It has been almost two years since Bebe and his college friends got together for a getaway. Thank God that now, even on different priorities and schedules, time permitted us to relive those moments again.
After few weeks plans (care of moi and Divine), we decided to set it on the island of Mindoro. When most people always head to the very famous White Beach of Puerto Galera, my group decided to stay on a more private and serene place, in Talipanan, Puerto Galera.
It was the 21st of May (Saturday), we met at the Alabang terminal (across Starmall Alabang) around 6:00 AM and decided to ride an ALPS bus going to the port. We paid PHP 137.00 each and it took us an hour and a half to reach Batangas Port. The line to the docking entrance was very long when we got there, lots of tourists were really into getting their way to their last summer destination. We bought tickets at Father and Sons Shipping Lines (FSL) and paid PHP 450.00 each for roundtrip tickets to and from White Beach.
Note: I recommend to take other Shipping Lines than Father and Sons (FSL). It took us two to three hours waiting time before it finally sailed, plus the boat’s speed seemed to be the slowest of all, such a waste of time considering the volume of people in the terminal that day.`For the same price, I suggest to take Minolo or Galerian Shipping Lines instead.
Aside from the boat tickets, we also paid PHP 50.00 each for the environmental fee and PHP 30.00 each for the terminal fee.
an hour and a half after this shot, our ferry finally sailed to White Beach
It was a hot, sunny day when we arrived at White Beach few minutes before noon. We decided to take our lunch at VM Beach Resort Restaurant. Chicken Pineapple, Fried Chicken, Beef Curry, Pork Sinigang (Tamarind soup), Fish Curry, Sweet and Sour Fish, Grilled Liempo (pork belly) — all with a cup of rice, were winner dishes! Very big servings (a single order of fried chicken will give you four chicken parts), affordable prices (ranges from PHP 100.00 to PHP 120.00), very flavorful. I strongly recommend this restaurant for all to try.
From White Beach, we took a tricycle ride to Talipanan. We paid PHP 100.00 per tricycle, carrying a maximum of 4 passengers (we were a group of eight, so we took two tricycles). Yes, it was quite a long travel from White Beach but, we did not regret it.
We stayed at El Canonero Diving Beach Resort, owned and managed by an Italian beach lover, Giorgio. A hidden paradise indeed! We never felt that the place was fully booked. Most of the time, my group were the only ones using the resort’s pool. We got two Superior Rooms for PHP 2,500.00/night each which can fit 6 persons already in each room.
Room comments: Bed mattresses were all fine, with television, a table, and a set of chairs inside on the other room, quite small bathroom, toilet bowl had an unpleasant color down there, broken toilet flush, airconditioner didn’t cool up that much. Other room’s faucet water ran slower compared to our room.
Divine and moi 
7 People + the Photographer: Solong-solo namin ang pool nila =)
We ate merienda (snack) at the nearby Italian Restaurant, Luca’s Cucina Italiana. We ordered two squared pizzas which gave as a unique Italian taste. Its crust was similar to that of a croissant, fresh and hot served. Big servings for eight hungry people, these only cost PHP 790.00. Your Talipanan experience would not become complete if you didn’t try this!
after merienda, we decided to hit the beach for a while
We also tried their pasta dishes for our dinner and they tasted good too, though not extraordinary. We planned to go back to White Beach for some Galera-partying experience but, unfortunately, rain fell hard that night which kept us from going there. Several blackouts occured as we slept.
Surprisingly, the next day was a bright day, didn’t seem like it rained hard the night before. After eating our packed goodies for breakfast, my group decided to do snorkeling before we end our vacation.
The boatmen and my group agreed for a price of PHP 2,500.00 for snorkeling boat rental. Afterwards, the two boatmen brought us to a small isolated area where there were other boats lying on the shallow-part of the sea. Then, they told us that we, without their boat, must go, swim to the snorkeling spot. Alternatively, we can have the smaller boats bring us to the spot with an additional PHP 200.00 each! They never told us about this beforehand. A true scam by local people who should even be the ones striving to make every tourist’s stay in their island an experience to remember. Such a disgrace for Mindorenos.
I and Bebe, pissed off because of what happened, decided not to go snorkeling anymore. We let our friends proceed to the snorkeling spot, while we look after our belongings inside the boat.
beware of those two boatmen at the back
this was how far we were from the snorkeling spot
and then suddenly, we were told to swim all the way there?!
my friends together with the two other bogus boatmen
just finished their snorkeling activity
Snorkeling comments: Based on their pictures and comments, there is nothing much to see. Better to skip this one instead.
We were dropped off the White Beach area where we had our lunch at Residencia de Galera Bar and Restaurant (just good, though we liked VM Beach Resort Restaurant more). We also bought our souvenirs afterwards. I got a shirt for PHP 90.00 and a refrigerator magnet at PHP 35.00 (3 pieces for PHP 100.00).
We were so lucky to have a kind resort owner as Giorgio. We came back at the resort around 12:30 PM which was way behind the resort check-out time of 12:00 NN. He did not charge us of overstaying even if we still need to rinse and pack our things. He never showed any sign of anger though the new occupants had arrived already, making them wait outside (incidentally, one of my friends knew one of the next occupants).
Again, we rode the tricycle to White Beach, where we would be riding the boat back to Batangas Port. And the locals did it again. To our shock, we were charged PHP 150.00 per tricycle instead of the original price of PHP 100.00.
crowded White Beach
Arriving late for our scheduled trip, we were transferred to a later slot. We paid an additional of PHP 10.00 each for the exit fee.
our boat back to the port
To ease the hassle of a slow-sailing trip, we decided to play our favorite past-time during college days, UNO cards! =)
We rode a Ceres bus from port to Manila. I and Bebe paid PHP 161.50 each fare to Mantrade Magallanes in Makati. Overall, we had an excellent out-of-town get together. Until our next trip, buddies! =)
