PUERTO GALERA 2022

A small and very picturesque village in the Philippines called Puerto Galera is located on Mindoro Island. To get there from Manila, it is a two-hour drive followed by another hour by a water taxi to cross the ocean from one island to another. The place where all of the boats are coming in is called Sabang Beach.

This trip was organized by the Aquarius Diving Centre from Toronto, and we stayed at the Atlantis Dive Resort. Sabang Beach has many diving resorts for different budgets. But if one is taking a life trip, it is worth paying for the quality at all levels, including accommodation, dining experiences, service and, of course, diving. This village is worth exploring. The local people are amicable, and walking at night is safe. However, life is not easy here. Very few well-paid jobs are available, and trying to support the family is challenging. During our week stay, we have been dived 3 to 4 times a day. All the diving sites are very close to the resorts, and honestly, there is no need to go any farther than a 2 to 10 minutes boat ride to enjoy spectacular dives.

The type of dive one we could brag about for many years to come. Compared to many other places I have had a chance to dive at, the reef and the sea life are here like on steroids. Yes, I must admit that the reef in the port is a bit damaged, but this is something to expect in places like that. On the plus side, a few sunken shipwrecks have happened there, creating different and fascinating dive sites. Just around the corner, like 5 minutes from the resort, reefs are very healthy and just majestic.