Veni. Vidi. Beachy!

I came. I saw. I beached. :D

finally, after two years, i was back in Puerto Galera!

The Beach

a lot of things have happened in the years that i was away. the last time i was there, there were already rows and rows of souvenir shops, henna tattoo booths, bars, and restos. now, there are even more shops, bars, and restos! they're like mushrooms! i was a bit saddened when i saw the narrow strip of sand that was free of these establishments. there were two volleyball nets set up along the shore. before, you can easily avoid these areas. now, you have to get your feet wet in order to manouver yourself around the net. ahh, the price we have to pay for having a hipper and cooler beach.

well, the beach front may be a congested pile of commercial space but i'm extremely happy to say that the water hasn't changed a bit. it's still as gorgeous and clear as i remember it to be.

and you can't mention water without talking about the water activities. Puerto Galera is truly the affordable Boracay. they have jet skiing, scuba diving, wind surfing, and banana boating!

ah yes, the banana boat.

now for those who haven't tried out this exciting water "sport," i just want you to know that tipping the boat is really part of the package. who wouldn't want to fall splat in the middle of the ocean, water in your ears (and mouth) and all? it would've been a boring, boring ride. my favorite part was actually sitting right in front of the giant banana while the motorboat spinned us around the water. it was like riding a roller coaster, only this ride ended with me gulping down a gallon of salt water. hahaha!

Royal Treatment

we truly felt like kings and queens last weekend.

the minute we got to Batangas, we got the VIP treatment. my uncles drove us to the San Miguel Brewery branch in Batangas to park the car and van. Uncle Nhat is a manager at SMB and one of his supervisors' area is Mindoro. so, we, the lucky ones, got a discounted rate in Agbing Resort. we took two adjoining rooms, one with a kitchen. the best part was the free food! tons and tons of fresh seafoods (fish, squid, and shrimp) and vegetables. we were even given a complete set of ingredients for sinigang! i got to hand it to uncle nhat. it sure to know people and high places (and to actually be one of them, too).

Child of the Corn (Rows)

i've always wanted to see how it feels like to sport corn rows and dreadlocks. i got my chance last weekend. i had so much fun! i felt like a celebrity, actually.


artists fixing my hair as people crowded around me to watch and take photos. of course, 100% of my fans were family but that still counts, right? :D

it turned out great.


until the banana boat fiasco, that is. somehow the braids got loose so i had to take them off saturday evening. well, it was great while it lasted (and i still have the photos to prove it :D).

Just Keep Swimming, Swimming, Swimming...

and swam we did! it's been a loooong time since i bonded with my cousins. it's just too bad that two of the families from my mama's side already migrated to Canada. it would've been doubly fun with my other crazy cousins around.


i was so excited about the trip that i even bought myself a disposable underwater film camera. it only has 27 exposures and i'm still using it on my next trip to Galera with flor in two weeks so i had to use my shots wisely. even before the trip, i was already daydreaming about our snorkling adventure...

unfortunately, unforseen circumstances burst my happy bubble. uncle nhat's family had to leave early so that left us with two families. also, we ran out of tickets for the 2 pm trip back to batangas so we were forced to buy the 11:30 tickets. which meant that we had to schedule the three-hour snorkling trip to 6 am, sunday morning. Sun Cecullar had an event that evening so, understandably, my rocker cousins came back in the wee hours of the morning, groggy and extremely tired. so that left us with only four people - mama, my sisters, and moi. my contact didn't want to push through with the trip because we were too few. sigh.

well, this only means that flor and i really have to make our trip happen, even if it'll be just the two of us. it'll be like our Cebu trip a few years ago. bonding to the max!! too bad star and mildred aren't here to join us (umuwi na kasi kayo e!)...

From Dusk Til Dawn

dusk is definitely my favorite time of the day.

when the sun was ready to set, more people gathered around the shore to take photos and admire the view. it was like an unspoken agreement. i suddenly felt like i was in Baywalk, except there was less PDA and even less clothing (hahaha!).

Celebrity Sightings

1. we ran into Tado on our way back to our room. much to our delight, he stayed in the same resort. he was so nice and funny. our pictorials ended with my lola chatting up a storm with the popular comedian. naks, close na sila! :p

2. my uncle and cousins spotted Christine Reyes while we were strolling along the beach front. i'm not that familiar with her, actually. i just learned that she's Ara Mina's younger sis. of course, the boys (and my uncle ;) ) couldn't help but give her a second look (and a third, and a fourth....)

3. "Uy, si Gladys o!" my cousin exclaimed.
"Oo, nga!" Gelli replied, pertaining to Gladys of the now defunct Gladys & The Boxers.
it was K Brosas, of K & The Boxers. hahaha!

you guys better hope that she didn't hear you! :p

4. spotted Don during our last swim sunday morning. naks, celebrity daw o! hi, bro! hehe.

Time Sure Flies When You're Having (Too Much) Fun

at least that's what i felt as we rode the boat back to Batangas. i think we did have too much fun because we were the last ones to load the boat...and we were 15 minutes late!! to think i was the one who always waited for my ride in my past trips. i actually felt the negative energy radiating from our fellow passengers. i can't really blame them. hehe.

why, why, why do good things have to end??

of course, the best thing is that it gives room for new and greater adventures!

Puerto Galera, you haven't seen the last of me!! bwahahaha!

(see you in two weeks!)