Rediscovering An Old Fave

How a Puerto Galera rendezvous got better this time around

By Teodoro Montelibano; Photos Courtesy of Anthony Balaguer

Where it concerns getaways, Puerto Galera, some 160 kilometers south of Manila on the northern peninsula of the island province of Mindoro, has long been replaced by Boracay and Siargao as an object of my desire. This was until I rediscovered the island after a recent trip to the beautiful dive resort, Oceana.

Oceana frequenters, mostly divers using the resort as their base, usually board a large rented motorized outrigger in Leah Beach in Batangas City and land right on the beach in the resort. The boat from Leah Beach has a maximum capacity of 45 people, costs P2,500 to rent one way, and takes about one hour and 15 minutes to Oceana. This route to the resort gives you a view of the Batangas coastline, Verde Island, various coves, and dive sites as you sail into Galera waters.

I took the quite boring, one hour-and-50 minute, Batangas City-Muelle pier, Puerto Galera ferry ride which costs P120 one way. Slow, sure and safe, but hardly nothing to do nor see during the almost two-hour trip to Galera. If you choose this route, bring along a good book or magazine to read or make sure you party till dawn so as to ensure a hangover that will knock you off all through the crossing from Batangas City to Galera. Oh, by the way, there’s also a good masseur who can give you a good, hour-long, full body rub while you wait for your ferry at Batangas City pier.

It took us 15 minutes over good roads from Muelle pier to Oceana. As soon as we arrived, it was immediately apparent to me that this resorts, owned by diver–cum–entrepreneur Anthony Balaguer, was a far cry from the previous ones I’ve been to in my past trips to the islands.

Balaguer met us in the main building – a large, high-ceilinged, two-storey structure housing the resort’s reception, game-room, library and, on the second floor, kitchen, two dining rooms – one indoor and another out on the terrace – and music lounge-cum-videoke bar.

Everything in the resort – interior design, landscaping, and resort management – is the product of Balaguer’s own individual efforts. He went to UP for his tourism course and traveled extensively to various holiday destinations overseas, including Bali, Indonesia and Ibiza, Spain. What he saw and experienced in his travels, he applied to his own baby, Oceana.

An avid scuba diver, he had long been diving around the country, including Galera where he’d been asking the locals where he might find a good lot to buy. Finally, in 2002, he was pointed to an empty lot in Barangay Dulangan, a quiet part in Galera. His family bought the property and Oceana was built on it. Local materials like marble and river stones from Dulangan River, as well as cogon for roofing and imported teakwood for flooring all went into the building of Oceana which, today, is the only such commercial establishment in the area.

The well-landscaped, 7,000 square meter tropical garden of a resort is a true class act, with its kidney-shaped, clean-filtered, freshwater swimming pool, tall coconut trees left untouched in the landscaping process, spacious teakwood-floored cabanas strewn with large plump cushions, and guest cottages with immaculately polished white-tiled bathrooms, strong ample water supply and flush toilets – something I didn’t have much luck with when I was last in Galera.

Built in November 2002, the resort stands beachside, facing Verdadero Bay, with a breathtaking panoramic view of Verde Island on the horizon and to the left, about fifteen minutes away by motorized banca, Galera’s world-class dive sites including the most famous Canyons, where the clear waters teem with a mind-boggling abundance of fish, including large schools of tuna, harlequin, jacks, sweetlips, emperors, trevally, orange-colored antheas, barracudas, an occasional shark, and beautiful soft corals down below.

With its comfortable, classy cottages, fully-stocked kitchen geared ready to serve a weekend buffet of delectable grills, seafoods, and other dishes for as much as over a hundred people; gameroom, music lounge, all sorts of watersports equipment and a first class dive shop, Adventure Bound, run by his cousins – the Floro twins, Nathan and Alex – both internationally trained deep sea technical/nitrox/trimix/cave/wreck divers, Balaguer’s Oceana is the perfect take-off point from where one can base oneself while exploring this natural resource-rich island.

Balaguer can lend guests a vehicle and guide to see some of the more stunning sights nearby in this part of the island. Some 14 kilometers away from Galera town proper is Tamaraw Falls, which is a series of asymmetrical falls leading to a grand falls with water cascading from a height of over 400 feet down to a natural frothy pool at its base.

Then there’s Cardiac Hills – Ponderosa Golf Club’s 9-hole course built up on Mt. Malasimbo where one can either play a challenging game of golf or simply just be mesmerized by the spectacular view of Galera’s 42-kilometer coastline, shimmering sea, sky, mountains, and neighboring islands from a dizzying height of 2,000 feet.

The view from Ponderosa gives one a vivid idea about how genuinely gorgeous this island, adjudged one of the most beautiful natural harbors in the world, really is. The Spaniards discovered Galera in the 16th century when Spanish mariners looking for safe haven from squalls and typhoons sailed their galleons loaded with rich cargo from Mexico, China, India, Sumatra, Java, and elsewhere dropped anchor here. In more recent times, the United Nations has declared the entire island and the waters surrounding it a protected nature center and marine sanctuary.

Those wanting to go island hopping or look for a deserted beach – which there are aplenty within the island’s over 40 kilometer coastline stretch – and gambol in undisturbed bliss can borrow a banca from Oceana and set off to sea.

If they are in the resort, Nathan and Alex Floro, or any of their fellow scuba dive-instructors would only be too glad – for a fee, of course – to walk those wanting to learn scuba diving through the paces. Lectures are held indoors in the resort and intro dives can be had in seawaters right in front of the resort.

Experienced divers may go to the Canyons, just 15 minutes away from Oceana or any of the other fabulous numerous world-class dive sites – Shark’s Cave, Escarceo Point, Washing Machine, Monkey Wreck, The Boulders, The Fish Bowl, Hole-in-the Wall, and many others.

Those who want to merely snorkel may have a banca bring them to the coral gardens near White Beach or other similar spots to have a look at Galera’s fabulous copious marine life.

Indeed, so much to see and do in this wonderful island. One great thing about it is that it’s not as formidably dear to reach compared to Boracay and Siargao. It’s also nearer and particularly after the Star Toll was put up, travel time between Manila and Batangas has been substantially cut. Moreover, with such transport as fast craft boats ferrying people between Batangas City pier to Galera in under two hours, one can leave the metropolis at breakfast and be in the island before lunch!

But over and above any other consideration, what’s great to know is that a place like Oceana is around to offer a certainly more desirable place to stay. At long last, I’ve found a place where I can go and really come home to in Galera.

For queries and reservations, call 642-6215 / 809-1878,
or visit http://www.oceanadive.com