Exploring Philippines 85 - Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro (Post 6 - Fire Dancers )

After the performance of the fire dancers, I went back to our room and I was happy because of what I witnessed and experienced that time. It was my first time seeing a fire dance and it was a spectacle for me.  When I entered our room, my colleagues did not expect that the fire dance was over. They were expecting that it would be staged later that night that's why they went back to our room early. Anyway, after some time, they were ready to go out again for a late dinner.

The moment we stepped out of our room, the party mood at the bars and beach was in full swing. I blankly followed my group for they were trying to look for a non-fried and non-grilled kind of food. We already reached the end of rows of establishments and yet, they could not find what they were looking for. What they were looking for was the traditional home cooked meal.

Upon learning, I told them that I know a place but we had to go to the highway - a parallel road from where we were that time. As they followed me, I must admit that I got irritated of their impatience. They were like donkey, a character in the Shrek movie. They kept on asking "are we there yet?", keep on complaining that it was too far, or may be we were lost already kind of thing. My gawd! They were looking for something and yet they do have the patience for it. They were hungry and yet they were throwing away their reserve energy into something stupid. Maybe, if not for my two other close friends, I would love to push them back to were we came from and tell them to do their thing and stop complaining.

When we got there, I directed them to the eatery where I ate earlier. We were lucky because it was already past 9 in the evening and yet there were still enough food available. They commented that it was good because I knew this place. I told them that they have to learn how to roam around and explore and not just stay in one place. Later on, I asked the child of the owner of the eatery if they were renting some rooms and much to our surprise, they only charge 1500 pesos which is the same as our rented room. My colleagues could not believe what they heard and lamented that if we happened to look further earlier that day, we could had found a cheaper room for us. That's what you get when you are out of patience and too tired to explore.

After we had our fill, they told me that they don't want retrace our route earlier. I told them to hire a tricycle but they don't want to pay either. I pity these kind of people, totally out of my league. I directed them to the other route which is close to the eatery and we were back to the beach front in no time.

We settled to a spot in the beach area. They brought along some whiskey because the people I am with are fond of alcoholic drinks. They always urge me to join them but since it is not lifestyle, I only give in for a couple of shots or a bottle of gin with low alcohol content. I always tell them that I don't want to be a drunkard nor make it my lifestyle. Actually, I don't mind if I will not taste even a drop of an alcoholic beverage.

After one shot of whiskey, I left them and I went to see another set of fire dancers. I learned later on that this group of fire dancers performs nightly for three sets and 11pm is their last set of performance for the night. I really enjoyed watching them perform and it would be one great spectacle if the group was complete. They told me that they are 10 in the group but that night, there were only three of them.

When I returned to our room, three of my colleagues were already fast asleep and the rest of the group were still in the drinking spree on the beach ground. Since I was already sleepy, I find my place inside the room and dozed off.

It was already nine in the morning when I woke up and my body was aching. I am not used sleeping in a room with an air-con in its full power. I felt like a sick person that morning. I simply took a quick bath, packed my things, and stepped out of the room ahead of my group. I managed to catch some of colleagues enjoying a morning swim while I enjoy the full view of beach during this time of the day. Actually it was already 10 in the morning and the sun was already hot. I waited for my group to come down and have a good breakfast together before leaving the place but to no avail. I roam around and I chanced upon some familiar faces and we had a pep talk before my group showed up. And worst, they wanted to go home already.

We easily secured our tickets and without breakfast we boarded the waiting boat. It has high noon and the weather was good. We had a smooth and safe ride to Batangas pier.

With the given experience, I would like to return to Mindoro and explore the place further. If opportunity and time warrants, there could be other worthy sites and places to explore and I am looking forward to that day.