Puerto Galera Accommodation ranked by visitors
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Read about Puerto Galera || History
Puerto Galera is a municipality comprised of districts called Barangay. There is not really one single place called Puerto Galera. If you go downtown Puerto Galera, you might be surprised because such a place cannot be found on any map. Only for convenience sake do we mention "Downtown Puerto Galera" , but the real name should be Barangay Poblacion. Most ferry boats from Batangas arrive in Poblacion at Muelle Cove, but when you decide to take your car with you, the drive-on ferry in Balatero is the only option. If you bring you car, make sure that your hotel or resort has parking available, because parking places are a scarce commodity in particularly Sabang and White Beach, although recently some paid parking places have been created.
Sabang and White Beach have been the traditional places to go to and are therefore more crowded. Most bars and discos can be found in this areas as well. Palangan is the beach to go to for people who would like to have a little more peace and quite.
Besides the beaches and nightlife a favorite pastime of visitors to Puerto Galera is scuba diving. There are dive spots galore starting roughly at Palangan forming a half circle ending near Cocobeach. The uniqueness of the dive spots of Puerto Galera lies not only in their variety of marine life, but especially that most of them can be reached in just 10 minutes.
Puerto Galera is located in the northern part of Mindoro. "Mindoro" is a contraction of the Spanish phrase "Mina de Oro," meaning gold mine. It was called "Mai" by early Chinese traders. The significance of Mindoro dates back to pre-Spanish times. Due to its favorable geographic location, it served as an important trading center of Chinese goods. As early as 872 A.D., Mindoro traded with Canton because of their proximity to each other. A Chinese chronicle of 1225 A.D. gave the first documented evidence concerning the island of Mindoro. Following the existing sea routes during the ancient time, the ships sailed to Mindoro's north and west coasts, which were then the densely populated urban centers. For local products like beeswax, pearl, sandalwood and tortoise shells, the Chinese traders bartered porcelain, silk and tea.
In the 14th century, the Madjapahit Empire controlled a domain extending from Borneo to Mindoro. On May 8, 1570, Captain Martin de Goite accompanied Juan Salcedo to explore Western Mindoro. In 1591, when the Spanish "conquistadores" divided the Philippines into eleven provinces, Mindoro was grouped together with Calilaya, Lubang, Batangas, the Calamianes Group and Marinduque. The third ecclesiastical district of the Philippine Archipelago was established in Calavite by the Recollecto Friars on June 18, 1677. Mindoro became part of Batangas Province when the latter was made a separate province known as Bonbon. At the beginning of the 17th century, the island was separated from Batangas and organized into a "Corrigimento" with Puerto Galera as its capital and placed under the jurisdiction of Marinduque.
When the Americans occupied Mindoro in 1889, they set up a military government in the island until the inauguration of a civil government on July 4, 1901. The province likewise played a historic part during the Second World War. Its history bristles with the gallantry of local heroes who fought the Japanese invaders along with American soldiers. From Leyte, Douglas McArthur's forces staged its "Second Landing" in the southern part of the province on December 15, 1945 on their way to the full liberation of the country from Japanese invasion.
On November 15, 1950, Mindoro was divided into two provinces: Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro. San Jose was made the provincial capital of the latter until January 1, 1961, when the seat of government was transferred to Mamburao. From the original number of eight towns, Occidental Mindoro is now composed of eleven municipalities.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards, the island was inhabited by tribes called Mangyans. These early settlers have been pushed inland mainly by the Tagalogs who moved in from neighboring Luzon and recently by the influx of tourism.
Puerto Galera has a terrific natural harbor, where ships still use to find safety during typhoons. Due to its magnificent array of white sand beaches, this district in the east became a destination for urban settlers and budget travelers seeking sun, water and diving activities. The invasion of tourism transformed this small part of the island into an immense incursion of concrete resorts, shops, dive shops, restaurants and loud bars. Many foreign settlers married local girls and set out their own resorts and diving institutions. Numerous beaches turned out a sight of restaurants, discos and rental shops for water activities.
Much like the Province of Oriental Mindoro to which it belongs, Puerto Galera is very rich in history. The literal translations of its name is "Port of Galleons", which it received from the Spanish seafarers in the 16th Century, who used it as a safe haven during their journeys to the Orient. However its history as a galleon trade destination dates as far back as the prosperous years of the 10th century. For any modern travel it is clear to see upon entering the Puerto Galera by boat why this was already a popular destination for merchant vessels hundreds of years ago. The excellent natural harbor - which even now is considered one of the most beautiful and safest in the world - has crystal clear waters and is fully protected from typhoons (the East Asian version of the hurricane) by the hills and mountains surrounding it. As trade developed, Puerto Galera became a regular stopover for merchant vessels sailing along the important trade routes of the near East and the rest of the Philippines. The Muelle Bay area - Indian coast, Indochinese coats, China, Sumatra, Java now part of town proper - was used extensively for dock repairs and as a safe anchorage for all types of sailing vessels. Here, too, a lot of merchant ships docked to trade with the natives.
Puerto Galera was such an important port that some historians even believe that the name "Mindoro" was derived from Minolo, one of Puerto Galera's old settlements. There are claims, too, that the 16th century references to Mindoro often only meant the harbor of Minolo. Also spelled Minoro, Minolo was a small coastal settlement northwest of Poblacion in present-day Puerto Galera. Then the center of trading, Chinese merchants bartered with the natives of Minolo, exchanging glazed porcelains for gold, jade, corals, shells, birds, rattan, and other forest products that were abundant in the island. An Excavation of an ancient grave site near Minolo lends proof to this. Antiques unearthed there were traced back to the 10th and 15th centuries, mainly from China, Thailand, and Vietnam. However, a more established and maybe more romantic belief is that the name "Mindoro" was derived from the Spanish "Mina de Oro" or Gold Mine. Whether the Spanish found a lot of gold on the island is not clearly know, although there are even on this day people who try to make their fortune by gold panning not so far from Puerto Galera. This belief surely for the base for a lot of interesting folklore.By the 17th century, under its Spanish colonizers, the island of Min
doro was organized into a corrigimiento, with Puerto Galera as the capital. The seat of government remained there through the Spanish and American rules, until 1903. Then the capital was transferred to Calapan, which was geographically blessed with wide agricultural lands, and is now the present capital of Oriental Mindoro. Puerto Galera was annexed to Calapan as a barrio, or village. Finally, on December 7, 1927, the Philippine Congress passed an Act (Act 3415) creating the independent municipality of Puerto Galera.
Epigraphs referring to two historical landmarks have become tourist attractions in Puerto Galera : the commemoration Cross of Canonero De Mariveles and the Black Rice display-board, both at Muelle Pier.
When Puerto Galera was made the capital of Mindoro. It was originally located in Barrio Lagundian. But the frequent Moro (or southern Muslim) attacks forced the Spaniards not only to transfer the seat of government to its present site, but also to build watchtowers and station battleships outside Muelle Bay. One battleship that guarded the waters of Puerto Galera was the Canonero Mariveles, which sunk due to a violent storm in 1879. In remembrance of this battleship a wooden cross was built at Muelle Pier with the inscription: "Ultima tierra que pesarou los tripolantes del canoneros Mariveles el 18 de Noviembre de 1879". This relic of the 19th century was renovated by the Spaniard Luis Gomez y Sotto in 1938.
Aside from introducing tools to increase farm productivity, the Spaniards also built a rice granary in Puerto Galera to stash grains ready for shipment. This storage is believed to have caught fire in the late 18th century, and its large volume of palay (rice grain) was burned and tossed into the bay. It would seem logical that with the passing of the centuries the grain would have decomposed and completely vanished. However, to this day, handfuls of whole charcoal-black rice grains continue to appear on the banks of Muelle Bay, mysteriously carried by the waves with the changing of the tide. A huge glass case at Muelle Pier near the tricycle terminal, displays some of this grain and a warning for visitors is included not to collect any of these grains in order to preserve one of the historical remnants of Puerto Galera.
