Puerto Galera -- nearly spoilt

It was my first time to visit Puerto Galera. Contrary to what I've heard, it's still a beautiful place. But it's become so commercialized. Reminds me a lot of Boracay. Along the beach front are numerous houses turned into resorts, restaurants, and bars, all beside one another. You walk on the beach and just a few steps away are the resorts/bars/restaurants, and they add to the cramped feeling. There are very narrow alleys, presumably because home owners have maximized their owned lands and "developed" (the term developed is used loosely here) these into mini-resorts or rooms for rent. Along White Beach, I think all the houses offer rooms for rent, to fit any budget. What struck me was that there were also a number of new "hotels", two (2) or three (3) floors high, and one begins to wonder, how is this "development" affecting the environment? I wonder how Puerto Galera will look like months, or even years from now? I shudder at the thought.

More than the tourists to Puerto Galera, there are also hundreds of locals there. They are the ones who earn a living off the tourists. Vendors (hawking trinkets, bangles and jewelry) and masseuses offering their services, abound! It seemed as every few steps we took, someone was in front of us offering various items for sale. Masseuses charge 200 pesos an hour, ladies offer to braid your hair, there are henna tattoo shops, etc.

Considering it was off-peak season, there were still a lot of people. But not as many as I expected. It wasn't as if there were crowds every where you went, but it was still pretty crowed. And that is when our knack of discovering perfect, out of the way places, kicked in. Peace, quiet, solitude. Sitting on the beach early in the morning. Way before sunrise. No vendors, just plain fisherfolk out at sea..ahhh, finally some solitude. That's just the way I like it.