If you’re not staying at White Beach, like we did, you may have to ride a tricycle from Muelle Pier. The ride costs P25 for each person. It’s a good 15 to 20-minute ride and while riding towards the beach, you can notice that some are on their way back already. I say this as if it’s an important thing to remember, because I just saw some hunks riding motorbikes in their trunks only. My sightseeing started in the road, I thought.
We’ve been informed
We dropped by around after lunch, and the skies were clear and the waves were tame. This isn’t exactly the best beach in Puerto Galera for me, since we’ve also seen Sabang and Big Lalaguna, but there are more stuff to do at White Beach.
So what can keep you busy at White Beach? Take a stroll at the beach, build a sand castle, hire a motor boat, island hop, ride a banana boat, go parasailing, get yourself inked, have a massage in the middle of the beach, drink to your liver’s content, eat to your hearts’ satisfaction or shop for beach wear and other souvenirs. If all else fail you can always go people-watch sightseeing if you know what I mean *wink*
This is not the finest sand in the country, though I’m glad it’s a bit cleaner than other beaches. There are some sharp stones in the sea bed, so watch out for your hands and feet.
I love the clouds
There are no entrance fees to White Beach, so even if you’re staying at other resorts, you are always free to go and join the party here.
TESDA-accredited (yepp, I asked!) masseuses, clad in green uniform with their mats and oils, roam around and offer massage services at the beach side. According to my research, most resorts don’t allow massage services in private rooms, so it’s done in the beach side instead. I was too shy to have a full body massage in public, so I asked only for hard back massage. If you’re like me whose body is more familiar with men’s hands (stop what you are thinking, lolz) don’t bother asking for masseurs, because there are none around the island. Even for the reputation Puerto Galera has earned. WIT!
I love sunsets! So after the massage, we stopped a while to wait for the sunset. It was lovely seeing it with my friends, and maybe next time, with a boyfriend, haha! This meant two things though: swimming is over, and the party is on!
We had dinner at Basilico Bar and Lodge. Usual grilled meat (kebabs, barbeque chicken, and liempo) costs P120 a stick, and grilled seafood costs P250. I had to credit this blog ’cause we’ve been warned of somewhat unreasonably priced food and restaurants and were able to avoid disappointment.
We have no complains for what we ordered, aside from the kebab meat which was a bit tough. We love the liempo too much though to consider it for breakfast. Rice was generous, and we were such happy eaters.
Trying to get a decent photo of the floating bar, but this is all I’ve got
One of the highlights of a night spent in White Beach is to watch the fire dancers. You’ll know it’s a Puerto Galera special when you hear the collective gasps from the anticipating audience. The usual set up is a record player and speaker, a torch of fire, and the blazing poi. The fire dancer swooshes and swings the flaming poi with such energy and grace and one could just wonder how the dancer stays burn-free, what with the daring and fast dance steps with the poi on fire. It is a spectacular show, and entertainment runs throughout the night at White Beach courtesy of these very talented performers!
When at Puerto Galera, you have to try their signature cocktail, the Mindoro Sling. It is made of several fruit juices, rum and gin; and the usual price for a pitcher is P300 and above. We were really determined to make the most out of what measly budget we have (we limited ourselves to spend P1500 only for that visit to White Beach) so we roamed around in search of the cheapest Sling in town.
Fortunately, we were lucky to bump into Andy, who owns Pina Colada Bar. We were trying accomplish this little mission of ours and he just spotted us, he was wearing this shirt with their bar menu printed on it, and suddenly asked us to try his newly opened bar.
He kept on telling us about their low-priced drinks, but we were really starstruck, instead of budget-concerned, so we didn’t care anymore and went to Pina Colada Bar. We came to know then that they just opened last Holy Week and Andy was doing the advertising for the bar, roaming around White Beach to spread the word about his venture.
What surprises people when they get to the bar is how their drinks are incredibly affordable in comparison to other bars!!! I won’t get too skeptical and underestimate their sly concoctions, if you were you; because you will need to nurse a hangover the next day if you would!
Vendors selling penoy, chicharon, peanuts, fish crackers and other pulutan roams the bars too
So we stayed, seized a table and ordered a pitcher of Mindoro Sling Next Gen (P180) which is Sling with tequila. After five generous shots, this is the redness that you could make out of me! Hahaha! I swear I could turn into a tomato while this drink leaves one wobbly for hours!
And here is Andy and look how good-looking he is! That will explain the dreamy eyes on our faces in this photo, though he’s not just that, you know. He’s really smart and fun to talk to. After doing his usual rounds, he sat with us and we began talking about his travels, Galera experiences, Europe, and his job as a computer programmer. It was a long night, but the night was just like a breeze while talking with him. Make sure you drop by Pina Colada Bar and say hi to him when you meet him at White Beach!
We really wanna stay and enjoy the party at White Beach some more, but we found ourselves back at the hotel before ten, because the tricycles usually ask for a steep price if it’s already late. For the ride back to our hotel, we paid around P90 per person, and that’s after haggling already. At the hotel, we planned for a night swim at the pool but after the Mindoro Sling, all we can think of was warm shower, the boys of Puerto Galera (lol!) and the amazing day we had at White Beach!
