MOUNTAIN TRAILS AND DIVE SITES
July 24th 2008 00:00
If we do not have much time in our hands, travel, even to the best places in the world, becomes nothing but a blur. You know, like we don’t get to see anything but the obvious. This often happens to me. Consider this, I have traveled the Philippines several times over, I have crisscrossed the main islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, but I have seen very little of them.
Let’s take the island of Mindoro as a focal point, for example. That island is divided into two provinces: Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. Normally, visitors to that island can only visit one province at a time because they are straddling a mountain range that is not accessible to public utility vehicles. Well, at least, not to the usual public utility vehicles.
There is an access road in the southernmost part of Oriental Mindoro, in the town of Bulalacao, that opens and closes depending on the weather conditions (and availability of public funds) that can bring you to the Occidental side and into the City of San Jose.
You'll never find that route if you look it up in Google Earth. The road condition was so bad (a boulder punctured my gas tank the first time I negotiated it), and the terrain so dangerous, the guy who accompanied me going in decided that a twelve (12) hour boat ride on a night with squalls is safer than an hour and a half drive in logging trails.
I took that route at least three times more, entering the island from the northernmost town in the oriental side (Calapan City), driving all the way down south to Bulalacao, crossing the access road going to San Jose, exiting the island from the northernmost town of Abra de Ilog in Occidental Mindoro… and passing all the towns in between in the process.
Yet, a tourist who has been there only once can say more about the island than I can. Reasons: Because, while I’ve traveled practically the whole island, I have never climbed Mt. Halcon - a favorite destination for mountaineers. And while I’d been to Puerto Galera, I have not gone to its beautiful beaches and world famous dive sites. Sure, I’d been to Pandan Island, which is part of Occidental Mindoro, but only for about an hour to talk to someone who was there, and have a little bit of snack.
The Island of Mindoro has a lot more to offer than just all that I mentioned. (This reminds me of a friend who once told me that “you’ve never really been to Bangkok, if you have not gone to Phatphong”.) So, if you want to see Mindoro, why not go Puerto Galera and start your discoveries from there.
Ancient traders from the Chinese Sung Dynasty used to call it Ma-i while the Spaniards referred to it as “Mina-de-Oro (Gold mine). It is the only place in the country where you’ll encounter members of the Mangyan tribes.
And then, there’s the Dwarf Buffalo (locally known as Tamaraw- a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae) and a whole lot more.
It is just three (3) hours away from Manila. You go there by taking a bus ride to Batangas City, then about an hour pump boat ride to Puerto Galera. From there, you can immediately frolic in the beautiful beaches, or proceed to Sabang for scuba diving or plain snorkeling.
If you still haven’t had enough and want to have more nature thrills, you are just a ride away to Calapan City where you can find a guide to help you conquer another mountain.
Let’s take the island of Mindoro as a focal point, for example. That island is divided into two provinces: Oriental and Occidental Mindoro. Normally, visitors to that island can only visit one province at a time because they are straddling a mountain range that is not accessible to public utility vehicles. Well, at least, not to the usual public utility vehicles.
There is an access road in the southernmost part of Oriental Mindoro, in the town of Bulalacao, that opens and closes depending on the weather conditions (and availability of public funds) that can bring you to the Occidental side and into the City of San Jose.
You'll never find that route if you look it up in Google Earth. The road condition was so bad (a boulder punctured my gas tank the first time I negotiated it), and the terrain so dangerous, the guy who accompanied me going in decided that a twelve (12) hour boat ride on a night with squalls is safer than an hour and a half drive in logging trails.
I took that route at least three times more, entering the island from the northernmost town in the oriental side (Calapan City), driving all the way down south to Bulalacao, crossing the access road going to San Jose, exiting the island from the northernmost town of Abra de Ilog in Occidental Mindoro… and passing all the towns in between in the process.
Yet, a tourist who has been there only once can say more about the island than I can. Reasons: Because, while I’ve traveled practically the whole island, I have never climbed Mt. Halcon - a favorite destination for mountaineers. And while I’d been to Puerto Galera, I have not gone to its beautiful beaches and world famous dive sites. Sure, I’d been to Pandan Island, which is part of Occidental Mindoro, but only for about an hour to talk to someone who was there, and have a little bit of snack.
The Island of Mindoro has a lot more to offer than just all that I mentioned. (This reminds me of a friend who once told me that “you’ve never really been to Bangkok, if you have not gone to Phatphong”.) So, if you want to see Mindoro, why not go Puerto Galera and start your discoveries from there.
Puerto Galera pic borrowed from this site:http://www.puertogalera.biz/galleries.html
Ancient traders from the Chinese Sung Dynasty used to call it Ma-i while the Spaniards referred to it as “Mina-de-Oro (Gold mine). It is the only place in the country where you’ll encounter members of the Mangyan tribes.
And then, there’s the Dwarf Buffalo (locally known as Tamaraw- a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae) and a whole lot more.
It is just three (3) hours away from Manila. You go there by taking a bus ride to Batangas City, then about an hour pump boat ride to Puerto Galera. From there, you can immediately frolic in the beautiful beaches, or proceed to Sabang for scuba diving or plain snorkeling.
Pic borrowed from this site:http://www.puertogalera.biz/galleries.html
If you still haven’t had enough and want to have more nature thrills, you are just a ride away to Calapan City where you can find a guide to help you conquer another mountain.
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Comment by Fobzy
Fobz
Well done, nice little motor story, that's what fobzy likes to read and SEE.