Puerto Galera & Ifugao rice terraces

  Puerto Galera, Mindoro, Philippines
Monday, August 31, 2009

My schedule for the Philippines is pretty busy, so the following day early morning I set off southward to Batangas, taking a ferry to Puerto Galera, one of the country's diving zones. The sea was very rough, so the cruise took over two hours as opposed to scheduled one. Bags started getting wet and people sick. Many passengers vomited, I think it's a standard in vessel transport here.
I landed in Sabang, a little town chiefly dedicated to underwater enthusiasts and party animals. Already noticed fact and confirmed here was that I hit the low season, which is great to realize. It rains regularly, but it by far exceeds the inconvenience of meeting the hordes wherever you go. Half empty hostel in Manila and almost tourist free Sabang delighted me greatly.
The following day I dived twice, firstly observing three wrecks including fish feeding and secondly seeing the highlight, the canyons. It was a short dive, the current was pretty strong, so kicking was resembling more of a drift dive. Computer allowed us to stay in actual canyons only 6mins due to its depth, but it was worth seeing anyway. Besides others we saw a few sharks, barracudas and a frogfish. Inexpensive and good service is what best describes diving here.
Sabang, as a part of Puerto Galera is a little town, partly reminiscent of Thailand's Pattaya with many sugar daddies looking after their Filipino companions. Area offers a lot of interesting diving spots and strong competition accounts for low prices.
Morning diving in Sabang was just the beginning of a busy day. Straight after getting out of the sea and hostel check out I took off heading back to Manila. The sea was tranquil this time. Interesting though was the actual ferry boarding, using another ferry as a bridge and a few wobbly ladders. Also many assistants were present to give hand boarding passengers.
In Manila I only used my hotel as a pit stop, stored there unnecessary stuff for few following days and hopped on a night coach to Banaue. It was a nine hours ride, transferring me to a magical landscape of Ifugao rice terraces at the elevation of 1200m. After quick check in in a hotel along with two Israeli guys I met on the bus we set off for an introductory loop walk. We walked up the road to the main point and then through the terraces back. Amazing that even people in the fields speak English.
Banaue is a very little town, facilities are limited here, but at least I got my hair cut and enjoyed food on the market. I tired also snake fruit, similar to longan, but with a thicker snake resembling skin.