Summer months have arrived here in the Philippines (winter’s cold was too fleeting) and many people are already heading out to the beaches, like these band of bloggers who’ve gone off to Puerto Galera’s White Beach. We’ve featured Puerto Galera before but that was way back when Mindoro didn’t yet have high-resolution photos in Google Earth/Google Maps. But since Google updated their satellite imagery last October 2006, more areas of the Philippines got hi-res satellite pictures and among those areas is Puerto Galera.

Among the numerous beaches of Puerto Galera, White Beach is arguably the most popular destination among Filipinos in this rural seaside municipality. Unlike Sabang Beach (which foreigners seem to like a lot), White Beach has a wide and long expanse of white-enough and fine-enough sandy shore perfect for beach sports. Google Maps’ satellite picture, care of Digital Globe, is detailed enough to make out the outrigger boats that traverse the Verde Island Passages from Batangas City Pier!

Photo by Eugene Villar.

Here’s an excerpt from the previous Vista Pinas article about Puerto Galera:

For those who still haven’t been to this well-known weekend vacation spot, some of the things you can do here are watersports like snorkeling and scuba diving, and also jet skiing, windsurfing, banana and flying fish boating. For the less adventurous, you can simply sunbathe on the sand, play some beach volleyball, avail of a full-body massage, or get a wicked henna tattoo. You can also visit the Mangyan Village or play some golf at Ponderosa Golf Club 2,000 feet above White Beach (Ponderosa reportedly has some amazing views of Puerto Galera).

Download KML file (for Google Earth)