The Beautiful Sun Sets in Puerto Galera!

A trip to the beach is not complete without the compulsory beach sunset photo!

Almost missed my chance but was just in time to snap this one!

Sunsets like these only happen in the Philippines!

A Picture Atop A Coral Formation in Puerto Galera!

This is my most favorite picture of the summer of 2015!

And just like many favorite pictures of ours, it wasn't particularly easy to get this one. Apparently, there was this huge coral about five meters from where our banca was anchored. Manong boatman suggested to us to swim to it and have our pictures taken there.

Well, easier said than done!

The coral was huge and its topmost part was almost jutting out. It was also big enough to accommodate the six of us. Problem is, nobody told genius me that corals are deceptively slippery and that on its crevices lived the sea urchins with their menacing long black spines! Also, marami syang sharp edges which sadly caused some blisters on my knees and hands.

Since I had my goggles on while swimming towards the coral, I could see the sea urchins (which added to me freakin out!). And I was really struggling to get my footing on the coral since it was just freaking slippery! Also, since I hadn't done yoga or Body Balance for months, my core strength and balance was very poor so what would have taken me 5 seconds in a more coordinated body took me almost a minute!

Butete me has many things to do in the gym!

Buti na lang, JR (our cute young boatboy), waited for all of us to settle down before he took a plethora of pictures. This though was the best amongst all of them!

Snorkeling and Beach Hopping at Puerto Galera

We Filipinos are spoiled for choice because every beach destination we go to has island hopping and snorkeling as their activities! The same is true at Puerto Galera.

However, I would have to go back to FF Aura and do some serious lapping before I go on another beach trip. As you can see from the pictures, all of my friends were having great fun in the sea, while I was barely struggling keeping myself afloat!

I think the last time I snorkeled was 7 years ago and I was like 40 pounds lighter! Anyhow, I tried first doing it without the life vest but I realized I haven't lapped for months so my endurance at floating was very poor!

I was shocked to find myself struggling to reenter the banca! Buti na lang, manong and his son, JR (more on him later) were very helpful to me because everytime I had to reenter the boat, they'd lift up my whole body since my upper body was very weak. Kainis! Now I know which part of my body to really work out when I go back to Manila!

I decided to wear my life vest para naman mas relaxed ako and since I haven't swam in months, my hand and feet coordination was very poor. So note to myself - if planning on going to beach destination - do laps in the pool the week before just to reawaken that part of my body and brain!

How To Get The Best Digs at Puerto Galera On Your Budget!

Our modest digs with a view of the blue horizon separating the Puerto Galera sky and the sea. If you're just traveling with friends and are patient enough to look for the most reasonably priced yet comfortable digs, you can get a tout as soon as you arrive there and he or she will show you around.

Rule of thumb is, the nearer the inn or hotel to the center, the more expensive it is. So that weekend, those at the center cost 3000 pesos (for 3 or 4 people) per night while those at the fringes (on the sides) cost 2000 pesos per night. We got the one near the leftmost part of the beach and at 600 plus per person per night, it was a good deal!

There's an aircon and cable TV (they have French and Spanish channels hurrah!) and the toilet was clean, sunlit and airy. The room we got was spacious as well, we can actually do our Body Jam there!

Also, the restos and the beach was just 10 meters away so it was perfect!

Never Too Old To Travel and Explore!

Thank you to my newfound friends (and old ones as well), I have begun to get out of my comfort zone ever so slowly this 2015. And the funny thing is, one can actually do it, even if one is getting more advanced with age!

Last week, I drove out of the gates of Metro Manila for the first time, and this week, I will ride again a bus to a point somewhere in Luzon. For other people, it might seem unremarkable, but the last time I did that was in 1990, for a Humanities school project, and we went to Floridablanca to interview some manghihilot.

Between 1990 and 2015, I never cared to ride a bus to any point in Luzon! Such was my apathy for this island even after living in Manila for 27 years! I felt like the characters I saw in Sex and the City who saw Manhattan as the center of the world and that going to Connecticut or New Jersey, was like going to outer space! Sadly, I was that person as well.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Philippines, and I have been lucky to have lived (not traveled lang!) in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Not many Filipinos can make a claim to that. It's just that my family and I had been traveling and moving around for so long that when we finally settled in Manila, even if I was at the prime of my youth then, I was too lazy to explore Luzon.

But I guess, it's never too late. It's not going to be easy since I have to work it around the school schedules and my work as well. Thanks to Facebook, I get the added inspiration to see all of your travel pictures, especially the ones in Luzon, since those are the places I would really love to see!