Puerto Galera:

Next diving spot nearest to Manila

PUERTO GALERA, Mindoro (PNA) – Southeast Asian Airlines (Seair) now flies to Puerto Galera via Calapan, Mindoro.

During its inaugural flight last Feb. 20, Tourism Secretary Richard J. Gordon was invited by Seair.

Gordon said Puerto Galera will be included in the Tourism Enterprise Zone Authority (TEZA) which the department has been promoting for the resorts and provinces which have the capability for business acumen.

Puerto Galera is the beach destination nearest Metro Manila that is very popular with both domestic and international tourists. The resort offers a quick, no hustle weekend diving and beach combing.

Of course, the beaches may not have the so-called powdery white sand of Boracay, yet die-hard fans swear not by Puerto Galera’s beaches, but by its dive sites.

It has a stunning natural harbor, some quiet coves. A good range of affordable accommodations and excellent scuba diving. There are dozens of dive shops in the area making it a good place to strike a deal and get yourself a discount on the going rates.

Sabang is the busiest beach, with a mind-boggling variety of accommodation dotted haphazardly along the shoreline. Some above-average restaurants and a couple of girlie bars.

Neighboring Small La Laguna and Big La Laguna are rather more laid-back and family-oriented. Twenty minutes by jeepney to other sides is White Beach.

You can also reach it by outrigger in half-an-hour. Accommodation here is strictly of the bamboo-hut-variety and for meals you’ll have to eat what you are given: it might be catch of the day or tin sardines.

Five minutes beyond White Beach by jeepney is Talipanan Beach. Both are good for trekking, in the mountains. One of the many locals who earned a little but extra as guides will gladly take you to Talipanan or Aninuan Falls, or to bamboo villages in the foothills that are home to the nomadic Mangyan tribe.

Most divers gravitate to Sabang, largely because access to dive sites is quick and the beach has a number of established resorts with dive shops and instructors. Each morning, dozens of dive boats head off to one of the area’s numerous dive sites.

The beach at Sabang is stony but this doesn’t really matter. Most visitors are here to dive, not to laze on the sand. Sabang’s nightlife, some of it bawdy and some of it not, often centers around Point Bar at El Galleon, an unpretentious al fresco bar on a promontory above the beach. Other good places for a drink in include Atlantis and Captain Gregg’s where you should try the gin whisky, a mix of gin, kalamansi (native lime) and crushed ice.

Divers choice include Canyons, Sharks Cave, Ernie’s Cave, Horses’ Head, Fish Bowl, Joshua’s Wall, Deep Atoll, Sphinx’s Head, Verde Island Drop off and Black Fish Pinnacle.

Puerto Galera still has that small-town feeling, local children are friendly and feel at home with foreigners. The street behind the beachfront resorts are actually walkways made of concrete. They offer, among others, a Thai cuisine restaurant, a beauty parlor, grocery stores, souvenir shops and an Internet café.

Accommodations range from the humble cottage made of hatch roofings and sidings to a Mediterranean-style resort favored by long-term expats and diplomats.

Seair started last Feb. 20 its twice-weekly flights from Manila to Calapan. From Calapan to Puerto Galera is an easy 30-minute journey by road or 45 minutes by banca.

Seair is presently flying to 22 destinations from the popular honeymooners’ hideaways to Palawan to beach lovers’ haven in Boracay and even to adventure-filled Zamboanga, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi. It flies to the best destinations in the Philippines among them Busuanga, Coron, El Nido, Sandoval, Taytay, Puerto Princesa, Boracay, Caticlan, Cebu and Siargao.

Earlier, Seair has been appointed as one of the carriers to serve the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines/East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.

The company recently expanded its fleet further, using the LET 410, which has proven to be very ideal for local STOL, or short-take-off and landing runway conditions.

Pushed by a market-driven business demanding additional aircraft flights and destinations, Seair’s initial R10 million capitalization has multiplied many times over to R100 million. Seair now has eight LET 410s.

Known as Seair, Inc. until July last year, it is the second company locator in Clark. From a 10-man company, it has grown to 160 people, from four pilots flying three of its nine-seater Dornier 28 to 25 pilots now flying a fleet of LET 410.

[ Small La Laguna Wiki | Talipanan Beach Wiki ]