a midnight swim. I agreed to go with her, so we left our things with Ryan on shore then dove into the waters.

While there, we got approached by a couple of foreigners. Roni’s guy was from Thailand, mine was from Singapore. Though my guy was okay-looking (tall Chinito with dimples), hooking up with tipsy strangers is not exactly our style so we decided to bid them goodbye when Ryan was through watching the concert. When I introduced the guys to Ryan, telling them that Ryan was our teacher, Ryan actually spun a tale, saying, “Yes, I am their teacher and I am responsible for them. Their parents know they are with me. ” Wow. Where did that come from?

With that, we insisted that we had to go. Besides, we needed to stick with Ryan, we couldn’t remember our lodging’s whereabouts. Roni’s guy was insistent on not letting Roni go, though, so Ryan made them follow us home. So Ryan walked ahead followed by our pairs, with me and the Singaporean at the back. Just then, my companion met someone he knew and introduced me, and the next thing I knew, I could no longer see Ryan or Roni. Uh-oh.

hitting the beach at night with ryan, my professor who is “responsible for me”

I insisted on our parting, since I knew it would be doubly hard to try to locate my house with some foreign stranger by my side. I asked around and somehow made it to the main road at the back. Then I rode a tricycle and we drove around, but in the dark, it was hard to figure out anything. What wrong timing to lose my cellphone!

I finally went down since it would probably be easier to find the place on foot. Luckily, a really good woman helped me. She asked what I remembered about where I live and all I come up with was…”Umm..ang matandaan ko lang, malapit sya sa isang bahay na may nakatirang baliw.” (All I remember is that it was next to a house where an insane man lived.) Nice going, Dee.

She asked the people around if they knew any insane guys, but they looked as blank as she did. Then she asked a bunch of passing kids, and bless one of them, he even knew the insane man’s name! She tasked the kid to bring me there, then told him that if I turned out not to live there, he was not to leave me but have me sleep over at their house. She took down his name and told him she was a tourism authority. Poor kid wore a look of utter consternation on his face at suddenly having this responsibility on his shoulders.

When they brought me there it turned out to indeed be the place where we lived, though, so I gave the kid the only money I had with me, twenty pesos, then ran up to our room. Roni was there, but Ryan, Yen and her boyfriend were out looking for me. She said, when she got home and told Yen what happened, Yen had said, “Kanina nawawala ang cellphone ni Dee, ngayon pati si Dee nawawala?!?!” (Awhile ago Dee’s cellphone got lost, now Dee herself is?!?!)

The next day, Ryan and Roni and I slept late, tired from the previous night’s escapades, and crawled out of bed at around 9am. We had breakfast then headed to the right-most part of the island this time, where Ryan heard there was a cave.

When we got there, a friendly couple told us that there was a beautiful lagoon on the other side of the cave and that it could also be reached by climbing the mountain. Now the cave was really narrow. There was just enough space to belly-crawl through. So Ryan and I tried climbing…but Ryan got scared halfway up so we headed back down and tried the cave instead.

It was a short but difficult crawl that gave me cuts on my elbows and knees. But the view on the other side was amazing. We climbed over boulders and swam in the crystal clear blue-green waters below.

Then I swam around some rocks and found myself in a secluded mini-beach. Never was I so glad that I knew how to swim than then. Those swimming lesson fees are the best investment I ever made.

Our boat trip out was after 2, so at high noon we headed back to the center of the island and had some kebabs for lunch before heading back to our room to pack and rest a bit. That was definitely the weirdest summer outing I ever had, no doubt about it!

an attempt to climb the mountain