Puerto Galera Travel Diary: White Beach

I have never traveled so far to see the beach. Growing up in Cebu, it was always just a half or an hour away by car. Moving to Manila made me realize that it was something I apparently missed. I've always said I was no beach bum and maybe perhaps I still am more of the mountain lover but there's a certain charm that the salt water brings especially when it presents itself in various shades of blue. Puerto Galera's White Beach was 3 hours away by bus and another 2 hours by boat. Was it worth the trouble? Definitely.

I wrote a poem while riding this boat. For some reason, I have formed a habit of writing while in transit. Perhaps it's the change in scenery or the people I encounter on the journey. It feels like there's always a story begging to be told.

On a different note, our boat got into a minor incident midway through. We passed by an area where trash was floating at sea and one got stuck on the motor (or engine? I'm not sure what to call it.) We stopped for a few minutes until the crew got it off. It made me sad because despite nature trying to be beautiful, humans always find a way to tarnish it. It was heartbreaking. Imagine if a turtle or some other sea creature mistake them for food! *shakes head*

The sun was mighty sweltering that day. It was a blessing that "iskrambol" vendors were in the area so we got our fix of the classic Filipino shaved ice treat. I was so glad to see that the vendors carried with them sacks as trash bags too so people will have somewhere to throw their cups afterwards. Yay!

Apart from swimming, White Beach was lined with various water activities like jet ski, banana boats, kayaks and the like. You can even play volleyball! Since we had a different adventure ahead of us the following day and we wanted to conserve energy, we opted to go OG and just take a dip. (More about this in the coming posts.)

Looking at these photos post vacation made my heart swell a bit. Everyone looked so happy and the emotions were pretty raw. I guess it pays to just keep snapping and worry about my camera's memory later. *laughs* Or maybe it's just the magic that the sea brings?

As the sun sets, the island stays alive. Restaurants and souvenir shops line the area so we also did a bit of shopping and eating around. We even watched a group of fire dancers who performed by the shore. It was scary and entertaining at the same time. I'm not going to keep this lengthy so I'll just leave you with this vlog to watch!