Mindoro loop

The Mindoro loop

Wanting to go for some outing rather than just sitting about in Calatagan we decided to go for a sojourn to Mindoro Island.

We left early on our scooter from Calatagan and rode before any morning rush to Batangas, bit of ground to cover through Balayan, Calaca and Taal before we reached Batangas. Once there, Chenok guided me to the pier and there we did a bit of back and forth to find the right entrance for tickets and ferry. We were probably the last to board as the ramp was down and no vehicles on the jetty but at least we made it.

Batangas port pier

Soon we were on the way, I was in luck to see my old workplace, the ex Bore Queen, now Super Shuttle Roro 9, on the roads at anchor. Unfortunately she looked a bit worse for wear and in need for major tlc. I'm guessing that next stop might be at the shipbreakers. The weather got a bit overcast and we passed an enormous Holy Mary statue on the mountain side. After that we were out of Batangas Bay and headed for Puerto Galera across the short stretch of open water.

On the way

The ferry was well used but seemed to be working ok, we had no blackouts. There was crew aplenty, I asked for the complement from the cafeteria chap but he said he had just joined for "on the job training" and didn't know. As we were making ashore in Mindoro I counted about 5 guys forward and same aft, then probably 3 on bridge and maybe same in engine room, in cafeteria there was maybe two guys. Not sure if they have watches so can't say if there was any off duty crew but this already made 18 crew. More than enough for a barely 50m long ferry. The condition could have been better with this complement but then again I am not sure how much the companies put back money into their assets. They had enough hands but not sure if they had the wherewithal.

Mindoro on the horizon, Tingloy or Verde Is in front

So we arrived in good order and drove off the ferry on our scooter, I had not looked further into Mindoro so I basically knew nothing about it except that there was a circular road around it and locals referred to it as the "Mindoro loop". There was only one road out of the terminal and soon it ended into a T-junction and as the right turn was easiest I turned right. The road was actually very good and we drove along sometimes in sunshine, sometimes in shade of trees, sometimes up and sometimes down. On higher grounds we could see lovely beaches down the slope but we still kept going on as to "what comes next?"

Holy mother Mary statue that we passed

After some kilometers the buildings got scarcer, the hills higher and traffic less. Finally we arrived to a military checkpoint and the soldier wanted to see under our seat and then he waved us on. Shortly after this the road ran out of tarmac and we continued on a dirt road in various conditions ranging from bad to very bad. Going was not very fast as we navigated potholes and rocks but the scenery turned very nice. The hills where the road took us were quite steep so eventually one I drove up alone and Chenok hiked it up. We saw in one place a sign for "Balite resort" and diverted off the dirt road to a narrower dirt track and came up to shacks with locals and some derelict buildings on the beach that probably had been the resort in the past. Seeing nobody around we turned back and returned to the main track the way we came.

Mindoro coast

The track continued unchanged until we came to a concrete bridge that ended in a quite steep uphill but to the right was a sign to Puerto Galera. We went off and followed this and soon the road changed into paved road and we continued by huge rice paddies into a small village, Camurong, on the beach. There was no hotels or obvious places to stay for the night and we drove through and the road basically turned again into a dirt track that ended at a flowing river bed. 

Approaching Puerto Galera

Had I had a dirt bike it probably would have been possible to try getting across but with a Yamaha Nmax, no way. So, I had to turn back and admit defeat of not reaching Abra de Ilog or finding the best out of way resort. We stopped at the village for some water and checked out the beach. It was lined with fishing bangkas all along, there was no phone signal and we had not had any for a long time. We chatted to some locals and they said to take care after dark regarding rebels. Soon enough we bounced back along the paved road to the last concrete bridge we saw and was back at the dirt track that was supposedly the main road. I asked Chenok if she wanted to hazard continuing or go back the other way. She knew the roads to left of the T-junction at Puerto Galera were definitely better so we turned back.

Approaching Puerto Galera

Approaching Puerto Galera

Port Captain was first to meet and inspect us

Welcome sign

Rice paddies near Camurong

Map from Abra de Ilog to Puerto Galera and the dirt road (no road)

Credit: Google maps

The next hour we trekked our way back to civilization along the dirt road we had arrived on and as we had no hotel booked yet we looked for some suitable place. We passed the Puerto Galera ferry terminal and continued onwards. The scenery turned very lush and green. We passed many rivers that were running down the central hills. After awhile we arrived Tamaraw falls. It was just next to the road and we stopped for refreshments. After that it was downhill on winding and well paved roads until we reached Calapan.

The "road" between Abra de Ilog and Porto Galera

Calapan is actually the capital city in Mindoro and they seemed to have everything available there. We took into a non descript hotel that appeared to be more targeted for the locals taking their extra curricular affairs to. It didn't matter, the room was clean and we were tired so we settled for it and ordered room service which was acceptable.

Tamaraw falls

The next day I checked the Nmax and it looked a bit low on oil so went to a Yamaha service center to have it checked out. In an hour we had our oils checked and changed and then I also installed a travel box on the aft so Chenok would not have to keep the backpack on her back all the time. We had just changed the tires before we left Calatagan so now we felt more confident that our steed was going work well without issues. From Calapan we then drove onwards  to Pinamalayan where Chenok had old family friends. The road was pretty flat at first and we made good progress, at one point we diverted from the main road and went the side roads, it was concrete road with rice paddy on both sides almost as long as you could see.

Simbahang Bato church ruins

The internet recommended the Simbahang Bato in Bancuro as a point of interest and as it was along the route we stopped there for a looksee. It was an old church that was built during the 1680s-1690s when the Augustinians established their first settlement in Bancuro, Naujan. Its thick walls were made of coraline stones and bonded by lime mortar. The Simbahang Bato was originally built as a convent and became a parish. In 1842 the "Asultos de Moro", the great raid in the Island of Mindoro, destroyed the first settlement in Bancuro by Moro invaders and because of this, the church served not only as a house of worship but also as a fort and refuge for the locals.

Coral blocks

We saw the impressive facade and went for a look and discovered that within the walls there was a smaller chapel in active use. We left a few pesos as a donation and after a few words with locals outside we continued our trip.

Simbahang Bato church

Simbahang Bato church grounds

After this the road was easy going and we approached soon the Naujan Lake, we descended from higher ground so we first caught glimpses of it from afar. As we came closer to the southern tip we could see some roads leading to the waters edge and we took one to a concrete jetty. There was a sign telling us that Naujan Lake is the 5th largest lake in the Philippines. It was declared as a national park on 28th January 1968 by President Ferdinand Marcos, with an area of 21,655 hectares.

Naujan Lake

The sign went on further to explain all the birdlife one could find in the area to the fact that the endemic Philippine Freshwater Crocodile was also discovered here. By that time I was cooling my feet in the water and Chenok promptly told me to get out. It also did smell a bit like the crocodile farm we had visited in Thailand so I did get up. There was nothing going on so we mounted the Nmax and continued towards Pinamalayan. The lake is very large and given the time maybe some activities might be found to do there.

Naujan Lake

As we arrived Pinamalayan it was starting to get late and the sun was starting its descent over the sky. We arrived to Chenok's 'auntie' and she offered us to stay the night in her establishment to which we agreed. It was nice and clean room but it was dead center of the city. There was still light so we spent that driving around Pinamalayan and past old rice paddy belonging to the family, then we had coffee in town and came back for a shower. We had dinner with our auntie at the local Chowking and then retired dog tired to our room. 

Rice paddies

As traffic started in the morning it promptly also woke us up so all we could then do was to get ready to hit the road, before we left our auntie surprised us by feeding us breakfast. Having been fed and watered we packed our stuff into the Nmax and off we went via a short stop to say hello to another 'uncle' and then we headed out towards the occidental along the coast.

Rice paddies 

Pinamalayan city entrance

Pinamalayan old buildings

Going south we reached Bongabong rather quickly and it didn't seem like a very busy place as it looked, we were very quickly through it too, and we continued towards Roxas and then Mansalay. At noon we stopped at Buktot beach for a look and possibly a drink and lunch as we were feeling hungry and parched. The road veered off the main road and was well paved and after few kilometers we arrived to the beach that was just that. There were no services, it appeared there was 2 rooms for rent in a shack, the rest was really up to you to bring, tents, food, etc. With the stark sun and very little shelter is was not to our liking so after a bit water we continued.  

Buktot beach

Buktot beach

Some time later we arrived Southdrive beachresort which our auntie had recommended, we considered staying there the night but looking at the distance we still had to cover we decided to make it to Sablayan before taking a hotel so we only had nice lunch at their Cafe Francesca.

Leaving the oriental to climb over the hills to the occidental side

Having had a nice lunch and plenty of water as it was a cloudless day and scorching we set off again on southerly route and as we thundered on we started climbing up mountains and crossing from the Mindoro Oriental to Mindoro Occidental. I did wonder what is the difference between the both of them so it seems it is just a fancy way of distinguishing between the western and eastern administrative region, our auntie in Pinamalayan was of the opinion that occidental has less politics in getting things done vs the oriental.

Further up the hill postcard view

The road over the mountain was very scenic and soon we came to a steep downhill that rolled down to the occidental plain. The plain was at this time very dry but I am sure at rainy season it must be easily flooding. It had also became very obvious that favorite crops on Mindoro was rice and onions, we saw also other things farmed such as pineapples and maize but those two took the prize. Soon also the 4 lane roads were full of rice being dried by the sun so I wondered was the road made for it too? It was so prevalent and I also saw maize and corn cobs being dried on it. It also makes it clear why Asians wash their rice, don't want the extras in it...

Steep descent into Mindoro occidental

Drying rice on the road

As we approached Sablayan we took a wrong right turn at Lumangbayan and ended up doing a detour to the Sablayan prison and penal colony. The drive was with lovely scenery, the people in the colony supposedly less so but they were all out in the open so I am thinking it was for lesser crimes. Having discovered our detour we set on the right track to the coastal Sablayan from the inland Sablayan town, go figure...

Drying rice on the road

Onion harvesting

Sun was again setting when we arrived Sablayan, we stopped at a 7/11 for refreshments and checked out local hotels. The info online did not make much sense so we got on the scooter and drove up and down the main drag and settled for a semi decent looking hotel. The room was clean and had working a/c so it was good enough. Having washed off the dust we set out for finding dinner and after few venues not being open we found Gek & Fel's bistro on one of the side streets. Nice dinner and after a small rain shower we made our way to the hotel for some rest before next day's driving.

Dinner at Gek & Fel's in 

Mamburau massive river beds, now almost dry

Mamburau

The next morning we set off again towards Mamburao and finally Abra de Ilog, the end of the Mindoro loop. We had to double back to where we had come yesterday in order to go around two massive riverbeds running off the center island to the alluvial plain. The road was still excellent and we had seen on several trucks on the dry riverbeds taking gravel, probably for building purposes. As we made further inland the nature became very green and lush again. 

Cargo jeepneys in Mamburau

In Mamburau we stopped for some refreshments but were not hungry after our breakfast at Jollibee in Sablayan. Mamburao was a long city on the side of the Mamburao river running off the mountains and there was not much traffic, in fact, whole of occidental was pretty quiet so driving was easy. We kept on going on long straight roads, first we passed the coastal Mamburao poblacion before we headed inland through the Mamburao city and lastly over the isthmus to Abra de Ilog. The road was and straight, nice drive.

Abra de Ilog beach

Had to wet my feet

As we arrived to Abra de Ilog we drove through the town proper before reaching the port. There we spent some time finding ticket offices and timings, we had many hours to kill. We went past the coast guard station to the back and checked out he local beach which was long and naked. Water was great so I wet my feet for awhile. Then we went back to wait for the ticketing office to open and got our tickets and then we were ushered into the port. There we had to sit in the waiting room standing by for the ferry that appeared to be a bit late. There was another ferry in port that they said was under repairs, otherwise the port was empty. The jetty was quite sizeable and could easily have accommodated maybe 5 ferries.

Abra de Ilog beach and port jetty

Abra de Ilog port

After the arrival of the ferry it discharged everything before taking us onboard but it took perhaps half an hour and we could get on. There the crew secured the scooter to the deck and we went into the passenger saloon to wait departure. It took us again about 1.5hrs to reach Port of Batangas where we arrived at sunset. From there we then drove off in search of a hotel. 

Abra de Ilog looking towards Puerto Galera

Our Mindoro loop had been finished. I didn't check our odometer but on Google it appeared we had driven about 500km more or less. In hindsight we could have spent a bit more time doing the loop and exploring the hinterlands at different locations but that's for another time...

Onboard the ferry with 7/11