Of course, any visit to to Puerto Galera is never complete without trying out some of the town’s 13 superb beaches and a number of its offshore islands. Come morning of the last caravan day, after breakfast at Marivelles Restaurant at the top floor of Marco Vincent Dive Resort, we were driven to the town’s seaside tourism information office.
Boquete Island
Here, big outrigger boats were docked to take us to the small yet charming and beautiful Boquete Island (also called Paniquian Island), one of the islands that dot Muelle Bay. Technically, it is a peninsula as it is connected to the mainland by a 50 m. long, scenic white sand sandbar, but it does become an island during high tide. Elizabeth’s Hideaway Resort & Restaurant, formerly Sandbar Boquete Beach Club, is located nearby.
Puerto Galera Tourist Information Center
Windsurfing is done off the sandbar which is perfect for speed trials as its sheltered waters are generally flat. Wind speeds here can reach 20 knots at times although, generally, the wind speeds are consistent during the daytime at between 10 and 15 knots.. The sandbar is a regular venue for the second leg of the Philippine National Windsurfing Championship circuit.
Boarding our boat
Ms. Susan E. Cruz (Tourism Operations Assistant) and Ms. Sienna May R. Manongsong, both of the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Tourism Office joined us. The boat trip took a little over 30 mins. and we made landfall at the white sand beach fronting the unfinished Friday Boquete Resort. Here, we were to have lunch at one of its picnic sheds.
On our way
The beach is nice and secluded, with clear blue waters, and is away from the maddening crowd and the loud sounds of bars, restaurants and party places of White Beach. However, sea urchins are present a short distance from the shore. East of the island are the waters of Muelle Bay while to the west is Balatero Cove.
A resort we passed during our trip
This 3.8 hectare property, located on a powdery white & pink sand beach inside the lagoons of UNESCO-protected Muelle Bay, is a sister resort of the 5-star Friday’s Boracay Beach Resort in Aklan and both are owned by the publicly listed Boulevard Holdings, Inc. (BHI).
Making landfall at Boquete Island
When operational, it would have 62 luxurious native cottage styled rooms, a restaurant (that can be converted into an events are), beach grill, lobby lounge and bar, a huge outdoor ,free flow swimming pool and deck, art/shop boutique; dive training pool; full-scale dive shop, a spa treatment pavilion, and gymnasium.
Fridays Boquete Beach Resort
As lunch was still hours away, we still had time to do banana boating (PhP350/pax) or avail of a package tour to San Antonio Island consisting of a visit to an underwater cave and snorkeling the spots around the Coral Garden, looking for a meter long giant clam underneath —all for PhP300.
Banana boat ride
Of those who availed of the banana boating, half opted for its milder form (no overturning) while Eva, Cel, Mike, Sheena, Gabby and yours truly went extreme and were rewarded with three dunkings, the last one when we were returning to shore.
Getting ready for our extreme banana boat ride