IT'S PARADISE!

It's Paradise!
Jo Erlinda Gabot
March 27, 2008

A fun way to start snorkeling begins
at Long Beach, Puerto Galera







Many of my friends would ask me, why do I always want to go to the beaches?
I’ve never been addicted to the beach, though I was trained to swim during college. I hate beaches for their salty water and it irritates my skin and eyes! I didn’t enjoy swimming there for my fear that something would actually attack me. I usually spend my time at the shores making sand castle or enjoy grilled food at the cottages there.

My first experience in Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro last summer 2006 changed everything. My badminton peers went there for three days and spent time at the San Antonio Island. The first time I saw the water, it was really inviting for its clearness. The sooner I put down my traveling bag, I immediately spent practicing snorkeling. There, I saw colorful and unique sea creatures that I’ve never seen in my whole life that close.
The following day, we rented a motorized banca and went island hopping. Our first stop was Puerto Galera’s famous Giant Clam Shells.
As my first time snorkeling experience in deep water, I made sure that there was someone beside me or there was a person I see not far from me.
From the Giant Clam Shell, we took our stop in an island where there is cave for our picnic lunch.
Our next stop, the most important place a first-timer should be in, was Long Beach . On the Long Beach shore, you mustn’t forget to rent a banca to take you to see the bountiful rainbow-colored coral garden! You wouldn’t ride in that small motorized banca. Youʼll grab a piece of handle beside it, and it will pull you to the destination while snorkeling and feeding the fishes.
A very exhilarating experienced that surely no one can ever forget. A first close encounter by hundreds and hundreds of different species of fish eagerly and waiting for their turn to take a piece of food in your hand! You can even hold and feel the fish as you feed them. What a spectacular sight and a mind-blowing experience! It’s like being inside a gigantic aquarium. To add to the momentum, you’ll see the coral gardens and reefs multi-colored in all shades of the rainbow deep below. There are shallow coral gardens, interesting rock formations, and colorful species to watch, like crabs, shrimps, sea anemones, moray, and trumpet fishes.
When it was time to leave, all of us didn’t want to reach the shore. We continued snorkeling and there I begun my own venture alone. After gaining my confidence in snorkeling, I wandered around and looked for something more interesting.
Before going back to our cottage, we stopped at Coco Beach Resort Hotel and had a few drinks and rented kayaks.
As our second and last night, we went to White beach for a party! I was amazed that there were many people there. It was jam-packed and full. You can’t even find a table immediately. Every adult looking for a drink should try their Mindoro Sling!
After that unforgettable experience in Puerto Galera, I had wanted to go snorkelling there again and again. And maybe find another place as beautiful as the waters of this famous place and its denizens in its pristine waters.
Yes, Puerto Galera. My tropical paradise.
Send comments to gagabytes@yahoo.com