Puerto Galera 2015: The Twofold Charm

Work brought me back to Puerto Galera for some play time. Oh, how we played under the sun.

Puerto Galera was still Puerto Galera – beautiful, rich, colorful, alive.

Since jet skiing was a first for me, I took every chance I could to enjoy it. By pair, we all took turns riding along the waves. It was exhilarating, especially when we were opposite the direction of the waves, and we had to fight and bump it. The nerves and adrenaline mixed with all other emotions. We circled around with our heads looking up at the beautiful scenery of green hills and azure clouds then our eyes leveled at the rest of the vacationers ashore, the others also riding a jet ski and the strip of shops and restaurants resting from afar. Those few minutes made me smile and marvel at life.

To visit and leave this place without island hopping would be a waste. No way in hell would I do that. As part of the basic tour package, we trekked to the cave then lunged to see the giant clams (which I didn’t see clearly since they were situated so deep), snorkeled long enough to appreciate everything beneath, and fed fishes so they could munch on the bread and be closer to us. 

As usual, snorkeling had still been the best part. And though it was already the second time I did it here in Galera, my fascination for its underwater world was unfazed and unchanged. I noticed that I saw fewer sea creatures, though. (Maybe because our snorkeling was shorter also.)

I was glad all my officemates, most of whom were first-timers, got to experience all of these because they just had to. Some were thrilled; others were quite uneasy about the activities, but we all managed to be over everything with delight and relief on our faces.

I was also fortunate enough to spend some quality time alone with my love. My favorite parts of the whole trip are all the times I got to spend with him, all the sneaking out for dinner, breakfast and quick beach strolls, but most especially that long talk we had by the shore that midnight with the Puerto Galera night life in our background and that refreshing you-and-me morning swim we took after island hopping before heading home. Though it was a company outing, I still somehow felt like, for some precious moments, it was just also us there, as we made the most of the bonding we could do. It was our date trip (sort of) without the worries about expenses. Lucky you say? :)

I had been here twice with different sets of people, but it would be unfair to compare. I had fun on both counts, that’s for sure.

Lesson of this trip: Travel is necessary for relationships to grow and open up, may it be with a special someone, family or friends.

It’s been raining cats and dogs the past four days. I am not sure if this already signals the start of the wet season, but I am feeling a little nostalgically sad. Though the heat has been creeping up on me, ruining my mood, I enjoyed the satisfaction of those times when this hell would slap me on my face, but I could just give it the finger because I was on the beach, you see – on the beach, and it would never win over me because I could just dive in and be merry again like, “In your face, Sun! In your face!” Those times, just aaaah!

Puerto Galera will always be Puerto Galera – beautiful, rich, colorful, alive.

I wouldn’t mind going back again.

*Photo sources: Housing and Settlements Department, City Government of Calamba and yours truly :)