Browsing the blog archive for Mindoro Travel Guide | Ambot ah! Travel Blog
Day 1
- Ride LRT to Gil Puyat (Buendia) Station – P12
- 8:00am – ETD Buendia. Ride air-con bus to Batangas Port – P166
- 10:30am – ETA Batangas Port, Batangas City, Batangas
- Walk to ”Father and Sons” ticket booth.
- Buy Batangas Port to White Beach, Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro tickets at “Father and Sons Lines”
- Roundtrip ferry (pumpboat) fare (P250 if one-way) - P450
- Environmental users fee - P50
- Terminal fee - P30
- Wait inside the Passenger Terminal pre-departure area
- 11:00pm – Board Batangas – Puerto Galera pumpboat
- 11:15am – ETD Batangas Port. Strong waves nearing Puerto Galera
- 11:30am – ETA White Beach. Contact “Deling” who has a building with cheap rooms for rent. Mobile: (+63)906-250-7398 or (+63) 905-254-4390
- Check-in at Deling’s “accommodations” (not sure if the place has a name). 5 minutes walk from the beachfront.
- Fan room with 1 double bed and 1 single bed, private TB - P500 per night
- Lunch at beachfront restaurant
- Chicken nuggets with rice and soft drinks – P90
- 3:00pm - Walk to highway (5 minutes). Ride tricycle to Puerto Galera Bayan (town proper) – P25
- Drop-off at jeepney station for Calapan-bound jeepneys
- 4:00pm – ETD Puerto Galera town proper. Ride “Calapan” jeep to Tamaraw Falls – P35
- 4:40pm – ETA Tamaraw Falls (along the highway)
- 5:00pm – Ride van to Puerto Galera Bayan – P50
- Walking tour around town
- Tricycle ride back to White Beach – P25
- Sunset at White Beach
- Dinner at beachfront restaurant (one with free WiFi)
- Pork something + Mango Shake – P160
Day 2
- Breakfast
- Instant cup noodles. Requested hot water from Nanay Deling
- 10:00am – ETD White Beach. Start trek to Aninuan Falls.
- Follow beach path to Aninuan Beach.
- 10:30am – ETA Aninuan Beach. Walk to highway. Find the Aninuan Creek/River (easily spotted because there was a bridge over it).
- 10:50am – ETA Aninuan Creek/River. Follow the inland road. Ask locals for direction.
- 11:30am – ETA Aninuan Falls
- 12:30nn – ETD Aninuan Falls. Walk back to White Beach
- 2:00pm – ETA White Beach
- Pack bags. Check-out.
We were headed for Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro. Since there are no direct land connections between Puerto Galera and Abra de Ilog, we thought of doing a connecting trip via Batangas Port. If only we had found out that there’s a regular passenger ferry service between Puerto Galera and Abra de Ilog: twice a day at 10am and 1pm departing from Balatero Port, Puerto Galera (30 minutes) – P130
- 3:30pm – ETD White Beach, Puerto Galera. Ride “father and sons” ferry to Batangas (last trip)
- 4:00pm – Stop-over at Bayan
- 6:00pm – ETA Batangas Port
- Ride tricycle to Basilica dela Immaculada Concepcion or “bayan” (town proper)
- Tricycle driver overcharged us by a lot – P300 and “haggled” it down to P150 (still expensive).
- Ride tricycle to SM City Batangas – P20
- Dinner at McDo – P100
- Coffee at Starbucks while waiting (for the rest of the group we were joining on the Apo Reef segment of the trip)
- 9:30pm – Ride jeep to bayan – P7
- Ride tricycle to Batangas Port RORO Terminal – P50 fare + P50 tricycle entrance
- Buy Batangas City to Abra de Ilog RORO (slow ferry) ticket via Montenegro lines (2 hours) – P260
- 10:00pm – Board Montenegro RORO
- 10:50pm – ETD Batangas City
- While on the ferry, reserved seats at Amethyst Bus Lines for bus going to Sablayan – P200 (Driver gave us a discount. Originally P220)
- 12:50am – ETA Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro
Next
Last summer, I spent eight weeks on a series of short trips across Luzon. I called Manila my new home and each week I’d go out to visit particular places near Manila that I’ve always wanted to see but never got the chance before. I guess the reason was because I’ve put them off in favor of more far-flung and exotic destinations. I guess it seemed more appealing to visit Palawan, for example, than to spend some nights in Batangas or Laguna. Since I’ve already crossed out a couple of places in my “Philippine travel wishlist,” the time was ripe to visit a couple of interesting places that most Manilenyos have probably grown tired of by now. On my second week, I visited “Puerto Galera,” known as Manila’s cheaper alternative to Boracay. For me, however, I considered Puerto Galera as my gateway to Mindoro Island.
In the Philippine Ilonggo dialect, ambot ah literally means "I don't know." After graduating in college, I decided to hold off pursuing my profession and embarked on a free spirited journey of adventure and self-discovery. My travels have led me to many places across the Philippine Islands and South East Asia. I don't know where this path will take me but I'm certain I'll get a lifetime of stories out of it.
