A Shabby Seaside

The sea got a little bit rough at times, and it was a good thing they lowered plastic sheeting over the windows because otherwise we all would have got a bit wet.

It took the best part of two hours to reach Mindoro and the small town of Puerto Galera. I had been sitting next to a Filipino lady called Lisa on the boat and she asked where we were going and if we had a place to stay. It turned out she worked in a scuba shop at White Beach which is where we were heading, and the manager of the shop also owned some accommodation. She seemed fairly sure that she would be able to get us a good discount, which was music to our ears as accommodation here has thus far been expensive for us.

We docked in Puerto Galera harbour, usually they take you on to White Beach but the sea was too rough so they had organised a free jeepney to take us. Unfortunately by the time we had made it off the boat the jeepney was full and suddenly the word free seemed to have disappeared from people's vocabulary. It was slightly annoying because it appeared that we had paid over the odds for going to White Beach in the first place, so we really didn't want to start paying for something everyone else was getting for free. Thankfully Lisa had been behind us when we got off the boat and had therefore also missed her spot on the jeepney. We let her have it out with the boat guys in Filipino and soon it was all sorted. We climbed into a tricycle side car and we were on our way.

It was handy having Lisa lead us directly to the accommodation. She asked us to wait while she went to find the girl who ran it and when she returned she'd got us an even better discount. The room was large and spacious, so we didn't feel the need to search anywhere else. We thanked her for her help and parted company. A little bit later we went out to find some grub and get a feel for the place.

White Beach is one of the less developed resorts in and around Puerto Galera.

The eateries which run along the beach are fairly basic and most meals consist of bbq-ed meats or fish with rice. It feels a little haphazard and is slightly shabby in places. Almost like a jigsaw which hasn't been put together correctly. There is also a slightly seedy feel to it, there were a number of lady boys trying to get the party started with some provocative dancing. I find it hard not to stare as I wonder what the local people think and how it would all be perceived back home. We made it an early night after we'd had consumed our bbq chicken and squid.

The next day we had a bit of a lie in and then pondered over what to do. We thought about maybe moving on but decided it would be better to just get up and go the next morning. With how long it takes to travel fairly short distances it seemed to make more sense to start early. So we spent the day lazing around and sorting a few things out. We looked at the map and thought about where we wanted to go and how much longer we thought we would need in the Philippines. We still have a number of countries we want to visit in the next three months and formulating some kind of plan is becoming more important, otherwise we just won't fit it all in.

It was a very lazy day indeed and we had a very poor meal in the evening to round it off. I don't think I would recommend White Beach, there is just no heart to the place and although the beach itself is nice, it's not enough to make the place.

The following morning I was pleased that we were moving on and hoped the next destination would have more to offer.

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Laura & Adam