Coco Beach - Tropical Island Paradise

Summer maybe over but not for us folks. When the opportunity came to get some R&R we decided to hit the beach. It's never too late to experience the sand, the sea and (hopefully) the sun even on this rainy month of July. Living in a tropical country our options were endless. The only thing limited was our budget. Still we didn't want that limitation to dampen our enthusiasm over this much awaited vacation. Our destination - Coco Beach Island Resort in Puerto Galera.

Tapioca was able to visit Coco Beach before when he was younger. Their website says it all and I got sold. We contacted their Manila office and booked a 3 days/2 nights accommodation. We also availed of the Coco Beach Express shuttle service which will bring us directly to the resort. The fee was a little steep but it's nothing compared to the convenience we're gonna get. Believe me, I've been to Puerto Galera before and the hassle of haggling and dealing with people from Batangas pier was quite an experience and not very appealing if you wanted a stress-free vacation.

 . . . at Diamond Hotel's lobby

The shuttle service leaves at exactly 6:30am at the Diamond Hotel. We arrived at quarter to six and we still haven't had breakfast so we checked out the hotel's breakfast menu. Everything was so darn expensive. Well, it's expected from a 5 star hotel. It would be wiser to avail of the breakfast buffet instead of ala carte. However, the buffet won't open until 6am. Spending thirty minutes on brekky buffet was not practical so we looked for an alternative. Rice meals from Mini Stop convenience store right outside the hotel! This was a late decision. The driver has arrived and already looking for us. Poor Tapioca, he was very hungry and he had to hold up the van to get our meals. Buti naman mamang driver was patient enough. We left the hotel at 7:00am and had our breakfast inside the van :-)

kodakan moments inside the van . . . 

Mamang driver drove us all the way to Batangas. It only took an hour and thirty minutes including stop over at Calamba, Laguna to pick up other passengers going to the resort. Man, he drives really fast.

We were drop off in a private port in Batangas where an outrigger boat was waiting for us. Boatmen assisted us and picked up our heavy bags. Talk about VIP treatment. As soon as everyone has settled, all passengers were given life vests and off we sailed. More more ng picture taking. Sa boat naman . . .

. . . Tapioca

Jellybean . . .

We only had 2 hours of sleep so we tried to take a nap during the boat ride.  In the middle of our trip the boat suddenly stopped and all the passengers had this strange look. Then they pointed out a group of dolphins blocking our way.

. . . a single dolphin caught on camera

It was amazing. Our first time to see dolphins - in flesh and in a big group. It was hard to take pictures of these cute creatures since they swam really fast. We then decided to take a video but it turned out very shaky and we we're only able to capture the dolphins in a few seconds before they're gone out of sight. They said dolphins are one of the attractions here in Puerto Galera especially when the water's calm.

. . . we're almost there

Since the weather was good and the water was calm, we were able to reach the resort in less than an hour. The outrigger boat can't dock on the shores of Coco Beach so we have to transfer to a smaller boat and put on our life vest.

. . . to be continued.