For this year’s sembreak, we sailed to Mindoro. Well, we didn’t really ‘sail’. But unlike our usual roadtrips, this time we were mostly traveling by water. A welcomed first for our law school #squad since we usually travel north to the boondocks.
Mindoro trip satisfied more than I expected. It’s the kind of vacation I needed. Satiated my wanderlust. Relaxed my stressed mind.
First RoRo Trip Ever
It was APEC week in Manila (and I honestly didn’t want to be a part of all the crazy). We left Tuesday night, right before the start of the declared holiday. We departed from Manila 7pm and arrived in Batangas at 10pm. Reina Delas Flores of Montenegro Lines departed past 10:30 pm.
It was my first time on board a RoRo. I did expect to get scared since I fear being in the middle of the ocean, or space, or anything endless really. But the whole ride was okay. I didn’t get sea sick or scared. Just a little anxious at first. The RoRo trip lasted for 3 hours.
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| Inside RoRo Pilot House |
My friend, Cindee, befriended the officers manning the vessel. We stayed in the Pilot House (or Bridge as they call it abroad). There were two officers there who explained to us the different apparatus they use. I remember the radar and forgot everything else. Very educational really. For a first-timer, a visit to the Pilot House was pretty spectacular.
Day 1 in Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro
We arrived in Calapan, Mindoro around 2am. Since we were starving, we stopped at this roadside eatery. They serve goto, mami and bibingka. They also give salabat for free. That was the nicest salabat I tasted. Their goto was different. It looked more like papaitan, but really delicious. I would probably be looking for this goto one of these days after a booze fix. Their bibingka was simple and tasty and cheap. We ordered 7 gotos and 4 bibingkas. It only cost us 280 pesos all in all. By the way, the couple who run this gotohan sent their 3 children to school using their income from this small business. So a plea to all travelers who care to listen: when you go to the provinces, spend your money on these small businesses. They need and deserve it more.
The latter part of the day was spent on Lito Camo’s beach house, which he offered for free. Thanks to Niño Liwanag for arranging this accomodation for us and for accompanying us on most of the places we visited.
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| Lito Camo's Beach House |
We capped off the night lying by the beach, chatting, looking at the stars -- one of my favorite parts of this trip.
Day 2 in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro
We woke up at 4am to start our day.We traveled to Bulalacao by car, had a brief courtesy call with the Bulalacao Mayor. He arranged for our boat ride for our island hopping. Again. For free. A lot of freebies for this trip.
You can go to the other side of the island by trekking for 15 minutes or so, or you can go there by boat. It is as beautiful. I don’t know if there are accommodations available on the other side. We just had our photo op and went back.
Mandatory sunset pose!
And of course drinking session near a bonfire, by the sea, under the stars. What more can I ask for?
Day 3 in Bongabong, Mindoro
We had our breakfast in Melzar’s Restaurant. Very scenic. Food needs improvement.
It was my first time to ever go up a lighthouse. Usually pictures are just taken with lighthouses as backdrop.. We were allowed to go up and I have to say...it scared the hell out of me. I’m not afraid of heights or of narrow places; I anticipated that kind of steel ladder; I’ve always wanted to go up a lighthouse; but I didn’t expect it to shake so much as we climbed up. There were 6 of us who were supposed to go up and I seriously didn’t think that the lighthouse could carry all the weight of 6 people, but I went up anyways because #YOLO. Two of us fortunately yielded so I breathed a little. I was still scared since it shook a lot when somebody was using the ladder. That lighthouse seems short, but it felt like forever climbing up the ladder. The thrill was nice though. And that’s a part of my non-existing bucketlist crossed out.
We departed from Mindoro at 4am November 21, 2015. If I felt anxious on my first RoRo ride, I was asleep the entire trip on my second.
Cost
What we spent during our entire trip. Note: The table below does not contain our expenses for food (except for the one in Tambaron).
*We got a free boat ride from Bulalacao fish port to Tambaron. If you want to go to Tambaron Green Beach Resort, you can just contact them and they will arrange the boat ride for you (back and forth). Here are their contact details:
We woke up at 4am to start our day.We traveled to Bulalacao by car, had a brief courtesy call with the Bulalacao Mayor. He arranged for our boat ride for our island hopping. Again. For free. A lot of freebies for this trip.
Island Hopping. By island hopping, we mean 2 islands. The islands are separated a little far from each other. And we didn’t get to go to the other islands because of the huge waves that day.
Aslom Island. There’s nothing much on this island. It’s actually mostly privately owned and still under construction. We were still allowed on some parts however. It was windy here. I can imagine a lot of water activities, like windsurfing, that travelers may patronize. We just had our lunch there and left.
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| Aslom Island |
Tambaron Island. This is the highlight of our trip. We were the only ones in Tambaron (except for the caretakers of course). Imagine an entire island all to yourself. It was beyond words. The pictures cannot capture the serenity that this island has left me.
We were accommodated by Tambaron Green Beach Resort. (See below for cost and contact details)
You can go to the other side of the island by trekking for 15 minutes or so, or you can go there by boat. It is as beautiful. I don’t know if there are accommodations available on the other side. We just had our photo op and went back.
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| Tambaron Island |
You can go swimming and boating in Tambaron. Here’s a picture of my friends as I watch them own that part of the sea. They were the only ones there. I mean...it was beyond amazing.
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| Tambaron Island |
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| Tambaron Island |
Mandatory sunset pose!
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| Tambaron Island |
And of course drinking session near a bonfire, by the sea, under the stars. What more can I ask for?
I woke up at 5 am, sat by the shore alone, watched the light breaking through the darkness as I hear the calm waves hit the sand, deep in my thoughts. No pictures. Just me, and the ocean, and the sky. It was my favorite part.
Day 3 in Bongabong, Mindoro
We went around Bongabong, Mindoro. We lounged by the river...
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| Bongabong Mindoro |
We walked around...
And we went up this lighthouse.
And we went up this lighthouse.
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| Bongabong Lighthouse |
It was my first time to ever go up a lighthouse. Usually pictures are just taken with lighthouses as backdrop.. We were allowed to go up and I have to say...it scared the hell out of me. I’m not afraid of heights or of narrow places; I anticipated that kind of steel ladder; I’ve always wanted to go up a lighthouse; but I didn’t expect it to shake so much as we climbed up. There were 6 of us who were supposed to go up and I seriously didn’t think that the lighthouse could carry all the weight of 6 people, but I went up anyways because #YOLO. Two of us fortunately yielded so I breathed a little. I was still scared since it shook a lot when somebody was using the ladder. That lighthouse seems short, but it felt like forever climbing up the ladder. The thrill was nice though. And that’s a part of my non-existing bucketlist crossed out.
We departed from Mindoro at 4am November 21, 2015. If I felt anxious on my first RoRo ride, I was asleep the entire trip on my second.
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Cost
What we spent during our entire trip. Note: The table below does not contain our expenses for food (except for the one in Tambaron).
Expenses
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RoRo Fare - Montenegro Lines (for Private Car, one way)
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1,600 pesos approx.
(Depends what car you have)
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RoRo Fare (one way)
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192 pesos per head
(No fee for the driver)
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Gas (Manila to Batangas,Batangas to Manila, around Mindoro )
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2, 000 pesos approx
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Toll fee
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600 pesos approx.
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Tambaron Resort Overnight Dorm
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350 pesos per head
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Boat ride fee fromTambaron Island to Fish Port*
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700 pesos
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Dinner in Tambaron Island
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1, 500 pesos
(Enough for 8 people)
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Tips
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600 pesos
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*We got a free boat ride from Bulalacao fish port to Tambaron. If you want to go to Tambaron Green Beach Resort, you can just contact them and they will arrange the boat ride for you (back and forth). Here are their contact details:
