A WORKING VISIT TO MINDORO
Mindoro will always hold a special place in my heart - because many of my childhood summers were spent there…back in the early eighties, when Puerto Galera was yet unknown. So every time an opportunity arises, I had hoped to go back and relive my childhood memories. But the last time I went there for a visit (with officemates for an outing) I was thoroughly disappointed. Well, for starters the Puerto Galera that we visited did not resemble at all the Puerto Galera of my childhood days. It was way too crowded and too commercial already that one cannot hope to swim in peace just like the old days…well, I guess that’s what you may call progress.
This time around, however, our office will be holding a conference at Calapan, Mindoro – quite far from the province’s pristine white beaches but still, I had hoped to catch even a glimpse of the place we frequent so long ago. But alas, to no avail. We stayed mostly inside our hotel at the Filipiniana Resort and though we stayed behind for one more day (since the others decided to leave immediately after the event) we were not able to go around and see a beach, even the pool of the resort was left untouched!
We had fun though because we crossed to Mindoro via a ferry boat and during the two-hour ride, most of us got busy doing all sorts of things – reading, sleeping, chatting, eating…and playing cards! The hotel rooms were very nice and clean. We even saw that the VIP rooms had their own kitchen and sala for entertaining. Their pool was also quite big, it was just the weather that wasn’t so great at the time…I think it was raining a bit on the last day of the conference so we weren’t able to take advantage of the pool…sayang!
What was surprisingly good was their food! We totally enjoyed the free breakfast that the hotel offered…and though I wanted sana to stay away from rice, I wasn’t able to do so because the rice they served was so aromatic and enticing. We even bought some cavans to bring home…
What was also surprising was the chance I had to meet up with old friends and acquaintances – some reporters from Manila coz the place is just near, an old photographer friend from Crame and a former boss who is now the COP of Mindoro – small world indeed! I even had my picture taken with a celebrity politico – Patrick dela Rosa who is now a councilor or mayor of some town or city of PRO4. The one place we did get to visit was the butterfly shop across the street where they sold lots of pretty colorful butterflies mounted on frames of all sizes. It had a steep price though so I wasn’t able to buy any…I just contented myself taking pictures.
On the ferry boat ride back to Manila, there were only a few of us so we weren’t as raucous as before…so we contented ourselves taking pictures of islands, seascapes and even the clouds. In all, it was also a fun trip though we weren’t able to go out that much (just to eat!) and so we didn’t get to see the sights around Calapan or even nearby Puerto Galera…maybe next time!
