Puerto Galera - A Paradise Close To The City
Puerto Galera’s place in Philippine history books started somewhat in the 17th century, when the Spanish colonizers of the Philippines made the island of Mindoro a province with Puerto Galera as its capital and the seat of government.
It stayed that way until after more than 2 centuries - because of frequent attacks by Muslims from southern Philippines, the Spaniards decided to transfer the seat of government to Calapan.
Not only that, the Muslim attacks were so frequent that the Spanish colonizers had decided to put up watch towers along the coastline and they permanently stationed the battleship Cañonero Mariveles in Puerto Galera waters. In 1879, Cañonero Mariveles sank due to a very violent storm.
When the Spaniards decided to move the capital of Mindoro to Calapan, Puerto Galera was as the same time annexed as a district of Calapan. Then in 1927, the Congress of the Republic of the Philippines passed an act creating Puerto Galera as an independent municipality.
Puerto Galera, a very rugged mountainous terrain, is located in the province of Oriental Mindoro - part of Mindoro islands. It is 130 km South of the city of Manila and about 14 nautical miles from the port city of Batangas.
It is a very popular holiday spot for many tourists both local and foreign because of several factors: its proximity to Manila, its dazzling white beaches which stretches 42 kilometers long, the beautiful tropical scenery of coconut plantations, its wonderful topography consisting of limestone cliffs and escarpments and the presence of diverse flora and fauna which are an attraction by itself.
But more than anything else, Puerto Galera is well known around the world as a divers and snorkelers paradise. As part of 7,107 islands composing the Philippine archipelago, Puerto Galera boasts of a very rich underwater life.
Add to that the adventure of finding sunken galleons and warships of world’s past and present superpowers plus a cheap place to learn diving - which diver at heart would miss Southeast Asia’s diving capital?
But it’s not all diving which attract visitors to go back there over and over and over. If you like adventure, then you’re in for an exhilirating experience! Within the area surrounding Puerto Galera, visitors may experience trekking in the jungle or visiting a village of the indigenous people who were the original inhabitants of the area or spend a day hopping on different outlying islands closeby or experience the thrill of gold panning or climb Mount Malasimbo mountain and lots and lots of water sports adventure.
Though all that were mentioned were fun and excitement, serenity is still what draws the city dwellers to come and visit the island of Mindoro and Puerto Galera. After all, isn’t that why we decide to leave for a holiday most of the time?
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Tags: puerto galera, mindoro, oriental mindoro, luzon
The Philippines, an archipelagic country composed of more than 7,000 islands, is home to more than 22 active volcanoes and this is a fact not known to many people, even the natives themselves. It is therefore not surprising if each year, there are at least a couple of volcanic eruptions happening in the country, some of which even affected global temperatures as what happened with Mount Pinatubo eruption. But most volcanic activity are small and almost a regular occurence most notable of which is Mayon Volcano.
