Tuesday, 10 January 2012

A little glimpse into the past...


Puerto Galera from the top.
Our coastal town is well known for its pocket beaches and great scuba diving spots. Today, Puerto Galera would seem like any other commercialized tourist spot in the world. However, it is steeped in a rich history dating back to even before the Spanish era. Chinese records have been recently found about a thriving trade route to an island in the Philippine archipelago known as "Ma'i" and its location is the present day island of Mindoro. The people of the island then were already very skilled sailors and there is also an abundance of merchants in a thriving tribal community that has trade ties to all the other islands in the archipelago, China and other countries in Southeast Asia. 

However, after a Spanish expedition led by a Portugese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan landed in Cebu in 1521, the Spanish slowly started sending a couple more expeditions and eventually by 1571, Manila was established as the capital for Spain's new colony, "Las Islas Filipinas".

During this time our town, was declared as the capital of the island of Mindoro and due to its excellent harbor and natural beauty, was named "The Port of Galleons," Puerto Galera. As the years of Spanish occupation passed, the provincial capital was moved and Puerto Galera was still conisdered an important port for the Spanish as it provided a bay that provides excellent cover from bad weather. It has retained it's name from then to now and today you will still see traces of this era. 

Nowadays, Puerto Galera is home to locals and tourists alike. Its charm grows on anybody who see its beauty and it is said that once you set foot on Puerto Galera soil you are bound to eventually come back to see and experience it all over again. Boasting great dive spots, white sand beaches, diverse marine life, wonderful people, it kinda makes sense, right?


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