Mindoro
In spite of its closeness to Manila, Mindoro is one of the most savage of the Philippine islands. It is breathtakingly mountainous with elevations of almost 2600m (8531ft), and most of the mountain range is still covered by virgin jungle. The near inaccessibility has protected the forests as well as the Mangyans, the cultural minority of the island. They live around the towns of Calapan, Puerto Galera, Magsaysay, San Teodoro, Naujan, Baco, Roxas, and Bongabong. The Mangyans are friendly but shy of strangers (for more details on Mangyans please see entries on Calapan below and the chapter People in the first part of the book).
The name of the island, Mindoro, derived from Mina de Oro, would lead to the assumption that gold mining is one of the more important economic activities there. Indeed, the Spanish had dug for gold and found some, but today there is no major gold mining on Mindoro. Islands where much more gold is found are Mindanao (in the Davao region), Luzon (in the Cordilleras), and Negros (the southwest part).
Puerto Galera on Mindoro is one of the major tourist spots of The Country . Nowadays particularly popular among European visitors, Puerto Galera has been known for centuries for its beautiful bay with just a narrow entrance. The Spanish used the bay as a shelter port when typhoons swept the archipelago (for more information on Puerto Galera please see the detailed next chapter that deals exclusively with Puerto Galera).
GEOGRAPHY
Land Area: 10,244sqkm (3,953sqmi)
Topography: Northeastern and southwestern parts of the island are lowlands, and the rest is mountainous
Mountains: Mt Halcon near Baco 2,587m (8,488ft); Mt Baco near Sablayan 2,487m (8,160ft)
Rivers: Pagbangaran and Bugsanga rivers in Occidental (west) Mindoro and Lumintao and Naujan rivers in Oriental (east) Mindoro
POPULATION
Majority Group: Tagalogs; Language: Tagalog
Minorities: Mangyans; Island Population: 669,000
Cities, Towns: (Census of 1990, x1000)
Province Occidental Mindoro: Abra De Ilog 14, Calintaan 18, Looc 7, Lubang Island 19, Magsaysay 22, Mamburao 22, Paluan 8, Rizal 23, Sablayan 47, San Jose 88, Sta. Cruz 17.
Province Oriental Mindoro: Baco 24, Bansud 26, Bongabong 50, Bulalacao 21, Calapan 86, Gloria 30, Mansalay 28, Naujan 72, Pinamalayan 59, Pola 27, Puerto Galera 17, Roxas 33, San Teodoro 12, Socorro 30, Victoria 35.
Political Structure (Province x1000, area, capital): Occidental Mindoro (283, 4365 sqkm, Mamburao), Oriental Mindoro (550, 5880 sqkm, Calapan)
PUERTO GALERA
For information on Puerto Galera please see the next chapter.
TAMARAW FALLS
Located 15km (9mi) west of Puerto Galera towards Calapan; waterfalls with a swimming pool and a small resort.
CALAPAN
Although the capital of Mindoro Oriental, the town has little to offer to tourists apart from the car ferry link to Batangas 3-4 times daily. This has even been admitted by the municipal government which otherwise doesn't miss an opportunity to glorify the town. "Calapan has no known tourist spots," states the brochure on the town, published by the Municipal Planning and Development Office.
Continued
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