I was mesmerized by the unique beauty of Puerto Galera when the Accounting Team spent a two-day beach escapade on this island. When I told my hubby about our worthy experience he told me that he wanted to go there too. He promised our kids that if he will enjoy our two-day couple getaway, we will go back with the whole family.

We took the 6:00 am Jam Liner bus ride at Buendia terminal (P166.50/head). We arrived at Batangas Pier at 8:05 am. We paid P450/head for the two-way boat fare (MV Blue Penguin) and P50/head for the environmental user’s fee.

The sun was beaming when we left the port at 8:30 am. But it rained when we were half of the trip. We were welcomed by those buffeting waves! (but our roro trip in Cebu was scarier than this). When we reached White Beach, the sun was in its highest mood again. What a sudden change of climate, wooh!

We had a room reservation at HSL beach resort (recommended by Lei, my hubby’s office mate). The walls and roof were made of native wood materials. It has a private toilet, closet, tv, and a nice tiled floor. There were tables and chairs on the balcony, good for savoring the sea breeze as well as feasting an obstructed view of the sea.

Ate Marie, the manager of the resort gave us a discount.  We paid P800 for the room instead of the daily regular rate of P1,200. Very affordable rate for a nice, cool resort to stay.

We ate our lunch at Basilico restaurant, a good spot to watch the sea and just a few distances away from HSL. We ate the usual Pinoy food like boiled pork (good for 3 persons), tortang talong (daddy’s fave), chicken kebab, sprite for my drink, and Fruitas mango shake (P85) for my hubby. Our meal costs P285 only (excluding mango shake), so affordable but yummy.

Since it wasn’t peak season yet the resto was not crowded with people. We had leisure time watching the dazzling seas. It was too inviting to swim but it was so hot to dip in the water by 12 high noon. We stayed there for an hour watching foreigners having fun in the water and those people roaming everywhere, not minding the heat of the sun. A little later, we went back to our room and took some rest for a “walk attack” by afternoon.

At 3:00 pm, we walked around at the back of White Beach albeit with the stifling atmosphere and headed to the Parkway grocery store to buy snacks. Then we went back to our room and ate our snack on the balcony enjoying happy conversation while looking at the sea view. Oh! It was so relaxing!

By 4:00 pm we headed to Tamaraw Beach Resort which Lei recommended us to explore as this offers a diverse relaxation compared to the noisy crowd of White Beach. This was just beside White Beach and could be accessed by walking along rocks of various sizes and shapes. When we got there we found out that Lei was telling the truth.

The resort had a quiet ambiance. There were only a few people walking on the shoreline. For those who wanted to escape from the noise of the crowd, the seclusion of the resort guaranteed a rewarding vacation. The calmness of the surrounding will summon you to stay longer.

Going back was now easy as we discovered the elevated concrete walkway. Before it gets dark, we proceeded to the right end portion of White Beach and watched the stunning sunset.

We ate our dinner at Hiyas resto. While feasting on the fresh grilled fish, we were entertained by funny gay performers. It’s like we were eating in a comedy bar in Manila only that they were not singing live. Even foreigners laughed out so loud.

After the show, we walked on the shoreline. This is a wonderful evening for there’s no maddening crowd and no big noise yet on the beachfront. And it favored me much for I am not a party person. We savored the nighttime solitude sitting together in the sand. There were only a few stars that night. Later a boy band started to sing a ballad and new waves songs. The cool breeze and the songs wafting on the air were enough to enjoy the night.

It was a perfect quiet moment to contemplate certain things. I was thankful that at least I rewarded myself (from a stressful job haha!) with a wonderful beach escapade with my husband.

I realized it’s not only the places that you go but the people you spend with that will make the trip worth remembering. I am wishing that we could go back here with our kids.

Time now for bed. The next day we will go island hopping and we are so excited about it. Yipee! Good night Puerto Galera!